Isn’t this picture pretty?  It was taken by my husband on Wednesday at City Lake here in the town where I live.  It is peaceful and serene, a Taoist vision.  I enjoy Taoist philosophy.  Basically what Taoism teaches is that there is a peaceful harmony between earth and heaven, and the inhabitants of earth can find this harmonious state within themselves simply by knowing what is and accepting it.  “Is” is defined as the way things are naturally.  That’s what Tao means, “the way.”   There is a famous Chinese painting called the The Vinegar Tasters.  In the painting, three men stand around a vat of vinegar tasting it.  The three men represent the three prominent philosophers that have influenced China:  Confucius, Bhudda, and Lao Tzu.  The expression on each man’s face reflects his impression of the vinegar, which is symbolic for the essence of life.  Confucius’ expression reflects how sour the vinegar tastes.  To Confucius, life was sour; his world out of kilter with the past, so Confucius taught that life should be rigidly structured and ruled to keep man in line with the respected ancestors.  Bhudda’s expression shows that life was bitter to him.  He felt that the world was full of attachments, which caused men to suffer needlessly.  He urged men to move beyond the earthly attachments and desires so that they could be happy, but this happiness was constantly interrupted by the earthly desires, thereby causing men to spend much of life in misery.  Lao Tzu is smiling as he tastes life’s elixir because he knows that life is guided by natural laws, not the laws of man, but the laws of the universe.  As long as man recognizes life and its ways and does not try to disturb the natural laws of the universe, then he will be at peace, and life will taste very sweet.

I’ve been thinking today about the tao or the way of dieting.  I believe there is a natural way for each of us to achieve a healthy weight, and that way may not be the same for everyone.  I have been struggling trying to mold myself into a number of diet plans although I swore I wouldn’t diet again, and I’ve been basically unsuccessful.  I’ve been working on my thoughts because I know my thoughts control what I do, and what I’ve been doing hasn’t recently been successful for me.  This past week, I finally decided to quit trying to mold myself into what works for someone else, and go back to what works for me.  When I lost the 60 pounds last year, I cut way back on carbs and ate mostly lean meats, eggs, some cheese, and a lot of fresh or fresh frozen low carb vegetables.  I used more olive oil than butter and basically stopped using margarine.  I ate low carb wraps for lunches or salads with meat and a little cheese, and for dinner I had lean meat and vegetables.  I stopped craving sugar because I wasn’t eating sugar.  And because I wasn’t eating other starchy things and few fruits, I was really satisfied with my meals.  If I got hungry in between, no problem.  I just ate some more lean protein and low carb vegetables.  This worked for me.  It wasn’t hard.  I wasn’t struggling.  I didn’t feel deprived.  Others might have tried to convince me that their way was better for me, and I might have even tried their way, but when it comes down to it, this way works for me.  I feel energized and my mood is even, and I feel happy.  I think that is because I have recognized and appreciated the laws of the universe, the natural laws, that work for me.

This past week, starting on the proverbial Monday, I went back to that way of eating that worked for me in the past.  I took the time to prepare foods that I could enjoy and prepare relatively easily because I don’t often have a lot of time to prepare my meals when I’m working, especially the days when I have day and night classes to teach.  So, for breakfast, I ate turkey bacon and scrambled Better Than Eggs with green peppers sauteed in olive oil if I had time, or if I didn’t, I ate a couple of ounces of Kraft LiveActive natural cheddar cheese.  For lunch, I ate leftover chicken with leftover broccoli one day, and the rest of the week I ate a big salad with greens and cukes and fresh tomatoes and chicken and a little cheese.  I used Ken’s Lite Oriental dressing, which has sugar, but not enough to worry about, because I love the flavor of the ginger and soy sauce in it.  For dinner I had the same as for lunch: lean meat and low carb veggies.  I really love cucumbers in vinegar, and this time of year is the perfect time for enjoying those.  For snacks, I packed celery sticks and reduced fat string cheese.  I love the crunch of the celery and the mild flavor of the mozzarella.  I drank plenty of flavored waters.  I really enjoy the natural lemon ones.  Monday I probably ate more than any other day this week because I felt hungry from the sugars still being in my system.  Tuesday I was irritable as I continued my second day of sugar withdrawal.  But by Wednesday, I was sleeping better and feeling happier and calmer and had a lot more energy.  Usually, I am exhausted by Thursday evening, but not yesterday.  I had a lot of energy, and I thought that I might not be able to sleep, but when I settled down and turned off the light, I went right to sleep, sleeping soundly until morning.  I don’t sleep very well when I’ve eaten a lot of sugar and high carb foods.  I’m back to good, sound slumbers again.  And guess what?  This morning, I weighed 291, down from 299 on Monday morning.  I know it’s a lot of fluid gone, and probably only a little fat, but eventually, the losses will be all fat just the way they were last year when I was eating this way.  The body holds water when it is in distress.  So, the release of excess water lets me know that my body is feeling better in case I couldn’t tell.  I can tell, believe me!

So, what does this show me?  What lesson can I learn from this?  (And Taoists do believe in learning lessons.  And if we don’t learn the lesson we need to know in order to live peacefully, we’ll just keep getting the lessons!)  I learned that my body doesn’t cope very well with a lot of high carb, sugar laden foods.  Others’ bodies may thrive on those foods.  Mine doesn’t.  Others may find a strict, calorie counting way of eating the way to go.  I don’t do well with that.  Others may eat strictly every 3 hours no matter what because that is what works for them.  I don’t have to do that in order to be successful.  I just have to know how my body responds and what works for me, and pay attention to that.  And most of all, be thankful for that.  Being appreciative of what works for me is a real key in me being satisfied in following what works for me.  Being appreciative is an important part of being able to smile in this life and not having to be bitter or sour. 

Deb