"...having lost over 200lbs I felt very successful. I was living life happier and healthier one day at a time. It was easy to forget that gratitude is what got me here and without it I'd be right back where I started. In time that's exactly where I found myself, back in the old habits of control, resentments and stress longing for something to ease the discontentment that had re-entered my life. That longing re-created an emptiness that I eventually began filling with food. So now after regaining the 200+ lbs I find myself starting all over again... starting with gratitude."

 

Often we take ownership of things that don't  belong to us.  It isn't for us to take ownership of the person speeding down main street, that's on them.  We might easily become irritated and carry that attitude throughout the day but it isn't really ours to carry.  

In those times of irritation, discontent, and emotional stress, we as overeaters have turned to food for the temporary comfort that comfort-foods, binging and overeating can provide.

As we begin our journey to living happier and healthier we want to put down the burdens we carry that aren't ours.  We want to program our brains to see the things in our lives that we can be grateful for and use that thankfulness to fill a space in ourselves that overeating was being used to fill.

What are you grateful for today?

Today I am grateful for  _________________________.

 

 

 

FR Step 10

We’re driving along successfully and all of a sudden we realize we’ve missed an exit, we’re now off course.  However a quick assessment determines we can get off at the next exit and get back on course fairly easily.  In this case we continue our journey without stopping but making a minor course correction.

Our simple plan for simply living is very similar to this, we continue along day-after-day and when we get slightly off course we make a quick correction and continue.  These simple corrections don’t need to derail our journey, there is no need to start back at the beginning or throw in the towel.  These are the common, everyday corrections that we will need to be observant of and make corrections for as the process of living healthier becomes part of our daily routines.

There are times, when you may find yourself completely off-course and it will be necessary to pull over, figure out where you are, make a plan to continue your journey, then get back at it.  It is at these times in our simple plan for simply living that we use the FR Step 10: We continue to make personal inventory and admit when we are wrong.

FR Step 10 allows us to reconnect with our journey, get back on track and move forward.  It allows us to find our way, release what isn’t ours to carry, and be honest and true to ourselves.

If you find yourself slightly off track go ahead and make those immediate corrections and continue moving forward.  However if you find yourself lost, totally off-track, go ahead and pull over, stop the car, suspend your journey but don’t quit!  Use your resources:  FR Support, sponsors, friends, coaches, or even therapy to get a clear map to your journey, then pull your vehicle back on the road and get moving toward a happier healthier you; reset and move forward!

 

Forward Reset (FR) Step 3

We made a decision to entrust our will and our lives to the care of the collective wisdom and resources of those who have searched before us.

Forward Reset - FR 12 Steps

I've come to understand FR Step 3 as surrender.  Surrendering to the wisdom and resources available to me and not trying to modify everything to fit my lifestyle.  After all, while I feel most things in my life are manageable, my compulsive overeating is not something within my control.

In past attempts I would manipulate my food plan to best fit my situation at the time.  This would work for a time but always seem to back me into a corner that for which I found no way out.  My desire was to lose weight quickly and worry about long-term consequences last.  

Today I use a food plan based in science, a proven plan that I can surrender control and let the plan do it's work.  I do have to be mindful but I don't have to control it.

Allowing surrender kind of switches the tracks of compulsive food thoughts.  It stops the cycle mentally because I'm no longer in charge.

Today I am willing to go another day.

-Steve C