Mindful Eating

To begin with, I want to congratulate myself on attaining 154.5 this morning, in spite of having a bit of a setback with the weight work. I’ve had trouble with the discs in my neck for years, and I knew from past experience that a commitment to chiropractic care during my start-up phase would be, in the words of Martha Stewart, a good thing. Well, let me tell you! I found the super-duper-est chiropractor. By that, I mean she worked my spine and my neck so well I couldn’t do my weight work this week. Not because I really couldn’t; it was because she told me not to. And I listened. I also knew from past experience that I did not want to strengthen the muscles in my back and neck UNTIL the discs were aligned properly. The Doc worked on me four times last week, and hopefully she will give me the green light to resume my workout with Joyce when I see her again on Monday.

Okay, since I couldn’t work out with weights, then what did I do to achieve my goal, you ask? First let me say this: I don’t overeat in general, so reducing my “normal” calorie intake would cause me to lose lean body mass, which I don’t want to do. I only want to lose body fat. For me, the best way to do that is up the exercise ante and to reduce or eliminate non-normal calories, like mindless snacking. Yes, I can get caught up in mindless snacking. I KNOW better than to put anything on the coffee table while I watch TV or even read. The key to stop mindless snacking is to make it mindful; that is, pay full attention to what you put in your mouth, and while you’re eating don’t do anything else. Be MINDFUL.

Last week, I promised to chat about childhood programming around eating habits. The number one programming that most of us have imbedded in our brains is this: Eat everything on your plate. The reasoning behind this seemingly innocuous line of neural code can vary from “think of the starving children in (fill in this blank with your favorite third-world country),” or “Mommy will love you if you eat everything on your plate,” or “You have to eat everything on your plate if you want dessert!” I say “seemingly innocuous” because, as young children, we are not yet able to judge the soundness of what we are told. I never did get, “Eat everything on your plate. Think of the starving kids in China.” How is eating beyond satiety going to help them? I actually asked my dad that once, but only once.

Let’s take a reality check. How do you feel when you leave food on your plate? Do you feel like you’re wasting food? Well, eating more that your body needs is still wasting food. It’s not like money. It’s not like you can use the extra stores of fat to accommodate you when you get hungry. In other words, eating two days worth of food in one setting will NOT prevent you from being hungry for two days! Extra food is converted to fat, and it actually does the opposite of what it supposed to: it slows us down vs. gives us energy. (Not sure about that? Trying running a 5K with a fifty pound backpack on, but turn it around so that you carry it in front like obese people do.) In fact, extra fat is not only useless, it is dangerous! For those of you who have a BMI in the overweight category (see www.idealweightcoach.com for the ranges), you have a thirty-five percent greater chance of developing dementia. For those of you whose BMI is in the obese range, you have a seventy-four percent greater chance.

Okay, so how can we “disrupt” or “rewrite” our habitual eating habit? First and foremost, be aware of its existence. Then use a disruptor to stop the automatic behavior either before or during it. Disruptors can range from simply yelling “STOP” to snapping a rubber band on your wrist as soon as the habit begins to assert itself. For me, I found the rubber band to be the most beneficial. Each and every time I experienced the “need” to finish everything on my plate, I snapped the rubber band. I made a conscious choice to leave at least twenty percent of whatever was on my plate, on my plate. Twenty percent is not set in stone; it’s just what I chose. At first, I had to get up and throw the extra food in the trash right away, so I wouldn’t be tempted. But after a while, I actually began to notice when I was full, and I no longer let what was left on my plate to determine that for me. The programming in our brains MUST be congruent with our goals, or we will falter and eventually fail.

Next week, we’ll explore some other tips to help us reprogram. Until then, practice leaving food on your plate, if that is your downfall. And remember, your mother will still love you!