It matters not that you have put weight back
on...most people who don't do management do put some weight back
on. If you need to refocus and redefine your
relationship with food then we are always happy to welcome you
back.
LighterLife is a journey of discovery and there are
bound to be obstacles in your path on your way to a healthier
lifestyle.
If you need a boost of inspiration please do come to
the Monday 8pm group.
MINDFUL EATING
Being mindful when you eat is about concentrating all
of your senses to the experience of eating. How many times
have you eaten something very quickly, then realised that you
hardly tasted it! We often eat a chocolate bar this
way. Two gulps and its gone....
Beginners are often introduced to midfulness
techniques with the following "raisin exercise".
The Raisin Exercise
Make sure you have about 20 minutes on your own when
you wont be disturbed, and have a small bowl of raisins with you.
Pick up a raisin:
put it in the palm of your hand, press it, look at it, examine
it from all angles, see how it reflects in the light, then
squash it between your finfers, explore its textures, colours
and smell.
Then put it in your
mouthm gently roll it around and let the taste buds on your
tongue slowly sense the raisin, without biting it.
Then bite into it,
and again, roll it around your mouth, explore its taste and
texture with your tongue.
Now chew it slowly,
and again, be aware of your senses of the stage by stage
transformation of shrivelled, dried up grape to the chewed
morsel releasing its sweetness and flavour in your mouth.
Then, and only
then, allow yourself to swallow it.
Imagine what is
happening to the raisin as it travels down your gullet into
your stomach, and then into your gut.
The raisin exercixe also demonstrates how rarely we
focus on "the present moment" when we eat. Like
drinking, we eat "mindlessly". Give it a try... see
what thoughts/feelings it produces for you.
Dr Brian Wansink, an expert in
food psychology at Cornell University, where he directs the Cornell
Food and Brand Lab, describes in his book "
He says we
make about 200 food-related decisions every day, mostly triggered
by a plethora of subtle cues in our environment that encourage us
to keep eating, even when we are no longer hungry. These triggers
include smells, the variety and color of foods on offer, the number
of people we eat with, labels and packaging, and even the ambient
lighting.
He
advocates portion control, and making yourself more mindful of the
difference between no longer feeling hungry and feeling full. If
eating at home, use smaller plates, or at the restaurant, don't
have three courses, have just two, and when you buy those bulk
packs of snacks to save cost, split them into reasonable portions
when you get home (read the label to check the calorie content).
Another
way is to identify three "mindless habits" where you can
reduce your consumption by 100 calories a day each, and practise
eliminating them from your daily life. It takes about a month of
concentrated effort to make the change stick, says Wansink, who
suggests you keep track of your daily progress on a visible chart
during that time so you can see what is actually happening rather
than relying on memory.
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
how removed our appetites are from our eating habits.
