The Journey Begins

Today is the first day of my journey. I started the morning with a neighborhood jog, but let me tell you it wasn't easy. The jog itself wasn't so bad, it was the getting out of bed and actually beginning the day. As luck would have it, my allergies flared up yesterday and I had a very restless, uncomfortable sleep, and awoke with stuffed sinuses, a headache and sore throat. I was determined though, to start this week off on the right foot. So, I put mind in front of matter and placed one foot in front of the other, and before I knew it my 30 minute jog was complete. I still physically felt lousy after the run, but mentally I felt very refreshed and proud.

I followed my run with the first of my 6 glasses of water today. Its about midday and I've had 3 glasses of water so far. This goal in particular is a challenge for me because I'd much rather consume a diet soda then water. Diet soda is made up of atleast 90% water, right??? Well as much as that may be true, not all water is created equal. I recently read an article that discusses the possibility that diet soda (along with other products with artificial sweeteners) make actually lead to weight gain because the body is getting mixed signals. It tastes the sweetness of the diet but doesn't get the calories it expects. According to the article this can cause us to overeat to fill the void of the calories the body thought it was getting. I'm not a doctor, but this made sense to me, so I'm trying to reduce my soda intake and add more pure water to my eating plan.

The third goal I began working toward today is the identification of emotional triggers. To be honest with you I didn't exactly know how to go about doing this, so I resurrected a method one of my old therapists taught me. She provided me with a Feeling List and asked me to complete the following sentence whenever I was feeling anxiety. (You can easily substitute anxiety with the urge to eat (and some may argue that the urge to eat is a symptom of anxiety) so it all works out.
I am feeling _______________ because ____________ . This may seem like a silly exercise, but I urge you to try it before judging it. When I looked at the feeling list, I saw feelings and emotions that I had forgotten. It really helped me articulate what I was feeling, and by knowing what I was feeling it was easier identify why. Here are a few things I have identified so far today, as an example.

• I am feeling lonely because my family has just returned to Colorado and I don't know when I'll see them again.
• I am feeling nervous because I am about to return to work in a new role.
• I am feeling reassured because of the comments and support I have received for my journey.