Everything in Moderation?

28. March 2009 by Patricia.

I see this so often. Many folks who see themselves as weight loss authorities espouse eating everything in moderation. They teach there are no good foods or bad foods. If we can simply eat any food in moderation, we will not only lose weight, but keep it off too!

 

While I see the logic of such an approach, it actually doesn’t work for me. The value in such thinking, of course, is that when you don’t feel deprived of any food, you are less likely to overeat. Tell a person they can’t eat chocolate cake and watch them make a bee-line for it.

 

While I don’t like to class foods as good or bad, I believe there are foods which are natural and healthy for us, while certain processed or manufactured foods are not. The reason? I believe that some processed foods can be serious triggers for overeating. Processed foods have been manufactured to appeal to our taste buds and often contain ingredients I cannot even pronounce. 

 

If you eat a few bites of such foods and are unable to stop, you might decide you are undisciplined and/or lack willpower for not being able to eat moderately. But I don’t believe this is the case. Processed foods can stimulate bingeing and overeating. If this weren’t true then why would a certain chip maker emblazon their package of chips with the slogan, “Betcha can’t eat just one!”

 

If you find yourself unable to eat moderate amounts of a processed food please give yourself some slack. I have personally found that eating whole, unprocessed, natural, close to the earth types of food serves me well. Eating in moderation starts to look a little more doable.

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Can It Be Okay to Be Hungry?

21. March 2009 by Patricia.

I see diet promotions assuring us we will not feel hungry. They go like this: “Avoid feeling hungry while losing weight;” “Five appetite control foods that suppress cravings without adding calories;” “You don’t need to go hungry to lose weight.”

 

My question is: Can it be okay to be hungry?

 

To lose weight and keep it off, I think it is realistic to assume we will feel hunger pangs from time to time

 

If you hate the feeling of being hungry, would you be willing to explore that? If you have an issue with low blood sugar then the suggestion that follows is not for you. But if you don’t have a medical reason preventing you from feeling hungry, I recommend this exercise:

 

When you are ready to eat, can you wait one minute before putting food into your mouth? Two minutes? Three minutes? How about fifteen minutes? What happens when you delay eating? What feelings or emotions come up for you? Can you acknowledge them and move through them?

 

The idea here is not to deprive yourself, but to get in touch with what hunger feels like and answer the question: “Can it be okay to be hungry?” Can there be freedom in being okay with the sensation of hunger?

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Doing the Same Thing and Getting the Same Result

14. March 2009 by Patricia.

Did you begin 2009 with a New Year’s Resolution similar to last year’s? Perhaps to lose weight? Did you then decide on some kind of exercise and healthy eating program? Have you already found that it is difficult to stick to either resolution even if you changed things slightly - last year it was the treadmill and this year the elliptical; last year Jenny Craig, this year Weight Watchers.

 

If your chosen program is not working for you, it might be helpful to ask whether you are doing the same thing over and over again, and getting the same result.

 

We may believe that losing weight has to be done a certain way. The simple belief that you cannot lose weight without dieting can keep you stuck. What other beliefs do you have about losing weight? That you have to join a gym? That if you don’t exercise every day you won’t get results? That you have to cut daily calories by eating lettuce, carrots and celery? That you should weigh a certain number on the scale?

 

Whatever your beliefs about losing weight, how do they serve you? I’ve found answering this provocative question helps me explore how to become Diet Free.

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The Conscious Me and the Unconscious Me

7. March 2009 by Patricia.

There are two ways in which I experience myself: the Conscious Me and the Unconscious Me.

 

The Conscious Me is fully awake, in touch with the dimensions of body, mind, spirit and emotions. The Conscious Me is expansive, enjoys trusting myself around food, and feels confident, vibrant and connected to a bigger perspective. The Unconscious Me lives in a tight place and just wants to eat whatever I want, whenever I want it. It isn’t interested in what’s really going on in my body, mind, spirit or emotions.

 

How does this perspective help? I think when we “fall off the wagon” with our healthy lifestyle programs it’s not that we are bad, lazy, undisciplined or worthless. It is because we are not experiencing ourselves consciously, and we’ve slipped into an unconscious, small place. If you struggle with food, weight and body image, you may resonate with this. The only way I know to move into “conscious-me” mode is to find compassion for my unconscious self: the one that just wants to sit and watch television for hours; the one that eats because she wants to hide from the world.

 

When I’m out of balance and unconscious of my body, mind, spirit and emotions, allowing myself to eat anything at anytime blocks my progress. However, when I’m in balance – in body, mind, spirit and emotions – I trust myself to make wise choices to eat whatever I want whenever I want it.

 

I am both the Conscious Me and the Unconscious Me. The only way I can find to be happy and free from food, dieting and weight issues is to integrate the two.

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