The Next Step
So...I'm not really sure I have a lot to say, or that anything I have to say will be any different than what I've already said. But here I am anyway.
I am currently off the diet bandwagon. I am not dieting, I'm not restricting, I'm not "watching what I eat" or cutting back on carbs. I am not tip-toeing gently through choices and judging myself based on what I put in my mouth. Sounds silly that we do that when you put it on paper, but all too real and "normal" when I'm in that familiar groove of trying to get "thin" and "healthy". I do not discount or shun people who eat high quality foods, I am still well aware of all the studies about fat, salt, sugars and all the like. I am not against health, I am against diets.
Mindful eating is becoming a hot thing right now, have you noticed? It's kind of trendy. The first author I personally read that was saying this is Geneen Roth. Oh, I'm sure the idea started long ago somewhere else, but I found Geneen's books when I needed them most. She talks about real, raw parent issues that led to her personal beliefs about herself and how she used food to numb, to escape, even to feel some control. I will grace over the premise quickly, but if you are interested in the concepts, you should seek out some of her books. I think "Women, Food and God" is one of her best sellers (not about God at all, in case that's a trigger word for some), but I also love "When Food is Love" and "When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair." All of her books have taught me some valuable lessons and the way she writes is stellar!
Anyway, here's the basic concept of breaking free from compulsive eating.
1. Eat only when you are physically hungry.
2. Eat exactly what you want without regard to how people look at you.
3. Allow yourself to be fully "in the moment" when you are eating.
4. Stop eating when you are satisfied.
5. If you find yourself eating when you are not physically hungry, question what you are trying to accomplish with the food.
Eating when you are not hungry is a sign that you are not listening to your body. My brain makes me eat more than my body ever could. Stress, anger, boredom, happiness, celebration, anxiety... the list seems endless to my own personal triggers! The excitement of Friday seems to be one that is big for me. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Friday is awesome enough on it's own, M&Ms aren't going to make it that much better.
Eating exactly what you want. Have you ever had a craving for something really specific, but for whatever reason you ate something other that the object of your desire? If you are like me, all you end up doing is eating one thing after the next trying to fill that need that your craving leaves. If you would just go ahead and eat the damn chocolate (or Taco Bell nachos) you probably would have been satisfied sooner and consumed a lot less calories in the long run.
Allowing yourself to be in the moment or mindful. Don’t distract yourself with TV, phone, book, newspaper etc. you will eat more than what satisfies you when you are distracted. I have a horrible habit to break where this is concerned. I rarely ever eat mindfully, I’m always in my phone or computer while eating, always distracted and not paying attention to my “satisfied “ signals. I really eat by rote, finish all of what’s on my plate even if I was full or satisfied before it was gone, and sometimes I’m so distracted I feel like I didn’t taste what I was eating. Being mindful will also make you more aware of how each food makes you feel physically. Last time I did this I was amazed at how tired sugary foods made me feel and it was honestly something i hadn’t noticed before I consciously paid attention to that aspect of eating. I think eating should be enjoyable, think of the sensory stimulus you are experiencing when eating!
Being aware of what you’re doing will aid in making number 4 happen. Stop eating when you are satisfied. This has always been hard for me. The idea of stopping before my plate is cleaned or before I feel comfortably full is strange for me. And honestly, some days my morning bagel keeps me full until lunch and sometimes my stomach is growling shortly after arriving at work. So maybe the ultra planned-out route is at least somewhat less productive.
The questioning why I am eating when I’m not hungry is something I use as a tool when I’m low-carb dieting. It’s something I learned from mindful eating methods that I plugged into my own scheme, and it is effective, but like anything (including the guidelines here) I have to be consistent in order for it to work. To me, thinking about why I do things is way more sustainable than restricting.
So my pushback items were many. I can’t control when I get to eat at work, I can’t very well run out and pick up the very thing I want to eat at the very moment I get hungry, I can’t not be distracted by others at work, etc. One big ‘I Can’t’. Truth be told, when I go off a diet, when I quit restricting, I feel like I need a vacation from having to think about food. I just eat; autopilot in full effect. But recently Geneen made a great point when she said you can start small with one change at a time. For instance, I’m not really in off-the-wall binge mode lately but I do eat distracted and I eat when I’m not hungry (at work because I have a planned break that i don’t get to set the time for) and for emotional reasons etc. So I could start small by not being distracted by books or devices for one meal a day. Once that’s accomplished I can work on stopping when I’m satisfied, etc. Since this is not a diet and I won’t lose weight fast, there’s no rush to try and jump in with both feet and try to take on too much. The goal is to get to a point where I trust my body to tell me what it needs, and how much it needs. It is reported to get a body to its “natural weight” because who knows better than your own body what it needs?
I copped out last time I tried because the was trying to mesh low-carb dieting into eating mindfully and all it ended up doing was making me do the autopilot rebellion thing. I made some progress and felt a lot happier in general because I wasn’t wasting so much time berating myself for whatever judgment I was passing on the foods going in my mouth.
So I think this is the change I’ve been ready for and I’m going to make an effort to incorporate these steps slowly so they become sustainable changes. I just need to learn to listen to my body and trust myself. That’s not so hard, right?
I am currently off the diet bandwagon. I am not dieting, I'm not restricting, I'm not "watching what I eat" or cutting back on carbs. I am not tip-toeing gently through choices and judging myself based on what I put in my mouth. Sounds silly that we do that when you put it on paper, but all too real and "normal" when I'm in that familiar groove of trying to get "thin" and "healthy". I do not discount or shun people who eat high quality foods, I am still well aware of all the studies about fat, salt, sugars and all the like. I am not against health, I am against diets.
Mindful eating is becoming a hot thing right now, have you noticed? It's kind of trendy. The first author I personally read that was saying this is Geneen Roth. Oh, I'm sure the idea started long ago somewhere else, but I found Geneen's books when I needed them most. She talks about real, raw parent issues that led to her personal beliefs about herself and how she used food to numb, to escape, even to feel some control. I will grace over the premise quickly, but if you are interested in the concepts, you should seek out some of her books. I think "Women, Food and God" is one of her best sellers (not about God at all, in case that's a trigger word for some), but I also love "When Food is Love" and "When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair." All of her books have taught me some valuable lessons and the way she writes is stellar!
Anyway, here's the basic concept of breaking free from compulsive eating.
1. Eat only when you are physically hungry.
2. Eat exactly what you want without regard to how people look at you.
3. Allow yourself to be fully "in the moment" when you are eating.
4. Stop eating when you are satisfied.
5. If you find yourself eating when you are not physically hungry, question what you are trying to accomplish with the food.
Eating when you are not hungry is a sign that you are not listening to your body. My brain makes me eat more than my body ever could. Stress, anger, boredom, happiness, celebration, anxiety... the list seems endless to my own personal triggers! The excitement of Friday seems to be one that is big for me. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Friday is awesome enough on it's own, M&Ms aren't going to make it that much better.
Eating exactly what you want. Have you ever had a craving for something really specific, but for whatever reason you ate something other that the object of your desire? If you are like me, all you end up doing is eating one thing after the next trying to fill that need that your craving leaves. If you would just go ahead and eat the damn chocolate (or Taco Bell nachos) you probably would have been satisfied sooner and consumed a lot less calories in the long run.
Allowing yourself to be in the moment or mindful. Don’t distract yourself with TV, phone, book, newspaper etc. you will eat more than what satisfies you when you are distracted. I have a horrible habit to break where this is concerned. I rarely ever eat mindfully, I’m always in my phone or computer while eating, always distracted and not paying attention to my “satisfied “ signals. I really eat by rote, finish all of what’s on my plate even if I was full or satisfied before it was gone, and sometimes I’m so distracted I feel like I didn’t taste what I was eating. Being mindful will also make you more aware of how each food makes you feel physically. Last time I did this I was amazed at how tired sugary foods made me feel and it was honestly something i hadn’t noticed before I consciously paid attention to that aspect of eating. I think eating should be enjoyable, think of the sensory stimulus you are experiencing when eating!
Being aware of what you’re doing will aid in making number 4 happen. Stop eating when you are satisfied. This has always been hard for me. The idea of stopping before my plate is cleaned or before I feel comfortably full is strange for me. And honestly, some days my morning bagel keeps me full until lunch and sometimes my stomach is growling shortly after arriving at work. So maybe the ultra planned-out route is at least somewhat less productive.
The questioning why I am eating when I’m not hungry is something I use as a tool when I’m low-carb dieting. It’s something I learned from mindful eating methods that I plugged into my own scheme, and it is effective, but like anything (including the guidelines here) I have to be consistent in order for it to work. To me, thinking about why I do things is way more sustainable than restricting.
So my pushback items were many. I can’t control when I get to eat at work, I can’t very well run out and pick up the very thing I want to eat at the very moment I get hungry, I can’t not be distracted by others at work, etc. One big ‘I Can’t’. Truth be told, when I go off a diet, when I quit restricting, I feel like I need a vacation from having to think about food. I just eat; autopilot in full effect. But recently Geneen made a great point when she said you can start small with one change at a time. For instance, I’m not really in off-the-wall binge mode lately but I do eat distracted and I eat when I’m not hungry (at work because I have a planned break that i don’t get to set the time for) and for emotional reasons etc. So I could start small by not being distracted by books or devices for one meal a day. Once that’s accomplished I can work on stopping when I’m satisfied, etc. Since this is not a diet and I won’t lose weight fast, there’s no rush to try and jump in with both feet and try to take on too much. The goal is to get to a point where I trust my body to tell me what it needs, and how much it needs. It is reported to get a body to its “natural weight” because who knows better than your own body what it needs?
I copped out last time I tried because the was trying to mesh low-carb dieting into eating mindfully and all it ended up doing was making me do the autopilot rebellion thing. I made some progress and felt a lot happier in general because I wasn’t wasting so much time berating myself for whatever judgment I was passing on the foods going in my mouth.
So I think this is the change I’ve been ready for and I’m going to make an effort to incorporate these steps slowly so they become sustainable changes. I just need to learn to listen to my body and trust myself. That’s not so hard, right?
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