Welcome back and Happy Wednesday everyone!
When I awoke this morning, my mind started wandering as to what I was going to write about this week. I kept coming up empty, but I wasn’t worried because I had all day to think about it. Over breakfast and coffee, I pondered on a topic...still nothing.
Now, normally I’m never stuck for words, anybody who knows me well can attest to that, ha-ha, but today was proving difficult.
I decided to put it out of my mind for a bit, light some incense and do my daily meditation. I use a guided meditation app on my phone and today I felt I needed a 30-minute session to clear the cobwebs in my head, so I gathered my crystals close and closed my eyes and let the voice on my phone guide me along. Meditation is something I’ve been interested in for a long time but had never tried until recently. It relaxes the mind and body and helps with concentration. It was while meditating that the topic for my blog came to me.
Why not talk about meditation as it pertains to weight loss.
You may say "What does meditation have to do with weight loss and having a healthy body?" Well, society tells us we must eat well, mind our sugar and carb intake as well as exercise our body to lose weight. For the most part that is correct, but what we don’t realize is that we are so focused on a healthy body that we forget that we need healthy "minds”. A healthy mindset is crucial to weight loss in my opinion because most of us over eat for emotional reasons.
Every day we fuel our bodies for work and play, we eat better than ever, we get in as much exercise as we can and in the process, we hardly give our brains/ minds a second thought.
First, we need to look at why we gain weight to start with. Yes, some people have hormonal issues but most of us over eat for other reasons. It could be sexual, mental or physical abuse, low self esteem, along with anxiety and depression that causes us to over eat. That was my excuse. Food didn’t judge me or make fun of me, food was my comfort. Some of us over eat because we are lonely or bored. We all have our reasons but part of having a healthy mindset is recognizing our triggers.
In my case, "meditation is medication" for how I feel about myself.
Every day I love myself a little more than the day before. It's increasing my self confidence, my compassion and empathy for others as well as improving my focus and concentration. When you feel good about yourself mentally, it affects you physically. I’m sure you have heard the phrase "Healthy mind, Healthy body"? The two go hand in hand.
A little backstory
I've suffered from some anxiety and depression over the years and had trouble processing those feelings. I felt trapped in my mind as well as my body. I’m pretty sure a good many of you have experienced those exact feelings. I had repressed memories of things that I’ve gone through as a child and young adult. Emotional garbage that got dumped in the deep recesses of my mind, so I didn’t have to deal with it. I couldn’t deal with it because I simply didn’t know how to. It was only after losing my last parent, my mom, that I knew I had to deal with my demons that were beginning to surface. If not, I was heading for self destruction, literally. My health was taking a turn for the worse and I felt like an emotional and physical wreck. My body and my mind were both at risk!
It was about this time last year that I met a beautiful soul who influenced me on a level even I don’t understand.
She was a Holy Person, A Shaman. She spent less than 24 hours under my roof but the impression she made on me that evening will stay with me for years to come. She was a teacher of self expression, light and love; she was a healer. She walked through my door, hugged me and I immediately knew there was something special about her. During her brief visit, she performed a sacred smudging ceremony of my entire house and me as well. It was an amazingly emotional experience for me and I felt like the black veil of my life had been lifted somewhat. I learned a lot from her during her brief stay. She instilled in me a desire to truly get to know myself and accept myself for the woman I was and work towards the woman I wanted to be. I started practicing the art of positive reinforcement, praying daily and finally meditation. Through meditation, I’ve been able to come to terms with a lot of emotional garbage that I had been carrying around for 45+ years. My mind is healthier, I’m focused on my goals now and because of that, I feel I can succeed with my weight loss. By the way, I have a friend who used meditation to overcome alcoholism as well. Isn’t it amazing what the human mind can accomplish given the right tools?
Meditation along with healthy eating, Nutracelle and exercise is an important part of my day and my journey to a healthier "ME'! I’m almost 58 years old and have a lot of living to catch up on and I want to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be. I’m well on my way!!
Today I had a hankering for some chicken fajitas the Nutracelle way. I have made the Nutracelle wraps recipe before, for quesadillas.
Chicken fajitas have always been a favorite of mine, so I’ve included the link to the wrap recipe and added some photos of the ingredients I used. Chicken breast cut into strips, cheese, onion, red, green and yellow peppers.
I like things a bit on the spicy side, so I used some sugar free BBQ sauce with a healthy squirt of Sriracha sauce! I have to say, they turned out awesome!!
Well that’s about it for today, hope to see you all again next week!!
