Yesterday a ton of bloggers had their way with Oprah and her weight (see Mark’s Daily Apple, Jimmy Moore, Grounded Fitness, Associated Press and ME!).  After posting on this I found even MORE bloggers that were inspired to write about the one of the most powerful woman in the world and her waistline. The happiness project took a stab at it and quite possibly my favorite post about the subject (and maybe even one of my favorite posts of all time) came from back in skinny jeans. Read it. Here. and Here. And Here (just in case you missed the first few links). No seriously, it’s awesome. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Read it.

Seriously Oprah, you are one of the worlds most powerful women. You’re saved countless lives, improved thousands of homes, brought crafts and books and cars and happiness to so many people. How is it you feel like a “fat cow?” After reading her actual post I think a lot of people are going to relate to how she’s feeling, and the actual story was really quite interesting. Here’s an excerpt;

“Here’s another thing this past year has been trying to teach me: I don’t have a weight problem—I have a self-care problem that manifests through weight. As my friend Marianne Williamson shared with me, “Your overweight self doesn’t stand before you craving food. She’s craving love.” Falling off the wagon isn’t a weight issue; it’s a love issue.”

No shit? You think that all of this nonsense that so many people are focused on has something to do with self-esteem? Where was Dr. Phil during all of this? Or was he too busy focusing on how he didn’t help Britney to notice that you’ve had a yo-yo dieting issue for decades?

This brings me back. And sometimes it’s good to open the doors to the Delorean and crank it up to 88mph. I went to school for Holistic Health Counseling at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, an amazing school that focuses on what they call primary foods.  I wanted to touch on that a bit today, as self-care and checking your ego at the door seems to be a common theme lately.  For all you seasoned athletes, Melissa Byers touches on this, Kelly at fitness fixation said this a few posts ago, Liz Rosenbaum did it and now all this stuff about Oprah (and okay- back in skinny jeans once again in case you missed it the first few times)…

To be honest, it’s been a rough week for me too. For some reason I just can’t get it together.  I’ve been exercising a bit less which isn’t helping, but I’m being harder on myself than usual. I normally get motivation off of things like self-doubt and self-criticism (as toxic as those two things may be), but this week they just seem to be getting me down. I’m reminded about how I’m no longer a personal trainer (a choice I’m happy I made) but that I’m back to desk work, something I never thought I’d do. I like working with my hands, doing something that involves constant stimulation (not like that) and keeps me moving. I thought about becoming a fire(wo)man, but my boyfriend didn’t really like that idea (which I’m okay with- I don’t think I’d be too stoked if he wanted to be a chef at Hooters either.  Not that I’m relating saving lives with cooking food for frat boys… but I digress).

Anyway- Primary foods. These are the foods that actually nourish our bodies- basically our relationships, spirituality, career, and physical activity. Without these four things in balance it doesn’t really matter what our secondary foods - namely, what we put in our mouth (get your mind out of the gutter) doesn’t matter.

So today I ask you- where is your life in all of these areas? Are you happy in all of them? Focus on the one that is most depleted- can you do something small in the next week to bring it to a better level?

I’m working on mine- and as you probably guessed these are things that can always be improved. Focusing on one area usually makes you realize things about other areas as we are all connected.

I recently had the revelation that I’ve manifested my love for food and white wine (and martinis and champagne and red wine… again with the digressing) from my fear of intimacy. Basically- I eat so I don’t have to socialize and I drink to get rid of those inhibitions.  The two things (food and drink) are a part of my personality like my knack for inappropriate sexual humor- Some revelations are easy, some make you rethink a lot of your decisions.  Since having this revelation I’ve been trying to make sure that I listen to my body (always good) and figuring out whether it’s my internal pressure that wants another glass of wine, whether it’s thirst (and in that case- reach for the water) or whether it really is that I want another glass (or morsel).  I also take note on what’s around me. What can you do?

Oh and by the way, I don’t think it’s coincidence that primary and primal are the focus this week. The root of both words means ‘first’ - which should remind us all of what should come first, YOU.