Slim, Calm, Sexy – and Not Starving

This morning I opened up my e-mail and one from Women’s Health immediately caught my eye. The subject line was “Slim, calm, sexy – and not starving.”  I mean, who doesn’t want to be all of those things?!  I opened it up and it read: “There is nothing yogic about starvation.  A little discipline, sure.  But forgoing food until even your usual blissed-out self becomes Cruella DeCranky-Pants? Not so much.”

Right on!

I think a lot of people probably think at least once or twice that not eating might be the best way to ‘get skinny,’.  For many though, it’s not quite as fleeting a thought. A lot of people out there are convinced that the only way to lose weight, feel better about themselves, or achieve whatever else their ‘goal’ may be is to stop eating altogether. And for some people, it might even work. But it’s definitely not the healthy way to go about it; in fact, it’s terrible for your body and will probably backfire for most people.

Personally, I realized very quickly that not eating was not the way to go for me. Besides my stomach issues, I get cranky as all heck if I don’t eat. And I’m sure that’s the case for a lot of others out there as well. Hence the e-mail subject line.

But the thing is that you really can eat and maintain your weight at the same time. Like anything else, it’s a balance, and it’s all about finding what works for you. Positive body images are often as much about how you feel as they are about how you actually look, and if you’re starving all the time, you’re probably not going to feel so great.

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I was definitely not starving today; in fact, just the opposite. My coworkers and I broke for lunch around noon and headed to a deli near the warehouse for lunch. We went there last week as well, and I got the same thing I did last time: a chicken, red pepper, lettuce, tomatoes, and mozzarella panini on ciabatta bread. 

It came with macaroni salad this time (they were out last time), and I nibbled on it but I didn’t like it very much – way too creamy for me.

I actually only ended up eating half of the sandwich and then the chicken and veggies from the other half because it was all a little too filling for lunch time.

But then, even though I was almost still full from lunch by the time dinner rolled around, I packed in some more later on. No hunger crankiness for this girl today!

We decided to go for BBQ at a place we’d tried the last time we were in town, and it was just as good this time. 

We shared the crispy onion straws appetizer, and I ate a few more than I’d planned.  Luckily, sharing an appetizer four ways doesn’t allow for too much overeating!

For my entrée, I got the same thing I did last time we were there: chicken with (extra) peppers and tomatoes, plus baked beans, cornbread, and a side salad.

Whew. STUFFED.

I don’t know that the Women’s Health folks necessarily meant to stuff your face to ward off crankiness, but it sure seemed to happen that way for me today.  I wouldn’t advocate that as a routine mood-booster or anything, but hey, sometimes it happens!  I didn’t make it to the gym today because by the time I got back to my hotel it was time for Pretty Little Liars and I was wiped out, but I’ll have to work on the “slim” part tomorrow.  For now, the “calm” part is sounding pretty good. 

Good night!!