Post by SusieQ on Jan 12, 2005 7:14:51 GMT -5
Good morning!
Such a wonderful, thoughtful response to yesterday's question! Isn't it something to realize, that for all our working and thinking about weight loss, we pay so little attention to food when we are actually eating?
?
Ok, today I promised you I would tell you one simple, little, powerful technique for mindful eating.
You are doing it right now.
Breathing.
Here iti is. If you just DO THIS ONE THING and nothing else every time you eat today, you will see and feel a difference. Make this a habit, and you will cut down ENORMOUSLY on the times you eat mindlessly.
But not any old breathing.
Here's what you do. Before you take the first bite of any food, at any time, anywhere, you STOP! and take one very slow, very deep breath. In slowly through your nostrils, out slowly through your nostrils. And as you breath in, breathe in, feel everything slow down in your body and in your mind. Center yourself in the moment. As you breathe out, breathe out tension and hurry.
If it helps you, find a mantra, something short to say to yourself through this one breath. Something like, "I am here now for this gift of food" on the in-breath, and "I will honor my body when I eat" on the out breath.
That's all. Just do that before you eat.
It's a habit to be formed, just like brushing your teeth. If you find yourself reluctant to do it, ask yourself...of all the good weight loss habits we have to establish - buying and cooking Core food, keeping track of F/V and oils, slugging down ounces and ounces of water....how much effort and time does it take to do ONE MINDFUL BREATH before a meal??
And yet it's powerful.
So that's it. That's the magic bullet.
Ideally, you stop and take the magic breath every time you catch yourself going mindless, eating too fast, not paying attention, during a meal. But even if you just do it at the beginning, which is all I am asking you to try, it's still incredibly powerful.
Try it. Just for one day. Tell me how it goes. If you do create a mantra for yourself, and feel comfortable sharing it, I'd love to hear it!
This technique breaks the thoroughbred at the starting gate phenomenon...you know, how we tend to pick up the fork and bolt? If you interrupt that habit before the first bite, you've gone a long way to becoming a mindful eater. And a mindful eater is a slender eater!
So that's what I want you to do today. Or tomorrow. Just make a committment to take one slow, mindful breath before eating anything. For one day. Surely your weightloss efforts deserve such a little experiment?
Today's doing task: mindful breath before eating.
Today's thinking task: Let's look at all the problems you wrote about yesterday, the things that interfere with mindful eating, and brainstorm about how to solve those problems.
The first one I'd like to tackle is the eating-while-doing-other-things problem. Biggest culprits - eating while watching TV or being on computer, and eating at desk at work.
1. Eating while watching TV or computer
2. Eating over desk at work
I have some ideas about those things, but first let's work on it together. I'd like to ask you all to brainstorm possible solutions. Just let 'em fly - they don't have to be perfectly thought out. Brainstorming is about just letting thoughts, reactions, and possibilities loose. Shake up the old thinking.
So....how about it? What are potential solutions to those problems? And....is it important to solve those problems? If so, why?
Let the thinking begin! (And doing. Don't forget to breathe!)
Susie
Such a wonderful, thoughtful response to yesterday's question! Isn't it something to realize, that for all our working and thinking about weight loss, we pay so little attention to food when we are actually eating?
?Ok, today I promised you I would tell you one simple, little, powerful technique for mindful eating.
You are doing it right now.
Breathing.
Here iti is. If you just DO THIS ONE THING and nothing else every time you eat today, you will see and feel a difference. Make this a habit, and you will cut down ENORMOUSLY on the times you eat mindlessly.
But not any old breathing.
Here's what you do. Before you take the first bite of any food, at any time, anywhere, you STOP! and take one very slow, very deep breath. In slowly through your nostrils, out slowly through your nostrils. And as you breath in, breathe in, feel everything slow down in your body and in your mind. Center yourself in the moment. As you breathe out, breathe out tension and hurry.
If it helps you, find a mantra, something short to say to yourself through this one breath. Something like, "I am here now for this gift of food" on the in-breath, and "I will honor my body when I eat" on the out breath.
That's all. Just do that before you eat.
It's a habit to be formed, just like brushing your teeth. If you find yourself reluctant to do it, ask yourself...of all the good weight loss habits we have to establish - buying and cooking Core food, keeping track of F/V and oils, slugging down ounces and ounces of water....how much effort and time does it take to do ONE MINDFUL BREATH before a meal?
?And yet it's powerful.
So that's it. That's the magic bullet.
Ideally, you stop and take the magic breath every time you catch yourself going mindless, eating too fast, not paying attention, during a meal. But even if you just do it at the beginning, which is all I am asking you to try, it's still incredibly powerful.
Try it. Just for one day. Tell me how it goes. If you do create a mantra for yourself, and feel comfortable sharing it, I'd love to hear it!
This technique breaks the thoroughbred at the starting gate phenomenon...you know, how we tend to pick up the fork and bolt? If you interrupt that habit before the first bite, you've gone a long way to becoming a mindful eater. And a mindful eater is a slender eater!
So that's what I want you to do today. Or tomorrow. Just make a committment to take one slow, mindful breath before eating anything. For one day. Surely your weightloss efforts deserve such a little experiment?
Today's doing task: mindful breath before eating.
Today's thinking task: Let's look at all the problems you wrote about yesterday, the things that interfere with mindful eating, and brainstorm about how to solve those problems.
The first one I'd like to tackle is the eating-while-doing-other-things problem. Biggest culprits - eating while watching TV or being on computer, and eating at desk at work.
1. Eating while watching TV or computer
2. Eating over desk at work
I have some ideas about those things, but first let's work on it together. I'd like to ask you all to brainstorm possible solutions. Just let 'em fly - they don't have to be perfectly thought out. Brainstorming is about just letting thoughts, reactions, and possibilities loose. Shake up the old thinking.
So....how about it? What are potential solutions to those problems? And....is it important to solve those problems? If so, why?
Let the thinking begin! (And doing. Don't forget to breathe!)
Susie
Sorry, couldn't resist! 
This is helping.(Been doing for 1 month) Now we will add the breathing. 
Today, I decided that I just had to have a hamburger for lunch. I mean, I really wanted this hamburger! After all, I was done with work and about to leave anyway to pick the boys up. I really thought about that hamburger, how much I wanted it, etc. Well, before I left, I decided to just kind of "chill out" for a minute, relax, and breathe a minute. I sat down at the table and actually gave myself permission to have that hamburger and count the points for it. Guess what!? After sitting there mulling about it, I decided that it wasn't worth spending the points on, that I really didn't want it that bad anyway, and I had a salad instead!!!!! 
This is a huge NSV for me!!! I don't know if it had anything to do with breathing or mulling, or just being mindful and not impulsive, or all of the above! Anyways, woo hoo! 
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