If You Would Just Listen

Much along the lines of my Embrace the Blah post. I need to stop and listen.

I over did it last night. I knew when I ordered that I was not making wise choices. I wasn't even that hungry - but I wasn't listening to my body. And so today, I'm banging my head against the wall. When, oh when, will I learn to take a moment to listen?

I'm such a hypocrite! I probably told my son a million times to "listen to your body" when we were potty training. And I'm not even doing it for my own body.

My body tells me things when I take the time to listen:

It tells me that sometimes eating sweets really makes me feel kind of sick after the fact.

It tells me that soda isn't satisfying - except for the burn down my throat.

It tells me that I'm not hungry just because the clock says it's dinner time.

It tells me that I want something healthy when I'm looking for a junk food to satisfy.

It tells me that several of the foods that I crave - really aren't that yummy / enjoyable.

It tells me that when I move, I have more energy to keep moving.

And this morning - when I took a moment to just stop and breathe and listen. I was reminded of the reward for listening. When I embraced the silence, I hear this crackling noise. It was very soft so it could have easily been overpowered by movement. But in stillness it was very clear. And upon looking into the mirror - I found a huge blob of moose sitting on my ear. See, listening can help to avoid all sorts of things - being overweight, health problems getting out of control, or embarrassing moments on days that you are planning to be in front of a group.

I promise, to listen more to you - body. And then I promise to try to be better at following through with your requests.

Are you listening to your body / practicing mindful eating?