I read this fantastic article the other day by Jane Caro about weight loss and dieting. It’s not a topic I usually do a lot of reading on, but the link was part of a conversation on Twitter that was passingly intriguing, and I rather like Caro’s commentary on life (not that I realised she was the author until I read the byline at the end of the article!). I really do need to get myself back to a healthy weight this year, or at the very least a healthy level of musculature, because at the moment my 4-yr-old can literally whip my arse in a run around the block, and my lack of core strength means my loose joints fall out of place a LOT. And joints falling out of place HURTS. Just FYI.
So anyway, I clicked and read, and what I discovered was, actually, a radical approach to weight loss that, instead of advocating dieting and willpower, was actually advocating a social revolution: what if, the article supposes, we all changed our societal expectations of working 12-hour days, of getting home exhausted and dialling for a pizza, of high-stress, low-sleep lives, and instead focused on reducing social pressure? What if we tried to change society so it was acceptable to get the right amount of sleep, to take time off for family, to get home at 4pm so we had time to cook a healthy and nutritious meal?
You guys, I LOVE this. Stress and lack of sleep are, as the article notes, major causes of over-eating, especially for me–and over-focussing on what we eat can lead to all sorts of psychological and emotional drains, and even damage. So, this year, I’m going to choose to prioritise my sleep, not just because I know that I overeat most when I’m overtired, but also for the other flow-on benefits that better/more sleep will allow. 2017: the Year of Good Sleep. Because sometimes, you can’t change the world, but you can at least ensure that you’re equipped to cope.
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