I did battle with a bowl of peanuts tonight...and won. They were sitting there, looking oh-so-innocent, but they didn't fool me. I knew they were intent on tempting me into going off my fast.
My winning strategy was simply this: I thought, "I've had peanuts before. I know exactly what they taste like. I will have them again sometime in the future. I don't have to have them right now."
And so I didn't.
Showing posts with label mindful eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mindful eating. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Perceptions and Misperceptions
The Nashville Film Festival featured lots of movies, lots of parties, and lots and lots and LOTS of free food and drinks. It's awfully hard for a cheapskate like me to turn down free food and drink, especially very yummy free food and drink. From the daily dishes provided by Whole Foods (one of the festival sponsors) in the VIP tent, to the buffets at receptions and parties that were catered by some of Nashville's best restaurants, I sampled it all.
One dangerous misperception that I have stuck in my head is that food tastes better when it's free. Another, even more dangerous one, is that free food calories -- like out-of-town calories, vacation calories, and party calories -- don't count!
These misperceptions were just as guilty as hunger or the attractiveness of the food in leading me into days of over-eating at the film festival. (And at least one night of over-drinking, but that's another story entirely.)
Another perception that gave me the title of this post is the feeling of being thin or fat which may or may not not be based in reality. I've had a couple of doctor appointments recently (don't worry, I'll live) and with each of them came a dreaded weigh-in. I say 'dreaded' because these weigh-ins came after all that over-eating at the film fest. I went to the first appointment knowing that I had been pigging out and feeling like a big blob of lard. Well, actually that perception was right: I weighed in at 132 pounds. Yipes!
I'd like to say that was a wake up call, but I continued to overeat and under-exercise for a few more days. Finally, I started getting my act together again just before my second doctor appointment. I went to that one feeling thin and pretty good: I weighed in at 131 pounds. (Actually, also yipes!)
Now, I know for a fact that the one pound difference did not make that much difference in the real world outside my own mind. I doubt if anyone but me could even notice it. But in my perception it loomed large.
How is it possible that I felt fat at 132 and thin at 131? All perception. Because I knew that I had been pigging out and not talking care of myself I felt huge and horrible at my first weigh-in. Because I had started taking care of myself again, I felt thinner and fit at my second weigh-in; I could have sworn that even my pants were looser.
The other aspect of this, is that my perception caused the one pound weight loss to make me feel not only thinner, but hopeful, back on track, and confident. That, in turn, has since helped me to really get myself back on track. (Believe it or not, I actually fasted today for only the second time in my life -- more about that in a later post.)
Bottom line is that perception is a mighty, mighty thing. I will have to harness it for good, not evil -- that is, to help me lose weight, not gain.
One dangerous misperception that I have stuck in my head is that food tastes better when it's free. Another, even more dangerous one, is that free food calories -- like out-of-town calories, vacation calories, and party calories -- don't count!
These misperceptions were just as guilty as hunger or the attractiveness of the food in leading me into days of over-eating at the film festival. (And at least one night of over-drinking, but that's another story entirely.)
Another perception that gave me the title of this post is the feeling of being thin or fat which may or may not not be based in reality. I've had a couple of doctor appointments recently (don't worry, I'll live) and with each of them came a dreaded weigh-in. I say 'dreaded' because these weigh-ins came after all that over-eating at the film fest. I went to the first appointment knowing that I had been pigging out and feeling like a big blob of lard. Well, actually that perception was right: I weighed in at 132 pounds. Yipes!
I'd like to say that was a wake up call, but I continued to overeat and under-exercise for a few more days. Finally, I started getting my act together again just before my second doctor appointment. I went to that one feeling thin and pretty good: I weighed in at 131 pounds. (Actually, also yipes!)
Now, I know for a fact that the one pound difference did not make that much difference in the real world outside my own mind. I doubt if anyone but me could even notice it. But in my perception it loomed large.
How is it possible that I felt fat at 132 and thin at 131? All perception. Because I knew that I had been pigging out and not talking care of myself I felt huge and horrible at my first weigh-in. Because I had started taking care of myself again, I felt thinner and fit at my second weigh-in; I could have sworn that even my pants were looser.
The other aspect of this, is that my perception caused the one pound weight loss to make me feel not only thinner, but hopeful, back on track, and confident. That, in turn, has since helped me to really get myself back on track. (Believe it or not, I actually fasted today for only the second time in my life -- more about that in a later post.)
Bottom line is that perception is a mighty, mighty thing. I will have to harness it for good, not evil -- that is, to help me lose weight, not gain.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Planning Ahead
Yesterday, I could have gone out to lunch with a coworker. I would have spent money I didn't need to spend and eaten a lot more than I needed to eat. Instead, because I had my lunch (and my lunch hour which included 20 minutes of fast walking)well planned, I was able to resist.
I am trying to have an eating plan everyday. Some days that plan will include going out to eat, but not on such a regular basis that it breaks my diet or my bank account.
On an idea day, here's what my goal menu looks like:
Breakfast: boiled egg with V8 juice or low-cal yogurt with almonds
Lunch: soup or diet frozen dinner
Dinner: Veggies and brown rice
Snack/dessert: square or two of dark chocolate, almonds
Right now, that menu is an ideal that I do not reach on more days than I do, unfortunately, but I figure that even accomplishing it on some days is better than on none. I am trying and I am getting better at it, and planning is the key for me.
I am trying to have an eating plan everyday. Some days that plan will include going out to eat, but not on such a regular basis that it breaks my diet or my bank account.
On an idea day, here's what my goal menu looks like:
Breakfast: boiled egg with V8 juice or low-cal yogurt with almonds
Lunch: soup or diet frozen dinner
Dinner: Veggies and brown rice
Snack/dessert: square or two of dark chocolate, almonds
Right now, that menu is an ideal that I do not reach on more days than I do, unfortunately, but I figure that even accomplishing it on some days is better than on none. I am trying and I am getting better at it, and planning is the key for me.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Itty-Bitty Valentine Victory
Thank goodness the Valentine's candy is all gone!
You can't always control what food you are given, but you can (usually, hopefully) control what you eat. Yesterday, I exerted my control by throwing away the remainder of the gift box of assorted chocolates.
Before you start thinking that this was a truly amazing sacrifice on my part, I have to confess that I had already eaten all of the really, really good kinds. Still, in the past, I have been known to keep the marginally good and even the downright icky candies around, until, in a moment of weakness or maybe a fit of hunger, I would eat them anyway.
So even though I still ate too much Valentine's Day candy, at least I ate only the candies that I truly wanted. Throwing out the candy that I didn't really want, but might have eaten anyway if it was lying around, is a step forward, a small victory on the road to thinness.
You can't always control what food you are given, but you can (usually, hopefully) control what you eat. Yesterday, I exerted my control by throwing away the remainder of the gift box of assorted chocolates.
Before you start thinking that this was a truly amazing sacrifice on my part, I have to confess that I had already eaten all of the really, really good kinds. Still, in the past, I have been known to keep the marginally good and even the downright icky candies around, until, in a moment of weakness or maybe a fit of hunger, I would eat them anyway.
So even though I still ate too much Valentine's Day candy, at least I ate only the candies that I truly wanted. Throwing out the candy that I didn't really want, but might have eaten anyway if it was lying around, is a step forward, a small victory on the road to thinness.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Comfort Me With Apples
The Bible says "comfort me with apples" in the Song Of Solomon. So why do my comfort foods always involve cheese?!
Or chocolate? Or carbs with fat, like grits with butter, or mashed potatoes with cream, or rice with cheese melted on top?
There are people who can't eat when they are upset. I am NOT one of those people. (I’ve tried to be, believe me.) In fact, I tend to want to eat more when I am upset. Just recognizing that tendency has helped me combat it, but I still need to learn to be comforted by something other than food. Or at least by a smaller amount of food. Or maybe I need comfort foods that are less caloric.
Maybe I should try apples, like the Bible says. According to realage.com , eating a fruit that is high in fiber and water before (or instead of) eating something else is a proven weight-loss helper. The fiber and water are filling and satisfying in the belly and the chewy crunchiness is satisfying to the mouth.
The same source also recommends eating eggs instead of some similar-caloried breakfast or snack food because something about them fills you up better. A study showed that people who eat an egg at breakfast actually eat less at lunch than if they had eaten something else.
So maybe my new comfort foods are going to be eggs and apples. The dangerous temptation for me in that, is that they both go way too well with cheese!
Or chocolate? Or carbs with fat, like grits with butter, or mashed potatoes with cream, or rice with cheese melted on top?
There are people who can't eat when they are upset. I am NOT one of those people. (I’ve tried to be, believe me.) In fact, I tend to want to eat more when I am upset. Just recognizing that tendency has helped me combat it, but I still need to learn to be comforted by something other than food. Or at least by a smaller amount of food. Or maybe I need comfort foods that are less caloric.
Maybe I should try apples, like the Bible says. According to realage.com , eating a fruit that is high in fiber and water before (or instead of) eating something else is a proven weight-loss helper. The fiber and water are filling and satisfying in the belly and the chewy crunchiness is satisfying to the mouth.
The same source also recommends eating eggs instead of some similar-caloried breakfast or snack food because something about them fills you up better. A study showed that people who eat an egg at breakfast actually eat less at lunch than if they had eaten something else.
So maybe my new comfort foods are going to be eggs and apples. The dangerous temptation for me in that, is that they both go way too well with cheese!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Life is just a bowl of cherries
...and two hotdogs and some vegetables. That's what I had to eat yesterday. (I also drank last night while out with friends, but that's another post....)
The thing that I am overly, inordinately, excessively, ridiculously proud of is that I turned down the buns or bread with my hotdogs. Instead, I put them on a plate with mustard and a little ketchup and ate them with a fork. They were yummy that way.
The reason that this makes me so freaking happy is because there was a time when I would have eaten those hotdogs on buns or bread totally without thinking. I don't even LIKE buns or bread. I don't even WANT it. But in the past, I would have eaten it because...well, just because. I guess just because it is what you are "supposed" to eat with hotdogs. Never mind whether you want it or not! You are being a weirdo if you eat a hotdog with out a bun!
Now, I don't think like that anymore.
This goes along with what I said in a previous blog entry about being mindful about what I eat: From now on, I am going to eat ONLY the parts of the dish that I truly want, no matter how weird that may seem. The rest is just useless calories and I'd rather save my calories for something I really want...like more cherries.
The thing that I am overly, inordinately, excessively, ridiculously proud of is that I turned down the buns or bread with my hotdogs. Instead, I put them on a plate with mustard and a little ketchup and ate them with a fork. They were yummy that way.
The reason that this makes me so freaking happy is because there was a time when I would have eaten those hotdogs on buns or bread totally without thinking. I don't even LIKE buns or bread. I don't even WANT it. But in the past, I would have eaten it because...well, just because. I guess just because it is what you are "supposed" to eat with hotdogs. Never mind whether you want it or not! You are being a weirdo if you eat a hotdog with out a bun!
Now, I don't think like that anymore.
This goes along with what I said in a previous blog entry about being mindful about what I eat: From now on, I am going to eat ONLY the parts of the dish that I truly want, no matter how weird that may seem. The rest is just useless calories and I'd rather save my calories for something I really want...like more cherries.
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