It has been a while since I posted to this blog. My last post was about my eating experience during my husband's health crisis. I was able to walk through that difficult time without the stress induced overeating that has been characteristic of my life. I am so thankful that I was able to emerge from that challenging experience maintaining my conscious eating dietary style.
Since that time, however, I lost some of my edge. I have not gained weight, but I haven't lost any either. I've stalled out at a certain weight and been there for about three months.
I've been thinking about why this may be and decided on one main reason.
Instead of 'eating only till I was full', I began putting on my plate the amount of food I thought I would need to eat. Then I would continue to eat till it was gone, letting that be my signal for ending my meal rather than the 'full feeling' signal that has been my guide for several months.
I lost sight of the main reason for my success with losing weight thus far. I took my eyes off the key requirement to conscious eating - paying attention to the full feeling that comes when I eat and letting that be my cue, my signal for ending my meal.
So I have resolved once again to 'sharpen my edge', and get back into the weight loss battle. One snack, one meal, one day at a time.
Showing posts with label mealtime decisions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mealtime decisions. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2019
Thursday, October 11, 2018
No Stress Eating Here....Not This Time!
It has been a few weeks since I last posted. All is still going well with me, but my husband has been through some difficult and somewhat scary medical situations. He is fine now, well, almost fine. Soon he will be back up to speed and probably even better than before everything went awry.
A medical crisis for my husband meant a huge amount of stress for me. When I began this style of eating (conscious eating; stopping when I get full), I wondered if I would be able to maintain it during times of crisis, because historically I have been a huge stress eater. I would eat everything I could to deal with stress and emotion. The buzz phrase right now is "eating my feelings". Yep. That would be me. So, how would I handle conscious eating when my stress hormones and emotions are through the roof?
Well, good news. I had no problems, well, almost no problems, eating consciously during this time. I simply ate till I was full then stopped. The difficult time came between meals, because I would want to nibble even though I wasn't hungry. I remember one day when I went to the kitchen pantry, opened the door and stood there about to reach for 'nibbling' food. I had to say to myself in a rather firm mental voice, "Get out of the kitchen. You are not hungry!" Yep. And it worked. I left the kitchen and didn't return till it was time to prepare the next meal.
This is working for me. Every day. In every way. I plan to continue. Till next time, friends, Remember, if you are full, stop eating. Save the left overs for another meal, or throw them in the trash!
A medical crisis for my husband meant a huge amount of stress for me. When I began this style of eating (conscious eating; stopping when I get full), I wondered if I would be able to maintain it during times of crisis, because historically I have been a huge stress eater. I would eat everything I could to deal with stress and emotion. The buzz phrase right now is "eating my feelings". Yep. That would be me. So, how would I handle conscious eating when my stress hormones and emotions are through the roof?
Well, good news. I had no problems, well, almost no problems, eating consciously during this time. I simply ate till I was full then stopped. The difficult time came between meals, because I would want to nibble even though I wasn't hungry. I remember one day when I went to the kitchen pantry, opened the door and stood there about to reach for 'nibbling' food. I had to say to myself in a rather firm mental voice, "Get out of the kitchen. You are not hungry!" Yep. And it worked. I left the kitchen and didn't return till it was time to prepare the next meal.
This is working for me. Every day. In every way. I plan to continue. Till next time, friends, Remember, if you are full, stop eating. Save the left overs for another meal, or throw them in the trash!
Sunday, September 16, 2018
It All Worked Out Just Fine
So today my husband and I went to an Italian restaurant after church. This restaurant serves absolutely delicious meals. We decided to order a pizza - meat lovers with black olives and mushrooms. Yum.
While we were waiting, our server brought us some soft, warm, to-die-for, garlic bread. Two servings of them. Oh my. I knew if I ate the bread, I would not be hungry for pizza, and I really, really wanted to enjoy eating the pizza.
What to do? What to do? I knew if I took that first bite of the bread, there would no stopping until I had eaten the whole thing. Well, I did it. I took one bite and then another and another. I nibbled till it was gone. Yep. I did. That first bite.......was at the same time too many and not enough.
When the pizza came, I honestly didn’t know how much I would be able to eat. It looked and smelled wonderful. I chose the smallest slice of pizza on the tray, and started eating. Oh my, the flavor did not disappoint. It was great. Oh, man. After a few bites, I realized that I was already getting full. I ate about three quarters of my slice and moved my plate to the end of the table.
We asked for a ‘to go’ box, and as soon as my husband finished eating, we put the left over pizza in it. Enough pizza for at least two meals.
Yeah! Victory! I ate my bread and some pizza too, without the guilt feelings of overeating.
While we were waiting, our server brought us some soft, warm, to-die-for, garlic bread. Two servings of them. Oh my. I knew if I ate the bread, I would not be hungry for pizza, and I really, really wanted to enjoy eating the pizza.
What to do? What to do? I knew if I took that first bite of the bread, there would no stopping until I had eaten the whole thing. Well, I did it. I took one bite and then another and another. I nibbled till it was gone. Yep. I did. That first bite.......was at the same time too many and not enough.
When the pizza came, I honestly didn’t know how much I would be able to eat. It looked and smelled wonderful. I chose the smallest slice of pizza on the tray, and started eating. Oh my, the flavor did not disappoint. It was great. Oh, man. After a few bites, I realized that I was already getting full. I ate about three quarters of my slice and moved my plate to the end of the table.
We asked for a ‘to go’ box, and as soon as my husband finished eating, we put the left over pizza in it. Enough pizza for at least two meals.
Yeah! Victory! I ate my bread and some pizza too, without the guilt feelings of overeating.
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Those Restaurants.......
So my son and I had a conversation a few days ago about ‘conscious eating’ as a way to loose weight. This style of eating has helped me lose more than thirty pounds. I’m more than pleased with these results, and will never (yes, I know that ‘never’ is a word you should never use, but I’m using it because I feel strongly about this) eat impulsively again.
Back to the conversation.......He mentioned those restaurants. You know, the ones that bring you chips and salsa or a mini loaf of bread and butter, or mouth watering garlic cheese rolls before your meal. You’ve already ordered your meal, and then they immediately bring you something that’s sure to destroy whatever good intentions you had of eating only till you’re full. It’s not at all fair.
My husband and I were at one of those restaurants last week. We were celebrating my birthday. I could have splurged, because, you know, we were celebrating. But I chose not to. When they brought that freshly baked loaf and butter to our table, I chose to only eat a tiny slice, and then wait for my meal, because I wanted to enjoy my steak and baked potato, which was more important to me than filling up on bread. I was happy with my choice. That steak was great.
Anyway, back to the topic. Choices have to be made. Priorities must be decided and set. We can’t eat it all, and then expect to look like one of those naturally slender people. Most of the time they don’t eat it all either. How does a thin person handle this kind of situation? Most likely they will eat a few chips or a small amount of bread, to save room for their meal.
But but but what if those garlicy, cheesey rolls just keep ‘calling your name’ while you’re waiting for your food, and you can’t, can’t stop eating them? You know what? If that happens, it’s ok! If you eat too many of those ‘to die for’ rolls, and you’re not hungry when the meal arrives, it’s ok! Just ask for a carry out box and know that your meal will taste great later!
It’s all ok! This is all about enjoying the food that we want, but doing so in a way that will help us become one of those ‘naturally thin’ people.
Back to the conversation.......He mentioned those restaurants. You know, the ones that bring you chips and salsa or a mini loaf of bread and butter, or mouth watering garlic cheese rolls before your meal. You’ve already ordered your meal, and then they immediately bring you something that’s sure to destroy whatever good intentions you had of eating only till you’re full. It’s not at all fair.
My husband and I were at one of those restaurants last week. We were celebrating my birthday. I could have splurged, because, you know, we were celebrating. But I chose not to. When they brought that freshly baked loaf and butter to our table, I chose to only eat a tiny slice, and then wait for my meal, because I wanted to enjoy my steak and baked potato, which was more important to me than filling up on bread. I was happy with my choice. That steak was great.
Anyway, back to the topic. Choices have to be made. Priorities must be decided and set. We can’t eat it all, and then expect to look like one of those naturally slender people. Most of the time they don’t eat it all either. How does a thin person handle this kind of situation? Most likely they will eat a few chips or a small amount of bread, to save room for their meal.
But but but what if those garlicy, cheesey rolls just keep ‘calling your name’ while you’re waiting for your food, and you can’t, can’t stop eating them? You know what? If that happens, it’s ok! If you eat too many of those ‘to die for’ rolls, and you’re not hungry when the meal arrives, it’s ok! Just ask for a carry out box and know that your meal will taste great later!
It’s all ok! This is all about enjoying the food that we want, but doing so in a way that will help us become one of those ‘naturally thin’ people.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
One and Two
As I mentioned in my last post, in my opinion there are two essential parts to being successful with conscious eating, or 'eating the way slender people eat'. Those of us who are trying to eat consciously must consciously be aware of both parts at every meal and every snack. Here goes:
1. Eating consciously means eating only until you are full. I have had friends say to me, "But I don't always know when I'm full." I understand that statement and most of my life have lived by the "I'm eating till my plate is empty" model, because I don't recognize this full feeling.
The truth is that our bodies will give us a signal for when enough food has been eaten during a meal. In order to eat only until we are full, we must learn to recognize and acknowledge that signal no matter how much delicious food is still on our plate. We must be willing to admit that it's there, even when we want to ignore the signal.
2. Again, eating consciously requires that once you feel the signal for fullness that your body gives you, eating must stop. In my opinion this is the hardest part, because sometimes we just don't want to stop. Oh, man. There's still baked potato with all the trimmings on my plate. There's only half a slice of garlic toast left; surely I can eat that. That won't be much. In order to do this with integrity, you must stop eating once you feel that full signal. If the food left on your plate can't be saved for whatever reason, it goes in the trash. That's hard if you were raised with the starving children in China, as I was. However, no matter what, conscious eating is not conscious eating, and you will never be slender, unless you are willing to throw good food in the trash. It is a difficult, but critical lesson to learn.
Yes. This is hard. But you know, so is living with knee problems, diabetes, back issues, heart problems, and a myriad of other health issues that are caused by being overweight. Those of us who live our lives with too much girth can give you a list of ways that said girth has affected the way we live. We choose our challenges. We choose our rewards. Let's choose wisely.
1. Eating consciously means eating only until you are full. I have had friends say to me, "But I don't always know when I'm full." I understand that statement and most of my life have lived by the "I'm eating till my plate is empty" model, because I don't recognize this full feeling.
The truth is that our bodies will give us a signal for when enough food has been eaten during a meal. In order to eat only until we are full, we must learn to recognize and acknowledge that signal no matter how much delicious food is still on our plate. We must be willing to admit that it's there, even when we want to ignore the signal.
2. Again, eating consciously requires that once you feel the signal for fullness that your body gives you, eating must stop. In my opinion this is the hardest part, because sometimes we just don't want to stop. Oh, man. There's still baked potato with all the trimmings on my plate. There's only half a slice of garlic toast left; surely I can eat that. That won't be much. In order to do this with integrity, you must stop eating once you feel that full signal. If the food left on your plate can't be saved for whatever reason, it goes in the trash. That's hard if you were raised with the starving children in China, as I was. However, no matter what, conscious eating is not conscious eating, and you will never be slender, unless you are willing to throw good food in the trash. It is a difficult, but critical lesson to learn.
Yes. This is hard. But you know, so is living with knee problems, diabetes, back issues, heart problems, and a myriad of other health issues that are caused by being overweight. Those of us who live our lives with too much girth can give you a list of ways that said girth has affected the way we live. We choose our challenges. We choose our rewards. Let's choose wisely.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Two Parts, Both Essential
Ok, so today I had a small bowl of left over spaghetti for lunch. It tasted great, and my intention was to eat some watermelon after I finished the spaghetti. Well, when my bowl was empty, I was full, but I still wanted the watermelon. No matter what, I wanted the watermelon. I love watermelon. Nothing was going to keep me from my serving of watermelon.....
I put some watermelon in a bowl and sat down at the table, still feeling the fullness that came after eating the spaghetti, but dadgumit, I wanted to eat the watermelon. I ate about three bites, and then I decided that the watermelon would taste better in the middle of the afternoon as a snack. I put it back in the refrigerator to save for later. There. I felt better. I didn't over eat, nor did I deprive myself. I'm looking forward to some delicious watermelon in a couple of hours.
Conscious eating (eating the way slender people eat) has two major components that are essential to the success of this plan. Naturally slender people don't think about this. They do both parts, uh, naturally. Those of us who are challenged in the area of controlling our food intake must consciously be aware of and be compliant with both components.
Next post: A discussion of the two components.
I put some watermelon in a bowl and sat down at the table, still feeling the fullness that came after eating the spaghetti, but dadgumit, I wanted to eat the watermelon. I ate about three bites, and then I decided that the watermelon would taste better in the middle of the afternoon as a snack. I put it back in the refrigerator to save for later. There. I felt better. I didn't over eat, nor did I deprive myself. I'm looking forward to some delicious watermelon in a couple of hours.
Conscious eating (eating the way slender people eat) has two major components that are essential to the success of this plan. Naturally slender people don't think about this. They do both parts, uh, naturally. Those of us who are challenged in the area of controlling our food intake must consciously be aware of and be compliant with both components.
Next post: A discussion of the two components.
Monday, June 4, 2018
My Forever Challenge? Popcorn?!?!
So I have been doing very well with this weight loss approach ("the eating only till I get full" approach). Yesterday my husband and I ate lunch at a Chinese cafe with friends. I ate about a third of my broccoli beef and rice meal, and then I was full. The rest went home with me and will be eaten in the next day or two. I'm so looking forward to those delicious leftovers. Yes. That is working out fine and is not hard at all.
Well, last night my husband and I were watching a movie, and he said, "Would you like some popcorn?" We love to make popcorn. We have an old, old popcorn maker that we bought at a thrift store for $5, and we are getting more than our money's worth from it. We enjoy the popcorn from it much more that microwave popcorn. The problem? I have no stopping place when I eat popcorn. My husband make a lot of popcorn last night and I ate my share and more. I got full and kept on eating simply because there was more popcorn to eat. Needless to say, my weight was not at 'a new low' this morning when I stepped on the scales. :-////
I have always loved popcorn. I have often said, "How much popcorn can/will I eat? However much popcorn there is!" Not great grammar, but you get the idea. I can/will eat it with or without salt, and butter. I can/will eat it air popped or oil popped. I can/will eat it microwaved or popped in our wonderful old popper.
Yep. I must admit it. Popcorn is a problem for me. I asked my husband to please make half as much popcorn the next time. I think that will be the best solution for me. If there is only a small amount of popcorn available, then I will only be able to eat a small amount! Right? See, problem solved. Unless I decide to make a second 'batch'. ;-/
Well, last night my husband and I were watching a movie, and he said, "Would you like some popcorn?" We love to make popcorn. We have an old, old popcorn maker that we bought at a thrift store for $5, and we are getting more than our money's worth from it. We enjoy the popcorn from it much more that microwave popcorn. The problem? I have no stopping place when I eat popcorn. My husband make a lot of popcorn last night and I ate my share and more. I got full and kept on eating simply because there was more popcorn to eat. Needless to say, my weight was not at 'a new low' this morning when I stepped on the scales. :-////
I have always loved popcorn. I have often said, "How much popcorn can/will I eat? However much popcorn there is!" Not great grammar, but you get the idea. I can/will eat it with or without salt, and butter. I can/will eat it air popped or oil popped. I can/will eat it microwaved or popped in our wonderful old popper.
Yep. I must admit it. Popcorn is a problem for me. I asked my husband to please make half as much popcorn the next time. I think that will be the best solution for me. If there is only a small amount of popcorn available, then I will only be able to eat a small amount! Right? See, problem solved. Unless I decide to make a second 'batch'. ;-/
Monday, May 21, 2018
After almost 10 weeks of conscious eating, and 16 pounds of weight loss, I’m finally beginning to get comfortable with the adjustment in the size of food servings that I put on my plate. In other words, I’m getting accustomed to and being satisfied with seeing my plate empty rather than completely full. If I put less food on my plate, then I have less food to throw away, therefore a “smaller” decision to make when I get full.
A couple of nights ago, I was enjoying a small baked potato, complete with all the trimmings, when I realized that I was almost full. Uggg. I didn’t want to stop eating my potatoe. However, I knew that if I continued to eat from everything on my plate, I would be full before soon, and not be able to finish the potato. My decision was to ignore everything else on my plate and finish my baked potato (complete, with all the trimmings). Yep. That’s what I did. And I was happy!
A couple of nights ago, I was enjoying a small baked potato, complete with all the trimmings, when I realized that I was almost full. Uggg. I didn’t want to stop eating my potatoe. However, I knew that if I continued to eat from everything on my plate, I would be full before soon, and not be able to finish the potato. My decision was to ignore everything else on my plate and finish my baked potato (complete, with all the trimmings). Yep. That’s what I did. And I was happy!
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