Feed yourself love

feed yourself like you’d feed someone you love.

Andrea Wachter

It worked

I can’t recall the title of the book. But reading it prompted me to pay attention to my hunger and what my body craved (body, not tongue or heart). Attuned to my senses, I lost about 30 pounds and kept it off for several years.

Until it didn’t

Life changed: full-time job, long commute, a teenager that needed attention. A few pounds crept back. Then menopause released the gates and my body rounded out no matter what I did.

And then

This blog recounted earlier attempts to manage my weight and consequently ignoring the number on the scale. Amazingly, during this pandemic, with reduced physical activity, my eating habits have been all over from ultra-healthy to ultra-comfort washed down with wine but my weight has fluctuated little.

What are we doing to  our daughters?

My heart aches for children, particularly girls, who are developing poor body image and the unhealthy eating habits that will torture them the rest of their lives. So a recent podcast on The Happiness Lab drew my interest when Dr. Santos interviewed Andrea Wachter who has overcome body image issues by treating her body with love.

The greatest is love

Wachter advises women to love their bodies in order to care for them. “How would you feed someone you love?,” she asks.

I want to thank my body today for getting me through 70 years with a few major incidents but nothing life-threatening or permanently incapacitating.

A tribute to my body

Thank you, Body, for giving me three beloved children, interesting travel and activities, and the skills to develop several careers and hobbies.

I appreciate that my body let me thrill to the final sprint of a three-mile jog, survive the Fiery Furnace of the Arches, climb the ladder to the Mesa Verde Pueblo, swim in the ocean, zip line in Alaska, run for the bus in Chicago, discover the magic of yoga, etc. etc.

When I am hungry, Body, I promise not to consult a diet book. I will feed you with love.