Here I am again – with a cup of coffee starting my day. As I wrote yesterday, it has been a while since I’ve wanted that soothing cup to start my day. I woke up again with heavy thoughts. The 1st and 2nd Amendments to the US Constitution are indeed heavy subjects. We are living in frightening, unsettling times right now. Since I was a young child, I’ve used food as my drug of choice. I didn’t realize it then, but I now understand that I’ve struggled with emotional eating for most of my life. In recent years, I’ve gotten it under control primarily through awareness and mindfulness. We can’t fix anything unless we are aware or as “they” say: you can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. Typically my reaction to the stress and emotion of uncertainty I’ve been experiencing this year would be to eat a cheesecake. An entire cheesecake. I’m not doing that now. Instead, I’m feeling healthier, than I have for quite a while.

You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. You have to be aware of what is broken before you can start the process of fixing it.

I’m aware that eating a cheesecake would have been my go-to response, and I’m equally aware that I have no real desire to do that. Instead, I’m drinking a cup of coffee and eating a protein chip cookie and will soon head to the gym to ride a stationary bike and do some strength training. The feeling of being healthier and lighter in body and spirit feels so much better than drugging myself with cheesecake. Maybe exercise is my new drug. I think it may be. I’m aware of that and I roll that thought around in my mind to see how it feels. It feels OK. It feels good, but I’m also very much aware of my need to keep myself balanced. Too much of a good thing is still too much. March – June I let myself get out of balance, I did too much. I was vaguely aware of it at the time, but it felt so good I kept doing it. Walking outdoors in the fresh air which is so meditative to me. Walking 5 – 9 miles a day, every day, up hills, down hills on pavement that wasn’t forgiving to my feet, and my always in a state of sprain right knee. Our bodies are ultimately in control and mind said: NOPE! That’s enough. After a week of barely being able to walk down my hallway, I have myself in better balance with my exercise. I exercise for the health of it because I can. I don’t take it for granted. I exercise my ability to improve my body, mind and spirit. Exercise truly is medicine. Dosage. It’s all in the dosage.

Two books that I recommend to my coaching clients are: “When you Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull up a Chair” by Geneen Roth and “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think” by Brian Wansink, Ph.D. I highly recommend that you give them a read. Awareness is power.

Stay HEALTHY. Be STRONG. Get AFTER It!