i have benn waiting for today to arrive so i could go to the addicition meeting that my church sponsors every sunday and thursday.
but due to the winter strom, church itself was canceld and so was the counceling sessions.
ill have to go thursday.
i am an addict to food. and i need to learn how not to be an addict to it any longer.
MICHELLE
one womans struggle to lose weight and discover her inner beauty. one day at a time.
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Monday, January 15, 2007
Sunday, January 14, 2007
E-INSPIRATION: THE "I CANT" FUNERAL
occassionly as i root thru all my emails i find one that has a special sigifigant meaning to me in one area or another of my life. as i find those that i feel are about the SELF and the EMPOWERMENT of said subject, i want to include it in this blog.
to inspire not only myself, but those of you whom read along in my life struggle.
this was in todays emails, and i felt it appropriate to share as i often get caught up in the phrase myself: "i cant".
as part of the LIFE-CHANGING direction im choosing to take, i have to adopt the new phrase: "I CAN, I WILL".
enjoy:
THE "I CANT" FUNERAL
Donna's fourth-grade classroom looked like many others I had seen in the past. Students sat in five rows of six desks. The teacher's desk was in the front and faced the students. The bulletin board featured student work. In most respects it appeared to be a typically traditional elementary classroom. Yet, something seemed different that day I entered it for the first time. There seemed to be an undercurrent of excitement.
Donna was a veteran small-town Michigan schoolteacher only two years away from retirement. In addition, she was a volunteer participant in a countywide development project I had organized and facilitated. The training focused on language arts ideas that would empower students to feel good about them and take charge of their lives. Donna's job was to attend training sessions and implement the concepts presented. My job was to make classroom visitations and encourage implementation.
I took an empty seat in the back and watched. All the students were working on a task, filling a sheet of notebook paper with thoughts and ideas. The ten-year-old student closest to me was filling her page with "I Can'ts."
"I can't kick the soccer ball pass second base."
"I can't do long division with more than three numbers."
"I can't get Debbie to like me."
Her page was half full and she showed no signs of letting up. She worked on with determination and persistence.
I walked down the row glancing at students' papers. Everyone was writing sentences, describing things they couldn't do.
"I can't do ten pushups."
"I can't hit over the left-field fence."
"I can't eat only one cookie."
By this time, the activity engaged my curiosity, so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on. As I approached her, I noticed that she too was busy writing. I felt it best not to interrupt.
"I can't get John's mother to come in for a teacher conference."
"I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car."
"I can't get Alan to use words instead of fists."
Thwarted in my efforts to determine why students and teacher were dwelling on the negative instead of the positive "I Can't" statements, I returned to my seat and continued my observations. Students wrote for ten minutes. Most filled their page. Some started another.
"Finish the one you're on and don't start a new one," were the instructions Donna used to signal the end of the activity. Students were then instructed to fold their papers in half and bring them to the front. When students reached the desk, they placed their "I Can't" statements into an empty shoe box.
When all of the student papers were collected, Donna added hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door and down the hall. Students followed the teacher. I followed the students.
Halfway down the hall the procession stopped. Donna entered the custodian's room, rummaged around and came out with a shovel. Shovel in one hand, shoebox in the other, Donna marched the students out of the school to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to dig.
They were going to bury their "I Cant's!" The digging took over ten minutes because most of the fourth graders wanted a turn. When the hole approached three-foot deep, the digging ended. The box of "I Cant's" was placed at the bottom of the hole and quickly covered with dirt.
Thirty-one 10- and 11- years -olds stood around the freshly dug gravesite. Each had at least one page full of "I Cant's" in the shoebox, three-feet under. So did their teacher.
At this point Donna announced, "Boys and girls, please join hands and bow your heads." The students complied. They quickly formed a circle around the grave, creating a bond with their hands. They lowered their heads and waited. Donna delivered the eulogy.
"Friends, we gather today to honor the memory of "I Can't." While he was with us on earth, he touched the lives of everyone, some more than others. His names, unfortunately, has been spoken in every public building - schools, city halls, and state capitols and yes, even The White House.
We have provided "I Can't" with a final resting place and headstone that contains his epitaph. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, "I can, 'I will' and "I'm going to Right Away.' They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps someday, with your help, they will make and even bigger mark on the world. May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."
As I listened to the eulogy I realized that these students would never forget this day. The activity was symbolic, a metaphor for life. It was a right-brain experience that would stick in the unconscious and conscious mind forever.
Writing "I Cant's," burying them and hearing the eulogy. That was a major effort on the part of this teacher. And she wasn't done yet. At the conclusion of the eulogy she turned the students around, marched them back into the classroom and held a wake.
They celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn and fruit juices. Donna cut out a tombstone from butcher paper. She wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and put RIP in the middle the date was added at the bottom, "3/28/80."
The paper tombstone hung in Donna's classroom for the remainder of the year. On those rare occasions when a student forgot and said, "I Can't," Donna simply pointed to the RIP sign. The student then remembered that "I Can't" was dead and chose to rephrase the statement.
I wasn't one of Donna's students. She was one of mine. Yet that day I learned an enduring lesson from her.
Now, years later, whenever I hear the phrase, "I Can't," I see images of that fourth-grade funeral. Like the students, I remember that "I Can't" is dead.
Copyright © Phillip B. Childs
Executive Director, Internet Outreach Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia
All Rights Reserved
Submitted by: Harry Updegraff, Jr.
i find as a human, and it is a human fault, that we limit ourselves by our thinking.
my mother would have loved this story, she would have kept it printed in a folder or a file somewhere and when i myself, or her grandson daniel, or a client she had ever went into the mind-set of "i cant" shed have reminded us of this story and its impactful meaning.
so, to honor her, i am dedicating this to her memory.
mom, you impacted my life in more ways than you realize. you were a hard woman to love, but everyday is filled with your presence in my actions, thoughts and deeds. i am who i am..because you were who you were.
thank you, i love you and always have..and forever will
MICHELLE
to inspire not only myself, but those of you whom read along in my life struggle.
this was in todays emails, and i felt it appropriate to share as i often get caught up in the phrase myself: "i cant".
as part of the LIFE-CHANGING direction im choosing to take, i have to adopt the new phrase: "I CAN, I WILL".
enjoy:
THE "I CANT" FUNERAL
Donna's fourth-grade classroom looked like many others I had seen in the past. Students sat in five rows of six desks. The teacher's desk was in the front and faced the students. The bulletin board featured student work. In most respects it appeared to be a typically traditional elementary classroom. Yet, something seemed different that day I entered it for the first time. There seemed to be an undercurrent of excitement.
Donna was a veteran small-town Michigan schoolteacher only two years away from retirement. In addition, she was a volunteer participant in a countywide development project I had organized and facilitated. The training focused on language arts ideas that would empower students to feel good about them and take charge of their lives. Donna's job was to attend training sessions and implement the concepts presented. My job was to make classroom visitations and encourage implementation.
I took an empty seat in the back and watched. All the students were working on a task, filling a sheet of notebook paper with thoughts and ideas. The ten-year-old student closest to me was filling her page with "I Can'ts."
"I can't kick the soccer ball pass second base."
"I can't do long division with more than three numbers."
"I can't get Debbie to like me."
Her page was half full and she showed no signs of letting up. She worked on with determination and persistence.
I walked down the row glancing at students' papers. Everyone was writing sentences, describing things they couldn't do.
"I can't do ten pushups."
"I can't hit over the left-field fence."
"I can't eat only one cookie."
By this time, the activity engaged my curiosity, so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on. As I approached her, I noticed that she too was busy writing. I felt it best not to interrupt.
"I can't get John's mother to come in for a teacher conference."
"I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car."
"I can't get Alan to use words instead of fists."
Thwarted in my efforts to determine why students and teacher were dwelling on the negative instead of the positive "I Can't" statements, I returned to my seat and continued my observations. Students wrote for ten minutes. Most filled their page. Some started another.
"Finish the one you're on and don't start a new one," were the instructions Donna used to signal the end of the activity. Students were then instructed to fold their papers in half and bring them to the front. When students reached the desk, they placed their "I Can't" statements into an empty shoe box.
When all of the student papers were collected, Donna added hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door and down the hall. Students followed the teacher. I followed the students.
Halfway down the hall the procession stopped. Donna entered the custodian's room, rummaged around and came out with a shovel. Shovel in one hand, shoebox in the other, Donna marched the students out of the school to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to dig.
They were going to bury their "I Cant's!" The digging took over ten minutes because most of the fourth graders wanted a turn. When the hole approached three-foot deep, the digging ended. The box of "I Cant's" was placed at the bottom of the hole and quickly covered with dirt.
Thirty-one 10- and 11- years -olds stood around the freshly dug gravesite. Each had at least one page full of "I Cant's" in the shoebox, three-feet under. So did their teacher.
At this point Donna announced, "Boys and girls, please join hands and bow your heads." The students complied. They quickly formed a circle around the grave, creating a bond with their hands. They lowered their heads and waited. Donna delivered the eulogy.
"Friends, we gather today to honor the memory of "I Can't." While he was with us on earth, he touched the lives of everyone, some more than others. His names, unfortunately, has been spoken in every public building - schools, city halls, and state capitols and yes, even The White House.
We have provided "I Can't" with a final resting place and headstone that contains his epitaph. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, "I can, 'I will' and "I'm going to Right Away.' They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps someday, with your help, they will make and even bigger mark on the world. May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."
As I listened to the eulogy I realized that these students would never forget this day. The activity was symbolic, a metaphor for life. It was a right-brain experience that would stick in the unconscious and conscious mind forever.
Writing "I Cant's," burying them and hearing the eulogy. That was a major effort on the part of this teacher. And she wasn't done yet. At the conclusion of the eulogy she turned the students around, marched them back into the classroom and held a wake.
They celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn and fruit juices. Donna cut out a tombstone from butcher paper. She wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and put RIP in the middle the date was added at the bottom, "3/28/80."
The paper tombstone hung in Donna's classroom for the remainder of the year. On those rare occasions when a student forgot and said, "I Can't," Donna simply pointed to the RIP sign. The student then remembered that "I Can't" was dead and chose to rephrase the statement.
I wasn't one of Donna's students. She was one of mine. Yet that day I learned an enduring lesson from her.
Now, years later, whenever I hear the phrase, "I Can't," I see images of that fourth-grade funeral. Like the students, I remember that "I Can't" is dead.
Copyright © Phillip B. Childs
Executive Director, Internet Outreach Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia
All Rights Reserved
Submitted by: Harry Updegraff, Jr.
i find as a human, and it is a human fault, that we limit ourselves by our thinking.
my mother would have loved this story, she would have kept it printed in a folder or a file somewhere and when i myself, or her grandson daniel, or a client she had ever went into the mind-set of "i cant" shed have reminded us of this story and its impactful meaning.
so, to honor her, i am dedicating this to her memory.
mom, you impacted my life in more ways than you realize. you were a hard woman to love, but everyday is filled with your presence in my actions, thoughts and deeds. i am who i am..because you were who you were.
thank you, i love you and always have..and forever will
MICHELLE
CRAIG FOUND 2 DIET BOOKS HE HIMSELF OWNED
in the 2 other blogs i have, i have mentioned we are moving from one home to another right now, and as we are, craig looks in every box, to see whats in them.
yesterday he came into the livingroom as i was checking emails, and handed me 2 books he has had himself.
FAT BURNING FOODS and other weightloss secrets & FOODS THAT CAUSE YOU TOO LOOSE WEIGHT 2 while you watch tv.
i asked WHY he even had these books to begin with. he has almost NO fat whatsoever and youd never look at him and think he ever thought he needed to loose any weight. hes as skinny as a rail, and im not exagerating. my hubby is VERY skinny.
his reply?
"i wanted to know what foods i could eat besides chessy poofs and beer and still be lazy."
LOL
typical batchelor. :-)
before i came along he existed on frozen dinners, chesse puffs, and an occassional beer.
all of that has been let go of...theres no room for any frozen dinners in our freezer, we have a single top freezer-type fridge.
cheese puff wouldnt last long in the house with a 12 year old, so we dont do any junk-type foods.
and beer...well, thats history as well. he officially gave it up when he joined my church.
both of these books have recipes, ill post as i come to them. so be looking for that in the near future.
so, i have them along with the other DIET books i have in my possestion now. just 2 more to add to the list. im growing a HEALTHY recipe book collection like he has NOVALTY cooksbooks from tv shows and actors and such.
not sure WHY he has these cookbooks, hes not a cook. just another collection he has, i suppose.
at anyrate, i have 2 new books to paruse thru now...sometime after i move ill have those recipes in here.
if your reading this via DIGEST: if you know of any really awsome, HEALTHY recipes, dont hesitiate to share them with my group. right now i have 10 ppl in each group...and many of us are looking for a healthier alternative to the eating habits we already have.
share share share!!!
MICHELLE
ps-
i went looking for images of the books online and found that there is a companion book to FAT BURNING FOODS, called: FAT BURNING COOKBOOK
...and another book, althogether seperate from these 2 called: FAT BURNING BIBLE.
yesterday he came into the livingroom as i was checking emails, and handed me 2 books he has had himself.
FAT BURNING FOODS and other weightloss secrets & FOODS THAT CAUSE YOU TOO LOOSE WEIGHT 2 while you watch tv.
i asked WHY he even had these books to begin with. he has almost NO fat whatsoever and youd never look at him and think he ever thought he needed to loose any weight. hes as skinny as a rail, and im not exagerating. my hubby is VERY skinny.
his reply?
"i wanted to know what foods i could eat besides chessy poofs and beer and still be lazy."
LOL
typical batchelor. :-)
before i came along he existed on frozen dinners, chesse puffs, and an occassional beer.
all of that has been let go of...theres no room for any frozen dinners in our freezer, we have a single top freezer-type fridge.
cheese puff wouldnt last long in the house with a 12 year old, so we dont do any junk-type foods.
and beer...well, thats history as well. he officially gave it up when he joined my church.
both of these books have recipes, ill post as i come to them. so be looking for that in the near future.
so, i have them along with the other DIET books i have in my possestion now. just 2 more to add to the list. im growing a HEALTHY recipe book collection like he has NOVALTY cooksbooks from tv shows and actors and such.
not sure WHY he has these cookbooks, hes not a cook. just another collection he has, i suppose.
at anyrate, i have 2 new books to paruse thru now...sometime after i move ill have those recipes in here.
if your reading this via DIGEST: if you know of any really awsome, HEALTHY recipes, dont hesitiate to share them with my group. right now i have 10 ppl in each group...and many of us are looking for a healthier alternative to the eating habits we already have.
share share share!!!
MICHELLE
ps-
i went looking for images of the books online and found that there is a companion book to FAT BURNING FOODS, called: FAT BURNING COOKBOOK
...and another book, althogether seperate from these 2 called: FAT BURNING BIBLE.
Friday, January 12, 2007
I CREATED 3 GOOGLE GROUPS..and a public THANK YOU to DEB!!
last night (when i couldnt sleep) i was up and rooting around inside this blogger site looking for the area that feeds the email posts to the ppl i have selected to read this blog journal.
and i found i had to create a GOOGLE GROUP in order to do that.
so, i did.
DEB, an LDS friend of mine i know from the net, but feel ive known all my life...i believe were kindred spirits. has accepted the invite and joined the google group!
wanted to tell her publicly, THANK YOU!
so, deb, my sister..in more ways than you can realize, THANK YOU for the support in the deccission to join the group and recieve the email digests of the posts i submit to this blog.
this blog is a personal one.
and its an introspective one.
in here i will dig deep, and talk openly about those demaons i am facing daily.
in here will be news and subject matter of all kinds related to the persuit of weight control.
articls about proceedures, recipes, and thoughts and ideas of all kinds.
alot of hopes are in this blog-journal. and alot of raod-blocks and defeats as well.
thank you for being willing to walk this path with me. it wont be easy. and ill want to quit..ALOT of the time.
ill cry in here, and express alot of frustrations in here.
all im asking is for you to be there. this is like climbing a rock, with little to know strength, or knowledgeof how to do it. all the liturature cant teach you a thing, only expirience can. and im at tthe bottom of the cliff....looking up, and im scared to death.
dont hesitiate to share, encourag, send uplifitng notes, easy recipes....any and all things to motivate and help this struggle.
alot of us, whom i have asked to join in my struggel, are also..struggling with thier own rock walls too. what you share, may help another in this small group.
as i mentioned i have 2 other google groups as well: one about me-persoanl entries of how i view my life and world, and then one about the family and OUR events of life as they happen and occur. if you need a resend of those emails to joj them, let me know.
this is only 1 part of the entire person i am.
again, DEB, THANKS SO MUCH!!
love ya!
MICHELLE
and i found i had to create a GOOGLE GROUP in order to do that.
so, i did.
DEB, an LDS friend of mine i know from the net, but feel ive known all my life...i believe were kindred spirits. has accepted the invite and joined the google group!
wanted to tell her publicly, THANK YOU!
so, deb, my sister..in more ways than you can realize, THANK YOU for the support in the deccission to join the group and recieve the email digests of the posts i submit to this blog.
this blog is a personal one.
and its an introspective one.
in here i will dig deep, and talk openly about those demaons i am facing daily.
in here will be news and subject matter of all kinds related to the persuit of weight control.
articls about proceedures, recipes, and thoughts and ideas of all kinds.
alot of hopes are in this blog-journal. and alot of raod-blocks and defeats as well.
thank you for being willing to walk this path with me. it wont be easy. and ill want to quit..ALOT of the time.
ill cry in here, and express alot of frustrations in here.
all im asking is for you to be there. this is like climbing a rock, with little to know strength, or knowledgeof how to do it. all the liturature cant teach you a thing, only expirience can. and im at tthe bottom of the cliff....looking up, and im scared to death.
dont hesitiate to share, encourag, send uplifitng notes, easy recipes....any and all things to motivate and help this struggle.
alot of us, whom i have asked to join in my struggel, are also..struggling with thier own rock walls too. what you share, may help another in this small group.
as i mentioned i have 2 other google groups as well: one about me-persoanl entries of how i view my life and world, and then one about the family and OUR events of life as they happen and occur. if you need a resend of those emails to joj them, let me know.
this is only 1 part of the entire person i am.
again, DEB, THANKS SO MUCH!!
love ya!
MICHELLE
LDS CHURCH OFFERS ADDICITION SUPPORT..how cool is that?!?!
i had a really good day at church sunday (soory this is such a late post).
it was an average day, but i felt really good about the day as a whole, especially after i got done with the joint mens and womens meeting.
the speaker that was present (i cant remember his name now) was addressing the congregation about addicition. he was mentioning that there is now a 12 step program set up in the steak center for addicits.
i have been thinking about joining one as i am addicited to food and i know i am.
i was slightly dismayed as he was opening his speach, i assumed hed bypass food as an addicition, because its not really concidered one..to most ppl anyway.
as he began to list the various addicitions the support group covers, food addicition was the first he listed!
meetings are sunday and thursday nights. im going to attend, i need to. im an addicit. im concidering attending the sunday evening sessions.
when i came home i looked online for any OVER EATERS ANONYMOUS groups i may be able to attend as well in my area. the only one within the city im residing in meets on thursdays at noon. in the main city, they have a varied time and day schedule set up for nearly every day of the week.
im not very familiar with the programs routine, and never concidered myslef an addict until i was confronted with the reality i am morbidly obese.
i have watched myself eat when i am not hungry, ill eat for any to no reason. i just eat. and im not sure WHy i do it.
food, IS my friend, and i need to find a new one. the food groups i choose to hang with isnt a good friendship to keep having. its destructive, and harmful.
im like a crack-addict looking for the next hit all the time. when theres food around me, i try to avoid it, but it calls my name..asks me to eat it, enjoy it, be a part ofits lifestyle.
no matter what i try....im still a prisoner to the urge.
i really need help in this area, and these groups may offer some.
MICHELLE
it was an average day, but i felt really good about the day as a whole, especially after i got done with the joint mens and womens meeting.
the speaker that was present (i cant remember his name now) was addressing the congregation about addicition. he was mentioning that there is now a 12 step program set up in the steak center for addicits.
i have been thinking about joining one as i am addicited to food and i know i am.
i was slightly dismayed as he was opening his speach, i assumed hed bypass food as an addicition, because its not really concidered one..to most ppl anyway.
as he began to list the various addicitions the support group covers, food addicition was the first he listed!
meetings are sunday and thursday nights. im going to attend, i need to. im an addicit. im concidering attending the sunday evening sessions.
when i came home i looked online for any OVER EATERS ANONYMOUS groups i may be able to attend as well in my area. the only one within the city im residing in meets on thursdays at noon. in the main city, they have a varied time and day schedule set up for nearly every day of the week.
im not very familiar with the programs routine, and never concidered myslef an addict until i was confronted with the reality i am morbidly obese.
i have watched myself eat when i am not hungry, ill eat for any to no reason. i just eat. and im not sure WHy i do it.
food, IS my friend, and i need to find a new one. the food groups i choose to hang with isnt a good friendship to keep having. its destructive, and harmful.
im like a crack-addict looking for the next hit all the time. when theres food around me, i try to avoid it, but it calls my name..asks me to eat it, enjoy it, be a part ofits lifestyle.
no matter what i try....im still a prisoner to the urge.
i really need help in this area, and these groups may offer some.
MICHELLE
Sunday, January 7, 2007
E-POEM: TWAS THE DIET AFTER CHRISTMAS
T'was The Diet After Christmas
T'was the day after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---
I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
"Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie -- not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
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