The Good Girl's Weight Loss Secret

A couple of years ago I lost about 15 pounds. It was a noticeable weight loss on my 5'4" frame. I lost count of how often I was asked how I did it. I usually vaguely replied that I had been sick with some stomach thing. Secretly I was tempted to give them the actual reason and say it in my chirpiest voice: "Why, it's crippling depression....but I don't recommend it for everyone." There was an irony that the time in my life when I got the most compliments was also the darkest. Friends, acquaintances and even strangers seemed almost eager to tell me how great I looked.

At any other time fitting into a smaller size would have made me very happy. However, I was the most miserable that I had ever been in my life. My marriage fell apart as we were approaching our tenth anniversary. I went into a depression that seemed to envelope me. Every day was endless and insurmountable. Everything seemed meaningless, especially food. I just couldn't eat. My appetite was gone. I lost weight without intending to. Spend entire weekends in bed without hardly getting up and exist on an English muffin a day and you can, too. Not the right way to shed pounds by any stretch of the imagination.

I read with interest Barbara's very honest posting of struggling to make sense of why bad things happen (What Matters). Her faith gave her the strength to see that sometimes life doesn't make sense and there's no logic with tragedy. My experience showed me that some times life can just suck. And then when you think it can't suck any worse, somehow it does. I would feel like I had fought my way out of a deep dark hole only to have the ground give out underneath me and fall right back down.

It took a long time to fight my way back to "normal." I discovered a strength and support system I didn't know I had. It still moves me to tears the compassion I found in my friends and family.

The weight came back on eventually, plus a little more. And I was okay with it. I thought it was part of the healing process, proof I was getting better. My emotional health seemed more important than my jean size. It's a lesson I always keep close to remind myself when weight concerns creep in. We are so much more than the numbers on the bathroom scale or on our clothes. Those numbers don't define us, don't represent who we truly are. Where our bodies curve or don't curve doesn't reflect what is in our hearts and in our minds. Numbers are only important if we make them. My happiness doesn't depend on my waist size. It comes from within and no arbitrary number should take that away.

THE ART OF SLEEP

Barbara Ward-Finneran

It's no secret that the busier you get in your life the more your "night's" sleep suffers.  So often even when exhausted and ready to call it a night, you can't get your mind to turn off.  Or, you are so sleep deprived that dozing off isn't the problem.  It's practically instantaneous if you hold still for more then ten seconds.  But then, something wakes you during the night.  It doesn't even matter what it is but now you are awake and tossing and turning.  Mind racing stuck in a "think".  Stuck with the thoughts racing through your head like cars on  a LA freeway. Stuck with stress whether awake or trying to sleep. It's a wicked cycle.  You need  more sleep to be more productive and yet being more productive creates stresses that disrupt sleep.

You don't have to be a genius to figure out that lack of shut eye can have negative effects on your health.  The question therein is, how does one balance all that needs to be done and still get enough sleep to ward off the laundry list of negative side effects of a sleep deficit like; weight gain, memory loss, mood swings, increased risk for heart disease, etc... the list goes on and on.

Scoring the right amount of sleep is crucial to your well being.  It refreshes the mind and is essential for good health.  Many studies recommend 7-8 hours of sleep for adults. In our hyper busy round the clock world is it any wonder that most of us don't hit that mark?  Is the key actually sleeping more or stressing less?