I see I wrote at Tummy Bug, I Can Control My Perception a post that almost mirrors this week’s experience.  Wednesday night I came down with a little tummy ick that had me down for the count for 24 hours. I think it was really the fact that I’d eaten too heavy rather than a bug, but then I had a fever and chills and sweats all night, so who knows?  The body does all sorts of things when it is ridding the body of toxins.  I also see at Getting to know how my body works that reminds me that I’ve been overdoing it with the Chinese food and chicken & rice again, too.  Hmmm, once or twice a year I see I’ve let myself do that.  I’m glad I blogged about it so I could have a record to learn by.

I find what works best for me is to keep my meals light, with maybe a hearty meal no more than twice a week, and not two days in a row, either. I have to remember that at my age and level of physical activity, I don’t need to have a hearty meal – ever.  That also means separating what I eat from what brings me emotional comfort.  I can’t just sit and mindlessly ingest snacks.  I have to remember that bread and rice moves through my system slowly.  I have to remember that if I eat bread or rice, 5 hours later it is still in my stomach.  That is something to remember if I am going to eat 5 hours later – that my stomach may already be half full even though I feel hungry.

When my system is overloaded, it’s not just that I can pack on some extra pounds, it’s that my body is the vehicle that allows me to move around in this world.  The fuel I put into it determines how easily and how long I can do that.  I wrote at When I’m Healthy, I’m Never Down For Long that when I use food like I use firewood – adding to the fire only the amount of wood that is needed when it is needed – the more easily it is converted to fuel for me, and the more efficiently it burns.  This fuel is what I use to feed ALL of my biological processes – everything, for all organs and body parts, so it’s important.

At the campfire, you don’t pile all the firewood on at once, you add each log as the fire burns down and makes room for it. You can make 8 logs last 8 hours or you can start the fire with all 8 logs. If you stack it all up at one time, you get a big smoky mess that has no air to breathe.  That makes it burn unevenly and then it’s gone in just a few hours.  Same as big meals.  They just clog you up and don’t leave you energy to do the long term work.  The long term work of fueling the cells of your body properly, so you metabolize properly and stay healthy.  Digestion isn’t just about digestion.  Healthy cells also look younger.

I know I set some pretty stringent dietary guidelines for myself.  I know that I can eat anything at all, in moderation.  But I’m not naturally an “in moderation” kinda person, so it’s easiest for me to simply avoid certain foods.  I make myself remember that the reason for eating in the first place is to fuel my next activity, so my food has to contain substantial vitamins and minerals.

I’m grateful for these little reminders the Universe gives me when I’ve gotten off track.  When I eat my daily soups and salads, I feel healthy and nourished and vital and alive.  When I begin eating sandwiches and chicken with rice, I feel slower, I feel less alert, I go into that getting-comfortably-numb stage.  So why do I do it in the first place?

If I feel so much better when I eat right, why do I stray off course?  Because I let myself be tempted by something that I ate for years as a comfort food.  Because old habits die hard.  Because I like the taste of chicken.  Because I want the convenience of a sandwich.

Then I do it the next day and the next, not giving it much thought until the Universe gives me a wake up call and says ENOUGH!

🙂 I’m learning.

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