A Mental Exercise

Lately I have had fun with an exercise, I believe from Intuitive Eating, which goes something like this:

Imagine that a spell were cast on the world that locked everyone into their current weight. Nothing anyone would do from this time forward would change their weight one iota. Nothing you do will change your weight one single ounce! How would you live life differently?

Scary thought? It was for me, at first, as well. I could not imagine being happy at my current weight, so in my imagination, decades of misery stretched out before me. So sad!

Three years later, the story is different. And, that story in my imagination is much, much closer to my reality.

I eat freely, and in a way that feels good. I don't deny a hungry tummy the food it needs, and I rarely overfill it (and when I do, it's only by a smidge, no more pants-unbuttoning, uncomfortable belly!). I eat a variety of foods as my body requests them, from the 'healthy' foods to the 'fun' foods.

I move for the sake of moving and because I like how my body feels. My goals are different--to have strong legs, to go cross-country skiing, to have fun.

I buy and make clothes that fit me, right now. No more buying things that are too tight with the goal of fitting into them! No more denying myself clothes because I am too fat to deserve them! No more trying to hide or disguise the real me! And no more do I feel, after trying on something that doesn't work, that my body is the problem. Now I know it's the clothes.

I stop seeing myself through others' eyes, or my imaginary picture of others' eyes.

I love my physical self. I see all the positive things about my body now. It's strong and sturdy, with nice, dense bones, and curvy and sexy and it takes me where I want to go and it does what I want it to do.

What does your picture look like? What would letting go of the number on the scale set you free from? What richness could be added to your life?

Painless Research Projects

I bought a book today! I tried to buy it locally but my favorite bookstore said they couldn't order it. It's pretty rare that I find a book at the library that I like so much that I have to have my own copy even though I know one lives across the street from me! In any case, www.half.com has plenty of copies available at nice prices.

I already own three of Barron's "Painless" series and I think they are very handy. Research Projects is written mainly for grades 7 through 9 and is fun reading like the other Painless books I have looked at. It begins at the beginning with picking a topic and runs through various sources to use including the internet and personal interviews. It takes the traditional note-card approach and has a section entitled, "Think-Don't Copy!" which will most definitely be helpful. Organization, rough drafts and editing, and bibliographies are also covered. Appendix C includes links to websites designed to jump-start the student's interest in a topic.

I have been looking for some 'school' projects for the summer, and this will guide us through one. Brandon is finishing up the 9th grade but this book really could serve as a basis for research projects all the way through high school, in my opinion.

If you have used any of the Painless series, please post a review in Comments--I am sure more people than myself would appreciate it!