Spreading Your Wings

***Originally posted in lifeinthespectrum.com.

I fall down when I walk. All. The. Time. Either my feet are mysteriously surrounded by unusually dense air or there is some kind of invisible trip wire system perpetually in my midst. These are the only viable possibilities as there appear to be no other culprits for my non-existent level of grace. Yes – having the inability to walk normally is yet another fabulous piece of the rockstar package that is Jo.

Given that the whole “one foot in front of the other” gig has proven to be a strangely complicated task for me, the idea of spreading my wings to give the wind a try is more than a little daunting. Admittedly I’m speaking metaphorically here, but I fall flat on my face in the figurative walk of life, too.

I worry about failure. About rejection. About judgement. I’m afraid that my time and effort will be wasted. That my words will fall flat. That I will flop. That I will crash.

These concerns afflict countless people. We focus heavily on endless negative “what if” scenarios that we conjure in our minds. Taking it a step further, let’s actually imagine what would happen if those worrisome maybes actually did turn into realities?

In the vast majority of cases, the world would keep turning, and life would go on anyway. Our personal anxiety or embarrassment would be a mere blip on other people’s radars and would quickly be forgotten. In the meantime, we would likely learn a lesson or two (or five), and we would then be that much wiser when taking a revised approach in another attempt down the road.

So what’s your worst case scenario? What if it (whatever your “it” might be) doesn’t work out the way you hope? What if you don’t succeed? Can you keep going? Does life go on for the rest of the world?

If we can say yes to those questions, (and in the universe of chasing your dreams, we almost always can), then we are our own obstacle.

You must overcome your fear of falling if you ever want to soar. Maybe we will find ourselves flopping back to the ground if we attempt to fly, but we definitely won’t be able to rise up if we aren’t even willing to try.

If you fall, you fall. But then you get up, you keep going, and you never ever stop trying.

Don’t allow fear to chain you down or keep you from sharing the beautiful gifts you were given. We are compelled to spread our wings for a reason, whatever those wings may be.

It’s time to release the fear, look to the skies, and give those divine beauties a run. ❤️

Big hugs to you all. Jo

***Originally posted in lifeinthespectrum.com.

Trying to Achieve Keto While Facing Low Carb Challenges for a Picky Eater

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This is me when I believe that my salad has feta cheese but I take a bite of goat cheese instead. Bleh!

Although I have been more consistent at sticking with a lower carb lifestyle than all past attempts, my recent stumbles are definitely starting to catch up with me. Please note that I said “lower carb” because “low carb” didn’t feel totally honest.

Don’t get me wrong. I really am trying very hard, and my food choices have been exponentially better on average.

But…

Drastically cutting back your food options can be extremely frustrating when you are a picky eater. I haven’t figured out how to move past my daily menu consisting of meat, eggs, cheese, nuts, nut flour, a bite or two of fruit, and veggies (which I still really don’t love) (or even like) (I basically dislike them for the most part).

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I found the bread above and these sugar-filled fantasies located along my path between the meat, cheese, and veggies. That’s a stone cold move you made you naughty pretend health food store.

I go absolutely bananas (ironically I can’t have those either) when I walk into the healthy eating grocery store and am bombarded with aisles of sugary temptation. I have found and created a few sweet alternatives of my own, but sometimes I JUST WANT THE DAMN CAKE.

The good news / bad news is that whenever I throw glycemic caution to the wind, my body quickly reminds me why consuming carbs and sugar is a foolish move. In truth I am grateful for the physical payback because it stops my motivation from fizzling out into nothingness.

The positive side is that I can confirm that my sweet carby cravings have substantially decreased. The phrase, “I want something sweet” was once a daily mantra for me, but it doesn’t really exit my mouth or even cross my mind too often now. I have also learned that it’s worthwhile to keep a little prepared protein available to avoid poor snap decisions that lead to the feeding frenzies and subsequent sugar crashes.

So even though I feel a bit frustrated today, I know that it is getting better. I am getting better. I just wish that I was naturally drawn to more foods that would never land on the Children’s Menu list.

If you have faced and survived low carb menu boredom and protein overload, I would love your tips. You inspire me to keep trying and keep researching options. I can do this. I am sure of that. It’s just nice to have partners and friends in the process. 🙂

Best wishes to all!  Joanna

***Much love to Julie at https://juliehcares.com/ for the support and ideas. I so appreciate the tips you have given me and the website referral for keto cooking. Also ginormous hugs to my darling friends at https://itrippedoverastone.com/ and https://playamart.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/who-me-passionate-about-nature/. You inspire me with every word you write. Truly. 🙂

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