It's Comforting

Today I am comfort eating. I know I am, I'm not hungry - if anything I feel a bit bloated - but I just can't stop myself.  After a slightly upsetting little event (nothing serious), I am consoling myself with food. I know it's comfort eating by what I'm fancying - chocolate ice cream, pizza, wine.  I rarely eat things like this (nothwithstanding the wine of course).

It's only lunchtime and I've eaten 12 Fat Pills already.  I need to stop and now as I've got no spare 'weeklies' left to cover any over-indulgences.

I am struggling, so I consulted the cards for advice.  The deck I'm using today is my favourite Tarot of Ceremonial Magick.  This deck always gives me very, very strong, powerful readings - and I need all the strength I can get today.

The card I drew (randomly of course) - the Queen of Cups - corresponds with the zodiac sign of Cancer; she represents a very loving, romantic, emotional woman. A very kind, caring person.  Think Princess Diana - both strengths and weaknesses - and that's the Queen of Cups.

So, the cards are telling me to get control back of my emotions (Queens are generally in control in some way).  So, I need to get control of what I am feeling in order to stop the comfort eating.  As long as what I'm upset about remains a problem in my eyes, then the eating will continue. So, tackle the root cause and the eating will resolve itself.

This little problem isn't insurmountable. I can't change what happened so I need to just get over it as they say.  And it certainly isn't worth gaining tubbies over at my next weigh in.  The comfort eating isn't even making me feel better, so I need to replace it something that does.

***Light Bulb Moment!***

Yesterday I bought some new make-up which, in the event, I didn't get to use. So - I think I'll go and put some of it on now as I'm going out with friends this afternoon. The new make-up will make me feel better in myself, and will also keep my itchy little fingers out of the fridge.

Queen of Cups (or queen of something) here I come!

Beating the Wine Fairy

This post is a day later than I promised my Tubby Town friends as I went out with the Wine Fairy last night.  There are some very brave ladies in Tubby Town who have formed on-line abstinence groups. I'm not sure I'd go that far but I do need to get better control and rein in the wine a bit sometimes.

I love the new Tubby Tacklers system, but it does punish you on wine - which is worth 6 Fat Pills for a 250ml glass.  You'd think that that fact alone would be enough to make us cut back, but you know how it is - once the bottle's opened....rude not to finish it - right?

So, I'm going to ask the cards to give us some insight into why we do this, and what we can do to change. 

And what better tarot deck to use than the Alcohol Tarot - yes, there really is one.  It still has a full set of 78 cards made up of major and minor cards, but the suits are different types of drinks rather than traditional suits.  I have corresponded them with card (tarot and playing) suits and the elements as follows:

Spirits:   Wands     Clubs         Fire
Wines:    Cups       Hearts       Water
Lagers:   Swords   Spades      Air
Beers:     Disks      Diamonds  Earth

First of all, I looked at why we do this

Card 1: Our Conscious Mind, 7 of Spirits

This card is about fighting off adversity and threats to oneself and ones stability. This is the card of knowing and recognising the Fat Pills damage that wine, beer and cider can do. It's the card where we are in control and 'we're just going to have one'.....we know this one well, right?  It all starts off with good intentions.

Card 2: Our Unconscious Mind, 9 of Spirits

This is what really does the damage, this is the 'almost there' card. It's where we have been striving for something and have almost achieved it.  This is where we've been good all week and so tell ourselves 'just one more' won't hurt, and then one becomes another and another and another and before we know it we've sunk a bottle of wine and opened the next one.  This is the card that tells us that because we've done so well we can afford to do this.  It isn't even a conscious decision, it's our unconscious mind working. And that's why we are doomed to stay in the 'almost there' of the number 9 cards and never quite reach the completion offered by the 10s.

So what can we do about it?  I set out some cards asking for advice from the Alcohol tarot, and laughed when I turned the following cards over.  The cards just never lie, they really don't.

First of all, these are all major cards - indicating an issue of great importance to us Tubby Towners.  Secondly, these were all drawn randomly, I didn't choose any of these - but they say it all.

Card 1, The current situation:  The Drunken Fool.
Ha! ha! ha! say no more.  The Fool generally can go rushing headlong into situations without thinking.  Sometimes it's about being a free spirit and experiencing life's wonders and new things, other times it's pure foolhardiness, and I think it's fair to say that's what happens when the Wine Fairy gets us.

Card 2, What needs to be developed: The Magician
Depicted in this deck as the barman (of course), the Magician tells us that we have the knowledge and tools at our disposal to be anything we want to be, and do anything we want to do and make anything our own.  The Magician card means it's up to us to 'make it happen' and take things where we want them to go. It's a very powerful card and a good indicator of us making a success of things.  But the message of the Magician is - WE have to make it happen.

Card 3, What needs to be avoided: Death
Depicted here as 'the toilet bowl of death' - lol! The particular image here says it all doesn't it?  Don't overdo it lest you find yourself there. Normally the Death card represents unavoidable change and transformation, in this position here that means don't wait to take action, don't wait for events to drive you - take control yourself, and do it now.

Card 4, Where you're heading: The High Priestess
Again, the depiction here made me laugh, that's us - wine glass in hand, partying away, and thinking how good our dancing is after a few glasses. Ha! ha! ha! And of course we look absolutely ridiculous don't we?

Well, the cards have certainly spoken here. Not only is alcohol generally high in Fat pills, but we end up looking silly and of course regretting it the next day. So my lovely Tubby Towners, today's the day to take back control. It doesn't necessarily mean abstinence, but it means paying more attention to the Conscious Mind (the 7 of Spirits above) and don't let that Unconscious (9 of Spirits) mind take over.

Cheers!

Finding Your Lost Mojo

This reading is for the lovely ladies in my Tubby Town club who posted on-line today about their lost mojos and struggling to find it again.  Here's some guidance from the tarot on how to get your mojo back.

To do this reading I decided to use the lovely Vanessa tarot deck, which is very cute, quite girlie and modern. Very appropriate for our lovely mojo ladies.  This is the message from my tarot cards for you today:


I shuffled the cards and drew 5 at random in the following order:

What to concentrate on: King of Cups



The King is a 'court' card and these represents people or their characteristics.  Kings stand for completion, reaching the pinnacle of a situation. Cups represent emotion, love, feelings and also creative / intuitive energy.   This card is telling us to imagine how we will feel when we achieve our goal.  We need to remember where we are trying to get to and re-focus on it.  This seems to have been forgotten recently.



What to let go of:  7 of Swords
The 7 of Swords is often referred to as the 'deceit' card, and this fits perfectly here - deceiving ourselves that:
The extra glass of wine won't hurt...
Just one more chocolate bar will be fine...
I'm ok counting my points in my head...
Leftovers and crumbs don't have points...
or the famous "I'll start again tomorrow".....and when tomorrow becomes today then there's the next tomorrow to start again...

Interesting that this particular card came up in this position, reinforcing what we already know - what we need to do, or rather - stop doing.


Which card most closely resembles me at the moment: 3 of Swords
This card is commonly associated with unhappiness, pain, sorrow, dark moments.  Another truth from the cards. Losing our mojo is a horrible feeling, that loss of control often accompanied by despair and frustration - sometimes also a feeling of helplessness.  The 3 of swords has to be acknowledged and confronted.  Let it go and move on. Sometimes this card can be saying that it's time to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take back control.




What's holding me back: Page of Coins
Pages are also 'court' cards, but are the younges and represent ideas, embryonic situations or characterstics.  Coins are associated with money, material and practical matters, and in terms of timelines are a very slow-moving suit.  What is holding us back here is intention, represented by the Page, but not backed up by action. Thinking about things to much and not doing anything about it.

What can push me forward:  Queen of Swords
The Queen of Swords, another 'court' card, is very clever and intelligent; she also cuts through the crap and can be quite ruthless when she wants to be.  We need her drive, determination and single-minded approach to get going again. In other words, what can push us forwards - is ourselves and our will to succeed.


So there it is lovely mojo-seekers.  The message from the tarot is that we need to:

• Remember and focus on our goal
• Stop deceiving ourselves
• Stop feeling sorry for ourselves
• Stop thinking about it and start doing it
• Take back control, and be single-minded about it.

With thanks to TABI (Tarot Association of the British Isles) for the spread used.

Plateau!

Well, I have been pretty good since I re-joined the Tubby Town club in January, but the past 3 weeks the scales haven't been shifting.  A lesser woman would cave in to chocolate, but not me. I have my friends Will Power and wine to console me!

I've been measuring myself and I am losing inches though.  There's a pair of jeans that I lived in from mid last year up until recently that are just too big now.  So I am making progress even though nothing is showing up on the scales.

What is my problem?  One that many will envy me I know - tarot-wise, it's the 10 of Cups.  I am really, really happy.  The 10 of Cups cards represents the ultimate relationship, family and domestic bliss.  I am too chilled and so my adrenalin and metabolism just aren't speeded up enough.

It was my card last year, and is my card for this coming month (April) in 2011.  I'm not arguing with the 10 of Cups. 

But I'll take this card with a slower weight loss any day rather than the devastation that The Tower brings to one's life, albeit often accompanied by a big, fat (oops, sorry for pun) weight loss.

Here's hoping for a better result on the scales at Tuesday's reckoning day.  I'd like a Tower on the scales, but nowhere else in my life please!

Boredom

Today I am bored.  That's fatal for a dieter.  That's a road that leads to snacking city.  I've got lots to do but don't feel like doing any of it.

What guidance from the cards?  Today I was drawn to a deck that I don't use but that seems to reflect my mood - the Mandala Astrological tarot deck.

My card for today:  The Princess of Swords.

This card can be about cutting through the crap, clearing out the old so that things can be seen clearly.  I have been getting this card a lot recently, even when reading for other people and I think it's trying to tell me something.  My tarot friends sensed a need for me to get rid of something, a need to change in some way. 

The Princess often means a sweeping change.  Well, this is true - the diet has done that.  I'm eating lots of fruit and my wine bill has shrank considerably.

So if I've made changes already, why get this card today?  A reminder to keep up the good work perhaps?  Not to slip back to old ways, especially as it's weigh day tomorrow and I don't want the scales quiver in fear as I approach.

Then I was drawn to look for a more inspiring Princess of Swords image, and so selected the one from the Golden Dawn Ritual tarot.  Aha! So this is the real message perhaps.  Is this me when I've lost a bit more weight perhaps?  Ok, dream on.......

What Type of Dieter Would This Be?

Today I thought I'd draw a card and ask "If this tarot card were a dieter, what type of dieter would they be?...." 

I shuffled today's guest deck - Sharman-Casselli - and drew a random card, The Tower. 

The Tower is a major card and is generally associated with sudden, abrupt, unexpected and often destructive change.  You can see this from the images in the picture on the card.  The sort of change it might represent could be, for example, a spouse announcing out of the blue they want a divorce, unexpected redundancy etc.  This card is often greeted with some foreboding, as it's so often associated with an unwelcome and often life-changing event.

What type of dieter does The Tower represent?    Answer:  The one with a Self-Destruct Button. 

What the Self-Destruct Button dieter does:  The Tower dieter has been doing really well, sticking to the programme, resisting temptation and then suddenly, out of the blue and for no real reason starts binge eating and drinking and undoing all the good work they've done so far.  This is followed by a feeling of "Well I've messed it up so far, so I might as well carry on bingeing."

The Diet Lesson for today from The Tower card:

We've all had our "Tower" moments at some point.  The lesson from The Tower is that sometimes the destruction is necessary in order to rebuild and move on.  In the case of the Self-Destructing (Tower) dieter, pick yourself up and dust yourself off, don't carry on Self-Destructing, draw a line under the binge, get over it and move on (get back on track).

Good Luck!      *puts unopened wine bottle back in the fridge for later*

Now is the Time Four......

Today's post is being sponsored by the card Number 4.


I chose the 'Now' card from my Psycards deck to represent today, and that Now is the moment to get a grip on this diet. Then I realised it was also card number 4, and this is number 4 year - 2011 = 2+0+1+1 = 4.  So maybe this year is finally the year I get down to seriously trying to losing weight.

After a 3-month break from this blog (and the diet) and half a stone and a broken foot later, it's back to business seriously now.  I signed back up with Tubbie Town yesterday and so far have stuck to my allowance, even with a night out last night. 

So today I look to the number 4 for inspiration.  In tarot, card 4 is the Emperor which is about being in charge - one of a dieter's biggest struggles.  Food (or in my case wine) beckons and tempts us, making resistance hard. 



For further inspiration from the Number 4 here are the other corresponding number 4 cards in the Psycards deck:

Father (13):  Authority.  We are in charge, in control of our eating (and drinking).

The Stars (22):  Hopes, aspirations.  Setting our weight loss goals and going for them.

The Sage (31): Wisdom, teaching and learning.  Learning new habits.  Making wise food choices.

Union (40): Bringing together the warring elements within ourselves - that voice within ourselves that says "....one extra cake won't hurt";  the self-destruct button that says "I've already blown it so I might as well just go mad".  We need to learn how to break this mould.