Savor

I finished the book Eat That Frog. I am not going to make you sit through the rest of it. I do not think you want to sit through all the negativity. A while ago, Lyn suggested a book called: Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life By: Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung. I decided last week that I wanted to check it out. So I checked it out from the library I just got it today.

I can tell you that I did not want to put it down. The first four chapters is the Buddhist perspective on weight control. On page 15 there is a story that he tells that I really liked. It goes like this: There is a horse galloing quickly, and it appeaers that the rider is urgently heading somewhere important. A bystander along the road calls out "Where are you going?" and the rider replies, "I don't know! Ask the horse!" I think that this story hits the nail on the head we are riding the horse called life but we don't know where we are going.

There are Four Noble Truths that Buddha offered. The First Noble Truth is that all of have suffering in our lives. The Second Noble Truth is that we can identify the causes of our sufferings. The Third Noble Truth is that we can put an end to our suffering and that healing is possible.

Now lets look at these truths through weight loss. The First Noble Truth: Being Overwieght or Obese is Suffering. We all know this. We all suffer through being overwieght. For me its harder because I work with kids. Kids who are autistic bolt they don't understand that they need to tell adults they are ready to go. Have you tried being 315 pounds and running after a 7 year old boy who just wants to go home? It is embarrassing and knocks the wind right outta me.

The Second Noble Truth: You Can Identify the Roots of Your Weight Problem. We all know one reason or another why we are fat. One thing that I knew, but to read the acutal numbers he said during this was our parents. Having one parent that is overweight a child is twice as likely to become overweight. Two parents who are overweight further increase that risk. Rather it be nuture or nature its a fact. We all know that as adults us being overweight is due to to much eating and not enough working out.

The Third Noble Truth: Reaching a Healthy Weight Is Possible. It is possible for us to reach a healthy weight and in order to do so we need to be mindful in our eating, and our exercise.

Menu:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, mushroom, crab, onion, spinach
Snack: 20 oz coffee with SF hazelnut 2 TBS of half and half
Lunch: 1 sweet potato, 3oz steak, 1 cup of green beans, 1 mushroom
Snack: 1 large seasoned Culvers Green beans ( ick! it was in a 1/4 cup of butter.) 1 scoop of ice cream with strawberry topping.
Dinner: 1 tamale pie (organic and wheat free and frozen)

Exercise: I walked 6 miles today. Meant to be 4.8 but I got lost. 986 calories burned.
I will leave you with this:
Enlightenment, peace, and joy will not be granted by someone else.
The well is within us,
And if we dig deeply in the present moment, The water will spring forth.
T.N. Hanh