Beloved Beginnings, Day 5

Today's theme is Light and it is a rainy, gray day, making this a special challenge.

There is a crack in everything.

That's how the light gets in.

--Leonard Cohen

See the photos that didn't make it here on Instagram.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Beloved Beginnings, Day 4

A reflection treasure hunt:

I’ve finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?

-- Golden Hawn

See my honorable mention photos on Instagram.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Beloved Beginnings, Day 3

"Today we are going to invite a different part of ourselves into the photo. Our feet!
As you're discovering, self-portraits don't just need to be our whole bodies. Having our whole bodies in a self-portrait doesn't make it more valuable or 'better'. Every time we invite a little bit of ourselves into a photo, we are taking a self-portrait and telling the stories of ourselves in our world!"

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

--Marcel Proust

See my honorable mention photos on Instagram.
Day 1
Day 2

Beloved Beginnings, Day 2

Pay attention to how you interact with the world around you and photograph your hands. I've never taken this kind of portrait before, so I really enjoyed the "assignment" and have several favorites to share. #BelovedBeginnings

When you start using senses you've neglected,

your reward is to see the world with completely fresh eyes.

--Barbara Sher

See my honorable mention photos on Instagram.
See Day 1 here.

Emotional Eating is OK

And more than that, it's a good thing and a useful coping mechanism. I'm an unapologetic emotional eater.

The Fat Nutritionist explains:

. . . to be honest, eating is inherently emotional. First, in the sense that it provides us pleasure, otherwise we probably wouldn’t take all the time and effort to find food, prepare it, and eat it. Because it is so essential to our survival as a species, it has, of course, become embedded in our brain’s pleasure-pathways as something intensely enjoyable (much like, ahem, other species-propagating activities.)

So whether you think you’re eating for emotional reasons or not, whether you’re doing it intentionally or not, all eating is fundamentally emotional. (emphasis hers)

Depression and anxiety run rampant in my family and are things I manage well enough through exercise and creative endeavors. Denying cravings, food moralizing, and worrying about getting fat does nothing to promote health and in fact creates needless anxiety and stress. Alternatively, emotional eating both allows us to celebrate and to cope.

And this more than some feel-good personal opinion. These conclusions, I just learned, are also supported by research (link and quote from Dances With Fat):

Stress eaters should not be considered at risk to gain weight by default. Our results suggest the need for a dynamic view of food intake across multiple situations, positive and negative. Furthermore, our findings suggest rethinking the recommendation to regulate stress eating. Skipping food when being stressed may cause additional stress in munchers and could possibly disturb compensation across situations. 

Within the framework of Health at Every Size, the practice of intuitive eating allows, encourages, and accepts emotional eating. Food alone won't solve any emotional problems, but it can help us calm down enough to do the work that's needed. Mindless eating and frequent over-eating won't do, but paying attention and thoroughly enjoying every bite can soothe and take the edge off. Eating slowly and savoring also helps us calm down and breathe. Michelle offers a guide for doing emotional eating well:

Remind yourself that eating is morally neutral – you are not doing something “bad” by eating delicious food. You are simply being human.

Eat the food. Pay attention to how it looks, smells, and tastes, how it feels in your mouth and throat, and how it settles in your stomach. Give yourself the mental space to just have the physical experience of eating.

This is just an excerpt; the whole list is worth reading. Know that emotional eating is not inherently bad, nor is any kind of food. Context matters, and moderation. Moderation needn't mean restriction but can be attained through permissive eating of a wide variety of foods and paying attention to how they make you feel. It rarely comes naturally and may take months of practice before it does. Even then, we all "mess up" occasionally, but health is a journey, not a destination.

Normal eating is being able to eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it – not just stop because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to use some moderate constraint in your food selection to get the right food, but not being so restrictive that you miss out on pleasurable foods. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad, or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is three meals a day, most of the time, but it can also be choosing to munch along. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful when they are fresh. Normal eating is overeating at times; feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. It is also under eating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life. In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your emotions, your schedule, your hunger and your proximity to food. —Ellyn Satter

Beloved Beginnings, Day 1

I downloaded a 10-day e-course called Beloved Beginnings by Vivienne that teaches self-love and awareness through photography. I thought it would be fun to follow the provided prompts. Day 1 is a photo taken at arm's length with one hand over your heart. I'm starting with cell phone selfies because it's handy and will later break out the camera, tripod, and timer. #BelovedBeginnings

Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.

--Meister Eckhart

See my honorable mention photos on Instagram.

Ugly Sweater Run 5k

I ran the Ugly Sweater Run 5k at Fair Park over the weekend in Dallas with my brother. It was a pretty solid event benefiting Toys for Tots. The course was nice, the weather just a hair warm for running in sweaters, and the swag unique. Registration included an Ugly Sweater knit cap, a mustache tattoo, and two beers or hard ciders at the finish line. I happen to like the Angry Orchard Apple Cider offered at the Ugly Sweater Run and enjoyed the spiffy ugly sweater koozies. Parking was free, though a bit far from the start line, and this event was definitely worth the discounted $20 registration fee.

I did not make this monstrosity but bought it at a thrift store a few years ago. There are Santa worry dolls and plastic beads glued to it along with a plastic beaded wreath pinned to it and sequined Santa. I wish I had a better picture for you; it hurts to look at.