10 Things I LOVE About You

Hi everyone! 

Happy, NATIONAL LOVE YOUR BODY DAY! 

Why are not more holiday's devoted to positive self image?  And why can we not celebrate this day with a day off to pamper our bodies for everything they have done for us?  Pedicure anyone? 

Unfortunately, I was not able to honor this holiday with a day of relaxation; however, I would like to take a moment to express just how vital I think it is to stop the negative criticisms we place on our bodies and replace all of that with positive expressions with what we DO like about our bodies. 

So here we go….

To my body…..

10 Things I LOVE About You

10. I love the way you give me strength, when I think that I am weak. 

9. I love the way you look in jeans, and bikinis at the beach. 

8. I love you for my big bright eyes, and the gift that I can see. 

7.  I love you for my little nose, that I'm told is "just as cute as can be."

6. I love you for my strong legs, that are give me speed to run. 

5. I love you for my strong heart, that is able to love everything under the sun. 

4.  I love the hands that grace my arms, and their ability to write. 

3.  I also love the way these hands can cook up anything in sight. 

2. I love the way you never left me, even when I treated you poor. 

1.  I love you for making me STRONG, BEAUTIFUL, and CONFIDENT, and the way you always love me more! 

So you may not feel compelled to write an entire poem about yourself as I just did, but please, do tell yourself at least ONE thing that you love about your body today.  You might have the longest eye lashes that every girl would kill for.  Or maybe it's your big beautiful smile that you spent years perfecting with a face full of metal.  Whatever it is, tell yourself this today, and tell it to yourself tomorrow, and tell yourself every day why you love this about your body. 

Now, let's recap the day by sequence of meals starting with breakfast. 

1/4 Cup Raisin Bran, 1/4 Cup Oatmeal Squares, Blueberry Chobani, 1/2 Banana, Blueberries, Flax, Piece of Banana Squash Bread Crumbled with Mighty Maple 

Lunch was leftovers.  The other night, when I made Sprouts and Squash, I made more than enough to ensure leftovers for lunch this week.  I served the rest of my roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash over the rest of my Pumpkin Kasha.  For some reason though, I felt this was not enough fiber, so I added some broccoli and a few cups of spinach.

And then I proceeded to affectionately drizzle honey mustard and fig balsamic over it all. 

I found a bag of Cinnamon Sugar Stacy's Pita Chips in the pantry that was either going in my tummy or the trash as I try to clean out everything for the move this weekend. I decided since I love these so much, my tummy they would go.  Well, unfortunately, they must have been past their prime because they were quite stale. It's funny how packaged food can live in my pantry for over a year but produce doesn't even last a week.  Take for example those grapes, I bought 4 lbs of them this weekend and they are now gone.

When I got back to work, I was feeling slightly off.  I thought it was just due to stress and anxiety so I ignored it and hit the gym after I got off.  1/2 way into my run, I noticed my stomach to turn.  I ran a little longer and then had to stop.  A sudden burst of nausea came over me and I literally had to run to the bathroom to, well you know.  I haven't thrown up in a very long time and immediately felt better after, but I'm guessing something I ate was just not sitting with me and then running on an unsettled stomach just made it worse.

I just couldn't stomach the thought of eating more vegetables or anything heavy for dinner.  But since it was BFD, I still complied with a more delicate dinner.

 Whole Wheat English Muffin with PB and Banana, Cheerios with Almond Milk 

I think for the first time, Toly's dinner actually looked more colorful and nutritious than mine. 

I do love my body, but I should have listened to it today and took those initial signs of feeling "off" as an indicator to take a night off. 

Sometimes, my body knows me better than I think it does. 

Ciao for now!