Vanquishing the Binge and 30 days of yoga

When I was losing the majority of my weight, I stuck to a low-fat diet. If a sandwich, breakfast, dinner, or snack item had more than a few grams, I stayed far, far away.

You can see where this is going. Around 4 PM, like clockwork, I would find myself standing in my parent’s pantry, shoveling peanut butter, nuts, cookies, and chocolate into my mouth like some sort of possessed animal. At the time, I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I berated myself endlessly for not having ‘self control.’

Now I know what was wrong. I was starving by 2 PM because I didn’t have any FAT in my diet.

Usually, my oatmeal has a giant glob of nut butter on it, or some sort of nuts mixed into it in order to keep me full until lunchtime. It usually does an awesome job; i don’t feel even the slightest urge to eat until around noon or 1:00. But when I do get hungry, I make sure to pack my lunch with fat in order to be sated until at least 4:00 or even past that time into dinner. Lately, I’ve gotten so good at this, my afternoon snack isn’t big at all unless I’m going to yoga or plan on doing my cardio in the afternoon (I usually work out in the morning but with my new class schedule, that isn’t always possible).

I give to you: The Wrap Monster.

That would be a lavash wrap filled with I think, on this day, hummus, avocado, black beans, and salsa. Lots of healthy fats and protein. With a side of asparagus and salsa, this was the perfect lunch. I believe I also ate an apple as a ‘lunch dessert.’

Don’t be afraid of fat. It’ll keep you full longer so you won’t feel the urge to clean out your fridge at night, it helps you digest important fat soluble vitamins that you won’t digest if you’re not eating fat, and also it’s got amazing beauty properties too. When I eat more fat, my skin looks great, my hair feels thicker and shinier, and my nails grow a lot. Although I think I need to incorporate a bit more Greek yogurt into my diet again, especially now that summer is coming and my oatmeal bowls won’t be very conducive to hot weather.

This February, I’m trying to commit to doing at least one branch of yoga a day. Keep in mind that the asanas, or postures of yoga, is only one of six branches of the overall practice. The six branches are:

Bhakti: yoga of devotion, or seeing the Divine in everything.
Raja: the meditation path.
Jnana: The wisdom path.
Hatha: the physical path. This is the path I usually take.
Karma: The path of service.
Tantra: the path of ritual (this is where the phrase ‘tantric sex’ comes from, however sex is not the whole of this path!)

There are also eight limbs of yoga (it’s confusing, I know). Those are more dedicated to the mental and lifestyle practices: Yamas (your overall attitude), Niyamas (your treatment of yourself/others), Asanas (the poses), Pranayama (breathing), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses, turning the gaze inward), Dharana (Concentration) Dhyana (Meditation), and finally if you do all of that you may reach Samadhi (Enlightenment).

Of course, it’s all a process. There’s no way that I’ll reach Samadhi in this lifetime, let alone this month. But it’ll be a fun challenge. I did yoga four days this week but I had to take yesterday off because I was so sore! I ended up doing the gym, and will continue my practice at home today with a podcast off iTunes. I just wish I had a space heater. 😦

Vanquishing the Binge and 30 days of yoga

Published by The Curious Ally Cat

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