Ep 0144 – Getting Over Hard Times and My Reaction to Oprah

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Here I am ready to have a little chat with myself down at the podcast rock.

Podcast Recap

I let go of assuming good things are always hard, share snippets and comments from BCs Dawny, Amy from WI, Josephine and Stéfanie from Quebec. I ponder my take on Oprah Winfrey’s oft-quoted comment about acceptance of herself when over 200 lbs. I read an excerpt from my blog post about the spaced out time warp I experienced in Vegas while attending a live concert by The WHO.

Laurie putting on her mic under the tree over the podcast rock

Getting ready to record day 144

Mentioned

Last show and comments

Dawny’s comment from day 143

BC Josephine’s support of Dawny

BC Josephine’s reply to Stéfanie from Quebec

BC Josephine’s support of Mark’s fun pronunciations

Stéfanie from Quebec’s comments and support for Dawny

Amy from WI’s comment and list of 5 things she’s good at

The New York Times Article where Oprah was quoted

My blog post and YouTube video links for The WHO concert Mark and I saw in Vegas

Our Social Media TAG is #CODBCS

Ways to support the show financially

Credits

Host: Laurie Weaver

Main Theme: I’m Letting Go by Josh Woodward from The Simple Life Part 1 Used by permission of Josh Woodward under a Creative Commons License

Dun Dun Dun! Sound used in Laurie’s Letting Go segment used under a creative commons license by copyc4t via freesound.org

What? Sound used in Laurie’s Letting Go segment used under a creative commons license by yugi16dm via freesound.org

Comments box:

7 thoughts on “Ep 0144 – Getting Over Hard Times and My Reaction to Oprah

  1. Dawny

    Another lovely episode. I’m so glad the birthday festivities were enjoyable.

    Omg life is as crazy as ever…. stressful. Buying a house. And not possessing a trait of being patient. Ugh. I will say that I’ve been told I move faster than most at getting things done. Now my waiting is ultimately in the hands of everyone else.

    Fortunately thru this process I’ve learned that I CAN eat to thrive n survive n not live to eat lol. And that even when times are crazy I make the healthier choices. Being constantly on the go lately it seems (even if only mentally) my obsessions have gone by the way side, I’m eating when in hungry, enough to satiate and moving along. It’s awesome sauce!! For me!!! This is a huge revalation for me.

    At this point I need to accept I’ve done all the parts I have control of, and I need to stop bothering people over things they can’t control either (agents, loan people etc) and just wait. “They” keep telling me trust the process. Ugh. I’m not very trusting. Lol. Or fond of processes. And when I want something I want it now lol. During the inspection on the to be new the bathroom drain is broken, this is preventing my clearance for the funding, I was trying to just fix it. My gawd. 10 minutes and a pipe wrench, I didn’t have either. Pout pout pout. I have to wait. Ugh. Calm down dawny you can do it

    Thanks for the ramble, and the yet another awesome episode Laurie

    Reply
    1. Laurie@CompulsiveOvereatingDiary Post author

      HooRay for being able to figure out eating with the stress of home purchasing. HUGE accomplishment my friend. That pesky control is something that can be such a challenge. I so relate to the “just let ME take care of it” feeling. Feel proud my friend, you are coming through! xoxoxox

      Reply
  2. Stéfanie Lepage

    I read the article. Good read.

    Negative emotions also have physical conséquences… anger trait, for example, is strongly linked to high blood pressure, cholesterol, and strokes. If dieting may improve our health, we also need to be reminded that a diet mentality can induce anxiety, dépression and low seld-esteem which also hurt our bodies (and our mind too). I guess it’s all about balance…

    Stéfanie xx

    Reply
    1. Laurie@CompulsiveOvereatingDiary Post author

      Wow, I REALLY love your thought about this article.

      If dieting may improve our health, we also need to be reminded that a diet mentality can induce anxiety, dépression and low seld-esteem which also hurt our bodies (and our mind too)

      This is an idea I had not considered before, but I totally get that this was part of why I was bothered by the whole “I can’t accept myself over 200 pounds” thing. Diet mentality and the focus on food and size has been such a robber of my joy. A famous saying in English is ‘Nothing tastes as good as thin feels”. But I’ve been thin, and I can truthfully say, “Thin doesn’t feel as good as freedom from Food Focus”. I have so very recently truly come to understand that in my journey, food is meaningless. It is all about learning to identify, accept, let go and/or deal with emotions. My overeating and binge eating and diet focus were 100% the coping method I internalized from a young age, so to me, this was as natural as breathing. When my focus is on life and on dealing with the emotions, the food takes care of itself and my body feels great. This is challenging for me, because of the ingrained behaviors. But my friend, I am finding more success as I let go of food from my mind. This is a great hope and joy for me. When eating for non-emotional reasons, I do not overeat, I don’t want more than my body wants or a taste is enough to satisfy an urge. It is kind of exciting. Now my body is not a measure for how tightly I hold onto a diet plan, but rather, how much progress I am making on the emotional front. I know this sounds like what I’ve been saying for a few years, but I am just now internalizing this truth, and it makes all the difference. I may or may not speak more about this idea next show, but thanks again for adding to my understanding with your comments. xoxoxox

      Reply
  3. Dave G

    Hi Laurie and BC’s,

    My life has been so busy I have fallen behind in the podcasts.

    I think the Body/Fat acceptance movement has gone way to far off track.

    It was originally about not judging fat people, nor abusing yourself because you are fat.

    Now it has almost become: It is OK to be fat even if you are unhealthy.

    The truth and meaning of fat acceptance, as I believe is and should be: I love and accept me as I am, I love and accept you as you are. I/we/you want to be healthier, stronger, and live to to my/our full potential, there is always going to be room for grown and improvement, however I am We are You are good enough right now, we are lovable and worthy of love. I

    Wherever I/We/You are in this journey called life is OK. Wherever you are going in this journey is Great. At whatever speed I/We/You are traveling to your goals is good enough.

    Laurie and all BC’s new and old, I love you and appreciate you just the way you are.

    Reply
    1. Laurie@CompulsiveOvereatingDiary Post author

      Hi Dave, Thanks for these illuminating comments which revved up my pondering engine. 🙂

      I think your point about body acceptance is pretty interesting. Does ‘accepting’ yourself mean giving up? For some, that might be at least, the resting point of the exercise. For me, I don’t think so. My views are that each of us should follow our path in the best possible way for us. One can be healthy at a larger percentage of body fat than what is accepted as the norm – likewise, a seemingly slender person can be very unhealthy.

      In addition, I got a new lesson last night, because two of my very slender voice acting friends were comparing notes on how to gain weight. They felt cursed by their inability to retain fat and their difficulty to build muscle. They are naturally very slight – they would say skinny. My mind went almost immediately to ‘oh, how SAD for you to be effortlessly slim,” but then I really listened. These two expressed the same kind of thoughts about their lack of worth, because of how they see their bodies.

      I view this journey to acceptance to be about integrating our bodies into our value – not creating our value from our bodies. I see you as a champion at this, because you are demonstrating self-love and acceptance by taking your body out for disc golf and bowling and not waiting for ‘someday” when you are at the size you would prefer to live your life and explore new adventures.

      So many of us have been hiding – both under our layers, and under the belief that our bodies aren’t worthwhile. As has been hammered into me this last year, we never know the number of our days, so waiting for someday means we are missing out on what would give us joy and purpose in this moment.

      I’m also reminded of my first day in Weight Watchers the time I lost my large amount of weight. I got weighed in and was devastated by my number. Another lady came in after me, and yelped with glee. By coincidence, we weighed the same – but she had worked for over a year to lose the hundred pounds she needed to get to my starting point. That number meant everything to her. People seeing her from the outside would see an obese woman. People seeing her spirit would see a champion.

      I also laugh about the number of hikers I meet on the trail who ‘encourage me’ that I’m almost to the top of the mountain, not realizing how many times I’ve climbed it, nor that I can often beat their hiking speed if I felt like it. They see an overweight woman and assume this is new for me. So part of me is happy for their reaching out to me in a positive way, but the snarkier part of me gets pissed about the assumptions they make. But in the end, I try my best to accept the positive and let the snark go (still a challenge).

      Body acceptance is such a hot topic for me – which means that I, myself, am not ok with it yet. Because I’ve found that when I am very secure in myself about something, nobody can shake me and I laugh it off. If my button gets pushed, it’s my belief that needs work. Hmmm, this is a very interesting idea for me – so thank you again, dear Dave, for sending me off on this adventure of self knowledge. xoxoxox

      Reply
      1. Dave

        Accepting ourselves where we are is and exciting journey and it will be challenging at times (what in life worth doing isn’t. Challenges can be life affirming too). That being said Laurie you have made lots of progress since the beginning of the podcast, I hear it in,your voice, I see it in the new journeys (voice acting) you are taking.

        When it comes to loving and accepting yourself you are succeeding and are doing good enough. I know you will endure to the end, because you believe there is always room for growth.

        Xoxoxo

        Reply

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