The Thought Compass
A very cool tool to decrease your doubt and indecision about diabetes care, No Weight Loss Required!
It is the New Year, and if you are like me, you are filled with both the hope of a new beginning and the pile of UFOs1 from 2023. Getting out of this funk and figuring out how to start takes some time. This article explores a tool called the Thought Compass as a way to map out how to manage your blood sugar; no weight loss is required!
The feeling of ambivalence is like gasoline on doubt and uncertainty. The negative mind finds fault and tells stories that assume everyone knows what to do and where to begin. This sense of being alone triggers internalized weight stigma that can pull you back to dieting. Why? Because diet culture is everywhere in diabetes care.
You know, deep inside, that being afraid and worried doesn’t work. Yet being afraid of being ‘fat’ is how diet culture motivates you. You go from being afraid to being hypervigilant, which feels like action. Yet, you can’t focus on yourself 24/7, which is why dieting has never worked in the past. If you just had a “But…” fill your mouth, spit it out. That is diet-culture countering your rational mind. That “But” might sound like, “But there was this one time when I lost …”. Yep, and in three months, what happened? The weight was regained, wasn’t it?
Ambivalence is a hard feeling to verbalize. Society has made it seem like you have to understand everything that is happening. This illusion is the outcome of watching curated lives that have HAPPENED and not the slow, unknown reality of life as it unfolds.
Currated lives are PAST TENSE, not present tense.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE watching a good transformation show on TV, and personally, I am attracted to design shows. I mean, who doesn’t love watching a homeowner who has a $100,000 budget to decorate three rooms? It isn’t my life, but it is entertaining in that I can’t relate to any of these decisions, sort of way. Yet, I cling to the idea that my counters are free of clutter, that my kitchen is organized (and stays organized), and that the cute objects that are displayed will never need dusting.
If you are still clinging to the idea of dieting, that is okay. I cling, you cling, we all cling because clinging and attachment are part of the human experience. It is a radical act not to cling to youth, health, and beauty, and I rejoice if this is your deepest desire. If it isn’t, that is okay because you are here, reading this newsletter, curious about what it would mean if good diabetes care had no weight loss required! That curiosity is so beautiful that I am almost without words! Maybe you crave changing your relationship with food, appreciating your body, or eating a balanced diet. Deciding how to start takes some time. If you would like to work with me individually, you can via Nourish. You can also check out the January 7 Sunday Coffee episode, where I talk about using the DEPC approach to change.
I did promised you a very cool tool to decrease your doubt and indecision about diabetes care, and I will deliver! So, cue the drum roll as I introduce you to The Thought Compass. This video shows how the Thought Compass will move you out of doubt and indecision.
Remember to give yourself SPACE and GRACE. In the next few issues, I will talk more about OUTCOMES, but for now, remember that there are lots of things we don’t have direct control over, including our hunger, food cravings, blood sugar, stress, diet and if the home design show picked an attractive tile for the bathroom! (Insert eye roll - because they almost never do!)
Please share this issue with a friend or on social media.
There are many non-diet healthcare professionals for you to work with, including many at Nourish.
Next issue: Creating conditions for balanced blood sugars. (What are 5 conditions that can help you balance your blood sugar.)
UFO: Unfinished object is a quilting term that I think is fitting!