April 9, 2010

Keep It Simple Sweetheart

Awwwwww!

I have always loved the acronym K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, sweetheart. Think about it for a second. When we succeed at simplifying our life, we are being kind to ourselves, being affectionate to our soul. Yes? :) And, simplicity is what Losing My Behind is all about....I just don't do complicated anymore.

So this post is a simple treatise on simplicity itself. Especially when it comes to food and being healthy. And, because it just shouldn't be so hard to love ourselves.

Truth is simple.

First, we all want our weight loss to be permanent. And, there are lots of "experts" out there, devising their proven plans, popular programs, and savvy systems . . . and I honestly believe that for most of them their intentions are honorable and good.

But, some of them are sooooo complicated. I love a good challenge, but nothing irritates me more than unnecessary busy work and making something simple into something complicated.

Second, no ONE way of losing weight is right for everyone. We have different affinity's for the method to our madness....DNA if you will. Nobody should ever deny their own natural bent. There is simply too much tasty food in this world to live our lives eating stuff we don't like.

This is why I find it difficult to subscribe to any ONE program out there. It's not that I'm not serious, I am EXTREMELY determined to reach my goals. It's just that nobody knows my body better than me.

And third, we all lead very busy lives...careers, family, home, friends, recreation, community...and the last thing we need is a diet program that requires hours of training! It's one thing to learn what constitutes a healthy diet, and quite another to have to learn point values, percentages and grams of this or that.

I've tried all that, and honestly, I have never thought about food so much as when I am engaging in all those food activities. Obsession is what it is. At least for me.

The goal in getting healthy, both physically and mentally, is to NOT be obsessed with food, and yet so many programs require such a sharp learning curve that all you do is think about food. Somehow that just doesn't seem right to me.

So, I subscribe to the K.I.S.S. philosophy.
Keep it simple sweetheart. Here are some phrases I've heard around the food world that help me keep the highway to healthy eating simple, sane and ultimately doable:

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." - Michael Pollan
"If it doesn't come from the ground or have a mother, don't eat it." -unknown
"Stop renting weight loss." -Pat Barone
"If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution." -unknown
"Moderation in all things." -unknown


What do you think of these statements? And, what simple, to the point, easy to implement food advice have you heard or, better yet, implemented in your own life? Please share your sage advice in the comments!

Simply me,
Cheryl

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

6 comments:

  1. I gotta say that I hate the last one! It works for some people, but not for me. I cannot handle moderation. Maybe someday, but not now.

    Two I love:

    Nothing tastes as good as being thing feels.

    Being overweight is hard. Dieting is hard. Choose your hard.

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  2. Excellent post, Cheryl! There is nothing as easy as losing weight, if we let it be that way. In all my years of experience losing weight and teaching others, I have come to believe we pick the hard and frustrating way because we are, deep down, scared to be thin and powerful in our lives.

    Our minds enter the picture and mess "simple" up. I bet everyone who reads your post will respond at first with "But..." or "Although..." or "In my case..." - just signs of the mind at its sabotaging work.

    Like I always say, "The mind is a terrible thing to the waist!"

    Relax, let the mind go. And just do what ya gotta do.

    Pat Barone, CPCC, PCC
    "America's Weight Loss Catalyst"
    www.stoprentingweightloss.com

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  3. WOW. If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution. I LOVE that. what a great post!

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  4. Definitely...great post! And love the quotes. I'm going to add them to my weight-loss inspirations & motivational words! Another one that impacts me (because faith is important to me) is 1 Cor. 6:19-20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." Convicting!

    PS - I LOVE the K.I.S.S. principle. We used to use it in ministry at TreeHouse...though we attributed the last 'S' to 'Stupid'. 'Sweetheart' is SO much nicer!

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  5. great post! thanks for the inspiration as always! one saying i love to remember is this..

    What you eat in private..shows up in public.

    I have a tendancy sometimes to sneak in eating or pig out more when no one else is around..or get that bag of chips and just eat right out of the bag when im by myself..i would not do that around others!! and sure enough, the pounds add up and show right up!!!

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  6. You guys all inspire ME! And the idea of being scared to be powerful that Pat talked about....yeah, I think I relate to that. Getting behind our thinking, knowing what's motivating our actions is so key. Why DO we sneak food when nobody's around? What we think drives our actions whether we, ummm, think so or not. ;)

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