30. May 2009 by Patricia.

On my way to a Hatha Yoga class this morning at my local gym, a sign by the Café caught my attention – “Too Busy to Eat Healthy? – No Problem” – and then the ad offered a so-called healthy product that featured whey protein and antioxidants.

The problem, of course, is not how to eat healthy when we are too busy. The problem is how to be less busy so we can eat healthy. When life becomes too rushed to eat healthy, the problem goes beyond drinking a whey protein concoction. If health reflects our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being, then “busyness” is a clue that we may be off balance. If we pay attention to that part of the equation and consider how our life became so busy that we cannot eat well, then we keep moving in a healthy direction.

Taking a short cut with a protein beverage once in a while can make sense, but it is all too easy to fall into the habit of thinking we are too busy to eat right, move our bodies and find quiet time.

It all comes down to how we want to live each and every moment of our lives.

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23. May 2009 by Patricia.

Have you ever heard of a diet plan that advertises the fact that you will be hungry? I am not aware of one. Usually a diet encourages us to fill up with “free foods” so we don’t feel hungry. (Think sugar-free candy, chewing gum, calorie-free popsicles, etc.).

What’s wrong with being hungry?

Here are some questions that I have asked myself. Is it ok to feel hungry? Is hunger a positive thing or a negative thing? What happens when I feel hungry? How long can I wait to eat when I feel hungry? What feelings come up for me? Comfortable? Uncomfortable?

I’ve found there is a lot to learn from feeling hungry. If I truly pay attention my hunger will tell me exactly what to eat. I can differentiate between wanting an apple or a pear – a whole, a half or even a quarter of it.

We are so programmed not to feel hungry that we lose touch with our body signals. Next time you feel hungry listen to what comes up for you.

If you are hypoglycemic, have low blood sugar, or have been instructed by a physician not to get to the hunger state then this does not apply to you and there are other ways to be mindful about what you are eating.

However, if you do not have a medical condition and can play with this idea of being hungry, then asking the questions I posed earlier is a first step.

So many of the diet plans emphasize that on their plan you won’t feel hungry. What’s so bad about feeling hungry? What happens when you feel hungry? What feelings come up for you? What thoughts do you have? How do you handle feeling hungry? Does feeling hungry make you want to take action to eat or can you simply sit with hunger?

All good questions. Will you join me in asking them?

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16. May 2009 by Patricia.

I was in a yoga class the other day and the lady next to me had her snazzy, pink heart rate monitor watch on her wrist. Yoga is great exercise but it doesn’t tend to keep your pulse at your target heart rate so the inevitable happened…. Her watch kept beeping all the way through the yoga session. How I handled the situation is the subject for another blog, but I thought about becoming one’s own heart rate monitor.

If you really like gadgets to find out how hard you are working – go for it.  If a heart rate monitor kept you motivated for a few weeks, but then you gave up on it and your exercise program, then read on.

Select your preferred exercise, using your heart rate monitor as a guide. Exercise until you reach your target heart rate. Then, tune into your body. Can you sing? Can you carry on a conversation? Are you winded or out of breath? Can you feel your heart beating faster? Are you sweating? How do your muscles feel? From this input, can you sense how being at your target heart rate feels? You may want to use your monitor for a few days to be really clear about this.

Once you know what your body feels like at its target heart rate, tune into your body while you’re exercising and estimate whether you are below, above or at your target.  My money is on you to be able to figure it out!

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9. May 2009 by Patricia.

Do you know how many calories you typically eat during a day? Are you tracking the food you eat for each meal? How much time do you spend each day monitoring your food intake? Have you been food tracking for several months or more?

While food tracking can be helpful for a short period of time, it tends to underscore a belief that we really can’t trust ourselves to make appropriate food choices.

If food tracking has become a burden and you would like to become your own, internal food tracker, I recommend the following steps:

Step 1: Instead of tracking the calories of the foods you are eating, track aspects of eating, such as the time you ate, whether you ate alone or in a group, and your mood before and after you ate. This might help you gain insights into your eating patterns.

Step 2: Track whether you were hungry when you ate and whether you were satisfied or full when you stopped eating. What insights can you glean from this exercise?

Step 3: For one day don’t track your food or eating patterns. See if you can trust yourself to make healthy choices, to eat when you are hungry and to stop when you are satisfied. It’s okay if your day doesn’t go perfectly! Ask yourself what you can learn from the experience.

Becoming my own, internal food tracker has been helpful in living my life from a bigger perspective.

I want to be free to live my whole life [body, mind, spirit and emotions] rather than focusing on the minute details of the food I am consuming.

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2. May 2009 by Patricia.

What if you understood your body so well that you knew how much you weighed without having to weigh yourself?

Do you get on the scale and experience a “negative” emotion [anxious, tense, worried] as you wait for the scale to tell you how much you weigh? Here is an alternative: if weighing yourself is important, rather than giving the scale the power to make or break your day, tune into your body and guess your weight. How close to the number on the scale are you? If you are not close the first time, keep playing this game until the gap between your guess and the scale closes.

The goal is not to judge yourself about the number that appears on the scale. The idea is to take your power back and learn to make friends with your body, and see your body as your ally.

Eventually you will find that you can trust yourself to know how much you weigh … without the scale.

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