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Spiraling UP with Southwestern Salad

June 19, 2018

I have much to say about this salad and then again it really doesn’t have to do a ton with the actual salad…read on if interested 🙂

I wanted to share a bit of wisdom that has been super powerful for me lately. In her book, Body Kindness (which i HIGHLY recommend reading), Rebecca Scritchfield talks about a principle I found to be very powerful. She calls it “spiraling up” and I have thought about it ever since I read it. The basic gist is that you make thousands of decisions daily that can either cause you to spiral up or spiral down. They are usually a series of very small, seemingly inconsequential decisions, but they build on each other and have a lot of power in your overall days, weeks, and ultimately your life. I love this and I think it actually is very much in line with how the Lord asks us to treat our bodies and others. Unfortunately, the tendency to spiral down can come on fast and strong.

Maybe you can relate? Maybe you get down on yourself for some random reason. You look at an instagram feed that sends you into major comparison or self pity mode. You binge on chocolate chips. Work seems to be crawling by. You stay up too late watching Netflix and miss out on much needed sleep. So many things can spark something in us that makes us want to spiral down.

So, here’s a quick story from my day: I got home from running some errands and all I wanted for lunch was a bowl of ice cream. So, that’s what I had. I do not feel that there is anything wrong with having a bowl of ice-cream and it tasted heavenly. However, soon after eating I felt super blah. I don’t blame this entirely on the ice cream. I am also pregnant and hot and tired. I also stumbled upon an instagram account for someone with a very unrealistic pregnancy that made me go into comparison mode. UGH. Anyways, there were a lot of variables, but regardless, I just got into quite the funk. I browsed the internet and wasted some time and could feel myself getting deeper into the funk…not wanting to cook dinner, dreading naptime being over, the list goes on. But then, this principle came to mind. I decided I needed to start to spiral UP.

Rebecca says it can be as simple as choosing to drink a glass of water or do a quick stretch; anything that quickly starts to send your body into a better state instead of the negative/wallowing/unhealthy one you are in. Maybe that’s calling a friend, listening to your favorite podcast, reading your Bible, praying, petting your dog. There are so many options for this!

So, I started with water. Then, I picked up a new book to read. Then, the kids woke and I decided we should go for a walk to the park. Then, we played at the park and had some much needed vitamin D. I drank some coconut water, which always makes me feel so refreshed and hydrated. By the time we got home I was disgusting and sweaty but in a much better mood! The kids shared a giant cucumber and we played in the yard. I opted to throw together a healthy dinner for us as opposed to just feeding the kids and eating random snack food, and am currently sipping some tea as a write this. It’s almost 8 pm and I am feeling loads better than I was at 2 pm.

And to think, it all started with a super small change…drinking a glass of water.

SUPPER: @traderjoes southwestern salad mix (it is SAVING summer over here!) + diced red pepper + tomatoes + leftover salsa verde crockpot chicken + the very last savored crumbs of my nacho Siete chips which I now feel slightly addicted to. Perfect and fresh and crisp.

**I cannot recommend this book enough. I loved it so much I bought a copy for a loved one when I was only 2 chapters in! To be honest, I think it has very little to do with dieting at all and contains really good principles for caring for yourself. This is not sponsored, just a huge fan!