On Falling off The Wagon
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| Getting back on track |
They say that confession is good for the soul and it is, but I also know that anything that’s good for the soul has to be good for the mind and body as well, so here it is, yesterday, I fell off the wagon—big time. It wasn’t the Twizzler it wasn’t even popcorn, but now that I think about it, it wasn’t that big at all; in fact it was miniature.
Yesterday, I had a cupcake, okay, I’m confessing so I’ll tell the whole truth; I had two. They were those little miniature cupcakes from an old fashioned bakery here in Savannah. When you walk in the place smells like the dream I had when I first saw Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; it smelled like sugar love. Okay, I have a migraine and sugar love is the best I can do.
I went to the bakery with Ann (not her first name.) We couldn't wait so we sat at the table where brides sit to decide on what kind of cake they’ll have for their wedding. We ate our cupcakes with all the joy that comes from sugar and happily danced back to the car. We knew something was wrong when we forgot where we parked but we were too high on cupcake to care. J—I mean Ann, had left her car at my house but by the time we got there we were both loopy so we decided to walk a few miles to calm down. Those two little cupcakes packed a wallop that I would not have felt a few years ago.
People often ask me how I’ve managed to keep off the 150 pounds that I lost three years ago. They point out that weight loss is easy, but maintenance is not. Eight out of ten people who lose weight will gain it back and of the two who kept it off, one may die trying. The statistics for weight maintenance are not in anyone’s favor if you lose weight without getting well in spirit mind and body.
I will share with you a most wonderful secret; I have not been able to maintain my weight loss; my body has.
When you lose weight by becoming well, your body will not let you indulge in the behaviors that got you sick. Right now my head is aching, my vision is blurred and my back feels like I was kicked by Bruce Lee on one side and Jackie Chan on the other. By taking an entire year to gradually become well in spirit, mind and body, I become cleansed of the foods, thoughts, emotions and actions that ---make me sick.
Yesterday, when I confessed to my kids about the cupcakes my daughter gave me the truth that I needed. She said “Mom you eat healthy all the time, one bad time won’t kill you.” She is right, it has not killed me, but I didn’t sleep well, I feel like kaka (is that a word?) and I am having bad thoughts (like writing a letter to the bakery about how nothing should be that good.)
As with anything else, I am grateful for my fall from wellness. It taught me several things, but mainly this; wellness is better than kaka.
· Think about a time you fell away from a plan. Get back in your lane. The longer you stay away, the more normal adverse behavior becomes.
· Ask yourself why? I fell away because I had not prepared my meals ahead of time. I was out of food for lunch so we decided to go out for soup. We had soup and then kept driving. When I decide what to have for the day that morning, I rarely stray from my plans. Remember, preparation beats will-power.
· Drink lots of water. When you fall away from your plans and purpose, dreams and ideas (Blame it on the su-su-su-su-gar) drink lots of water to rehydrate and flush the system.
· Forgive yourself. There is no reason for me to wallow. I’d like to but I have things to do today. I planned a family outing and I can’t cancel because I had too much sugar. I love myself enough to tell me I’m sorry. I won’t promise that I won’t do it again because as my mother said “Promises were made to be broken.” She said that instead of promising we should let our yea be yea and our nay be nay. So when I see another one of those tiny cupcakes I will scream NAYYYYYYYYYY.
· There was a 5th but now I have a cramp in my foot and I can’t remember it, so I guess I’ll say get up and move.
BE you, be well, be Free
Bertice Berry, PhD.
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