Summer of my Mediterranean Diet

Day 25 - Thursday, June 1st.  A brand new month.  A fresh slate and a new starting point. Truthfully, every day can be a new starting point and each day we choose which voices (positive or negative) we listen to, which actions we will take, what we will focus on and give our attention to.  This morning I woke feeling strong and "back in my body", my stomach felt good again (not bloated) the way it felt before I got derailed.  I will explain this further, but before I do, ironically I must confess, last night was my first actual complete cheat. My husband made hotdogs on the grill which he served with barbq potato chips.  I ate a hotdog with mustard and most of the bun (not all, it wasn't very good) and a few handfuls of potato chips.  So you can imagine my surprise that I would suddenly be feeling not bloated again this morning of all mornings!? Obviously there are many factors involved.  For me, I think it was a combination of four things....

Day 24 - "Strive on heedfully and be ever mindful to see the world as it truly exists, without envy, without judgment, without hatred... to do this, one must know oneself intimately to understand the source of happiness or unhappiness that exists within" .  - Siddartha/Budda. This was a quote given to me by a gentleman who came to pick up Chinese Food at the restaurant where I worked, when I was fifteen years old.  I never knew what made him express that to me.  I often wondered over the years if some angelic force whispered for him to share it with me.  I think I still have the original writing somewhere in a dusty box, but it doesn't matter because the words became etched to memory long ago. Yesterday, I had planned on attending that Gentle Yoga class that I raved about last week.  I was truly looking forward to it and then suddenly, 90 minutes before class would've started, I had this "episode".  It was as if someone pulled the battery out of my...

Day 23:  Tuesday after a 3-day weekend.  ( which is like a very harsh Monday morning ). I am finding my way back to center.  I am seeking it with determined intention and action.  It isn't just falling back into my lap.  I think we always need to remember that.  Intention truly is so much of the battle.  Last night, in an act of intention , I put my workout clothes beside my bed and set my alarm for 7am.  Yes, I love not having to wake to an alarm (especially one set for 6am), but I still need some structure to my day.  Finding the right balance between structure that feels reliable, secure and nurturing vs. structure that feels too rigid or unyielding is key.  Ironically, I didn't even need the alarm.  I woke around 6:45am and enjoyed resting with my eyes closed until it was time to reach for those nearby workout clothes.  Just setting the intention was enough to get me back into a healthy routine. God, do I love to sw...

Day 22:  Week 3 Weigh In.  Day 1 of Week 4.  Memorial Day 2017. Can you believe the tall, whispy green plant to the left of my pretty rose vine is asparagus?  So cool.  Don't mind the weeds, I will take care of them soon.   This is my first spring in my new house and I am delighted by all of the surprises I find as each season turns.  I don't have a green thumb, but as I dig deeper into this Mediterranean Diet experiment, I find myself contemplating gardening with a more serious openness.  I'm not there yet, just contemplating.  But seeds are being planted in my mind. I have had a rough weekend.  I fought with a very unpleasant head cold and had still been feeling so many pms symptoms.  I have been bloated and miserable.  Last night I was overcome with repeat acid reflux symptoms, a slight fever, sheer discomfort, muscle aches and fatigue.  And then it hit me...  I have been very aware of what I was putting into...

Day 21:  2:16am.  It's the middle of the night.  Bad choices woke me up.  Inner voices battling kept me up. What the hell am I doing?  Why am I doing all of this?  I am not even losing weight yet!  I am tired.  My body hurts.  My muscles are sore.  I feel stupid.  This ridiculous period/non-period is making me crazy!  My tiny kitchen is pissing me off.  I want to cry.  Hard.  I want to ugly cry and get it all out, but for some reason, like my period, it alludes me. Yesterday was a busy day.  It always feels busy and a bit chaotic when everyone is home.  I love my family, don't get me wrong , but it's much harder to sustain discipline when I am distracted or entertained by their company.  Last night, my husband chose Moe's for dinner while we were out shopping and running errands in the evening.  I cringed (that place is not Mediterranean by any stretch), but I wanted to be "agreeable" an...

Day 20 - Well, I made it.  Mostly.   Last night, I concluded my "week of trying a new dinner recipe each night from my new Mediterranean Cookbooks".  Yes, I ate out day 4, but it was Mediterranean food, so I'm calling it good enough.  I no longer beat myself up if I don't get 100%.  I'll proudly take 80%, because 80% is far better than 0.   Sadly though, it ended on a flop. Last night, from my Mediterranean Cooking , by Sterling, I made Olive and bell peppers brown rice.  I went to the store specifically to buy the feta cheese stuffed olives, although I had to settle for blue cheese stuffed olives because they didn't have the feta ones.  I grabbed a loaf of bread to round out my meal and reaffirmed that I need to start baking my own bread very soon.  But one mountain at a time. I felt pretty special making my own roasted red peppers for the recipe, blackening the peppers and peeling the skin.  The rice mix certainly looked pretty w...

Day 19:  I am still adjusting to the "no alarm clock" mornings.  On one hand, it's wonderful.  On the other, I feel a bit out of sorts.  For the first couple weeks, I had my workout done and ready to start breakfast by 8am.  Having my day start later is making me feel unproductive before I've even begun.  But, I've had a hard week and the weather is dreary, which doesn't help.  I am sure I will get into a new routine soon. In the meantime this morning, I am thinking of a phase I read recently, "Allowing SLOW to Move Into You" - by Tina Firewolf.  I met her a few years ago at a seminar she gave at the local library.  Then a couple weeks later, I attended a workshop she held.  I am very taken with her and try to keep up with her on social media, since she left the area. In her article she states:  "When the mind doesn't run from a fearful "gotta make life happen standpoint" Slow moves in and become our new "house-mate...