Yup. I’ve gone and run headlong into a stubborn setpoint. These obstacles appear about every five pounds or so. I’m considering doing an intermittent fast tonight in an effort to bust through it. Man oh man, losing weight after 50 is no joke! It was sooooo much easier five years ago in my mid 40’s. Yet, I am knocking on halfway to my goal of 190, so I’m encouraged to press on. It will help if I stay out of the beer aisle! So many empty calories…
Zero+; Sixer ; M: 107 ; C: 70 ; P/U: 70 ; W : 3.5 mi
Health R.O.S.
- Weight: 212.5
- BMI: 28.7
- Fat %: 22.0
A Visit to the Beer Aisle
Last night I went to the supermarket and made it a point to visit the beer aisle. Being in the presence of all of that ice cold beer is quite tempting and a gauntlet to navigate. The beer aisle is the full length of a standard grocery aisle, but it can feel 100 miles long at times. On one side is a wide selection of spirits (whiskey, vodka, tequila, gin, and the like) and on the other, a sprawling, seemingly endless, beer refrigerator.
Strange as it sounds, I went out of my way to visit the beer aisle because I was curious how my body would physically react to it.
A big part of mindfulness training is exploring where thoughts and emotions manifest in your body. So despite not needing anything in this section of the store, rather than avoid it, I made the conscious decision to not only go out of my way to visit the beer aisle, but to be fully present while there.
Avoiding confrontation maintains peace, but not when your peace is comprised of fear.
– Anon
Confronting Mindfulness
I felt a bit of anxiety as I approached the beer aisle and liquor section more generally. Once I arrived, I slowly pushed my shopping cart past the myriad ice cold IPAs, stouts, pilsners, lagers, ciders, etc; admiring the selection as I went.
Then, suddenly, about halfway down the aisle, I became aware of the sensation of saliva building up in my mouth. I had begun drooling like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Except, unlike as I’ve written previously, this time it was beer causing response instead of pot. I don’t recall that ever happening before, but it’s possible I simply never noticed it until that moment.
So although my drive to drink is lessening over time, there still appears to be a strong visceral and involuntary physical response to being in the presence of so much beer and alcohol. This is an incredibly useful realization! Mission accomplished.
Having found what I sought in the beer aisle (the physical manifestation of emotion), I smiled and continued on with my shopping. There’d be no beer in the forecast for the rest of the day.
The Four Agreements
During my morning hike, I contemplated The Four Agreements. Since I first read this book nearly two years ago, I’ve created the habit of repeating the agreements every morning at the beginning of my walk.
They are:
- Today, I will be impeccable with my word.
- I will take nothing personally
- I will make no assumptions
- I will do my best
But this morning I decided to make some slight modifications to The Four Agreements to better adapt them to and integrate them into my mindfulness training.
The revised agreement are:
- Today’s word will be impeccable to myself & others
- There is no “I” to take anything personally
- There will be no assumptions
- There will be only joyous exertion
As I’m a huge fan of The Four Agreements (I’ve read it no fewer than six times), I wish to continue to incorporate its recitation into my daily routine and mantra. But I felt to stay connected to them, “I” needed to remove the “I” and with it the negative emotions of anger, jealousy, envy, hate, and fear. After all, if there’s no “I”, who is there to be angry, jealous, or fearful?
Today: I’m feeling “Lucky”.
Whenever we feel the emotions of anger, jealousy, envy, or hate, we experience a fire burning within us. We are living in a dream of hell. If you consider hell as a state of mind, then hell is all around us.
Don Miguel Ruiz – The Four Agreements
