The gratitude attitude

Being grateful means being mindful of the blessings we daily take for granted. This mindset is a doorway that leads all of us desperate dieters to a safer place. A place where we can sit still long enough to actually see what’s on our plate and be thankful for it.

I’m not just referring to food, although that is undoubtedly a big part of it. I am thinking of our gigantic to-do list and everything we seem to pile on our plates in terms of daily responsibilities. Some of these we have to accomplish, but others can easily be delegated or managed in such a way that allows us to prioritise, so that we have more time to take better care of ourselves. 

The gratitude attitude is helping me see things for what they are and I cannot do that when I’m on the run. We desperate dieters are notorious for eating on the run and not taking the time even to sit down to take a deep breath and be mindful of what we’re putting inside our bodies. We eat when our spirit is high and we eat when we’re feeling low. God help us to slow down enough to notice these destructive behaviours, especially when they become a pattern.

Stop the insanity campaign

As we enter this fall season, I do hope you will join me in a thanksgiving campaign to stop this insanity — the insanity of continuing to do what we do and expecting different results. Let us force ourselves to slow down, sit down and say a prayer of gratitude for our food that is strictly for the nourishment of our bodies and not to pacify our emotions.

We need to slow down enough to process those emotions so that we’re not stuffing ourselves with junk instead of dealing with the real issues. Let us no longer be held hostage by our taste buds or emotional eating. Let us be thankful for all the signs our bodies send us to alert us to revise what we’re doing. Signs like headaches, bloating, inflammation or joint pain are all a red flag for a bigger issue.

Tuning in to our body’s distress signals

Do you recall the tip of the iceberg that caused the great Titanic to sink? When we fail to listen to all the distress signals our bodies relay day in and day out, we suffer the more immense consequences of our sunken ships that we could have saved. Therefore, let us be truly grateful for every signal and let us treat each of them seriously by immediately changing the course of our daily actions.

Where we get stuck

Those actions will look different for each of us, depending on where we got stuck. For some of us, it will be reducing sodium in our diets. For, others it will be reducing the size of our portions at each meal. Yet for some, it might be adding thirty minutes of activity or incorporating weights into our routines. Whether it’s reducing sugar or eliminating empty carbohydrates from our diets, may we learn to sit in gratitude as we make the changes we each need to make.

Yes, an attitude of gratitude is no doubt a doorway to a healthier and more peaceful way to live our lives in such a way that we are mentally present. This sets us up to live in the present and not wallow in a sea of worry and anxiety, especially in these COVID-19 months that have only added more stress to our lives.

I am thankful for each of you as you join me on this long journey one day at a time, one meal at a time, one victory at a time. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine