13. February 2010 by Patricia.

Frazzled and frustrated, my stress level was escalating. A Choice Point. Keep going with escalating emotions or pause to take time to de-stress? I paused and congratulated myself for this choice. I decided to listen to a favorite meditation CD. I put the ear plugs in, put in the CD and pushed play – nothing! The batteries were dead. My stress level ratcheted up a notch. A Choice Point. I searched for replacement batteries, but there were no AAA’s in the cupboard. Up went my stress level. Another Choice Point. Acknowledge the frustration or deny it? Feel the frustration and let it go or stuff it in some way (overeating?). It’s always a choice, isn’t it?

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26. December 2009 by Patricia.

In becoming Diet Free I noticed a pattern of nibbling while cleaning up after a meal. I tried to identify a past event or circumstance that led to this behavior. However, asking the “Why” question did not help.  I turned to the “What” question.  “What am I thinking and/or feeling when I eat while clearing up the dishes?” This proved to be a much more fruitful question.

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12. December 2009 by Patricia.

As you read this blog is there any stress right now, exactly in this moment? Once you finish reading, you may remember a stressful past event or a future stress. However, right now as you focus your attention reading these words, aren’t you stress free? What would being stress free for an hour or a day feel like? How can you achieve more of these stress-free moments?

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24. October 2009 by Patricia.

I was in a funk and didn’t know why. One minute I was doing great and the next… funk! There was no time to sort out thoughts and feelings on the spot, I knew it was deep because I wanted to eat… anything. Feeling overwhelmed? I could not go there. How about accepting the funk and allowing myself to switch off for awhile in front of the T.V.?

The following day I congratulated myself for not using food for comfort. In exploring thoughts and feelings of the previous day, I realized that like a fishing reel spinning out into the middle of a river, I let worry escalate. Nothing was wrong. I had simply allowed myself to have stressful thoughts, “There’s so much to do, I’m never going to be able to get it all done!”

In the clear light of morning I relearned the link between thinking traps and stress!

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29. August 2009 by Patricia.

I struck up a conversation with a very slim young lady at the airport. We were both stranded passengers in a long line of stranded passengers trying to get to our destinations after our original flight was cancelled. It had already been a long day and most of us had not eaten lunch. As we chatted her stomach growled. She told me she was very hungry. I offered to hold her place while she went to get something to eat. Her response: I am too emotional to eat right now. I need to take care of my flight….. first things first. Wise words from a natural eater!

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15. August 2009 by Patricia.

Do you eat when you’re lonely or anxious? When you’re very angry does crunching down on potato chips feel good? After a stressful day does sitting in front of the T.V. with pizza and a big bowl of popcorn help restore your balance?

If you do any of these things, know that you are being a good friend to yourself because you are taking care of yourself in the best way you know how. Never doubt that.

If you want to be a better friend to yourself, simply becoming aware of your choice to use food to help with uncomfortable or negative emotions when you aren’t hungry is a great first step on your journey to diet freedom.

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25. July 2009 by Patricia.

For me there is nothing like plunging my hands into the earth – planting seeds, watching them grow and eating the fruits of my labor.

This season creatures munched the tops off my beans. I don’t mind sharing, but these somebodies ate every bean seedling. Other plants weren’t faring well either, so I got serious about investigating the cause. An infestation of pill bugs! According to my vegetable gardening book they are not usually a problem, but in high numbers damage to seedlings can be severe. Yep! That was it! My garden is organic and I am sensitive to killing insects, so I set about scooping up these pill bugs and moving them away from my vegetable garden.

Not knowing what was going on left me feeling victimized, while simply diagnosing the problem made me feel in charge and happier. I believe we experience similar emotions when it comes to eating issues. Simply getting clear on where we are stuck is a first step to feeling in charge and becoming happier. Then the real work of formulating an action plan and changing a habit can begin!

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31. January 2009 by Patricia.

I had a root canal last week. It wasn’t fun but I have a fabulous dentist who sings to me. I kid you not. When he gave me the first injection to numb my mouth, he sang a soothing song. With the second injection, he took me, through visualization, on a peaceful journey along a beautiful beach. Now that’s a dentist in tune with my inner child! I felt no pain and no discomfort at all for the next couple of days. But on the fourth day I must have bitten down on a cracker in the wrong place and the repaired tooth started to throb. Before I consciously acknowledged that I felt the discomfort, I found myself walking towards the kitchen in search of food.

And in a flash I got the connection! It’s almost like I heard this internal mantra, “Don’t feel pain - eat!” This awareness made me smile. In the moment, I realized that food was not going to help me. What would help? Verbally expressing the discomfort I felt. Asking myself how much pain I experienced on a scale of 1-10.  [I came up with a 5 – not so terribly bad!] And, I decided I would call the dentist first thing in the morning to have my tooth checked out. But I did not eat to deal with the discomfort. And I call that freedom! http://www.newparadigmcoaching.com/

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29. November 2008 by Patricia.

Many of us are frightened by the apparent power of “negative” feelings – such as fear, anger, and sadness. So instead of feeling these emotions, we use food to submerge them below our consciousness. Using food to dodge feelings can be convenient and momentarily helpful. Nonetheless, the consequences of not acknowledging the full range of our emotions can lead to a life disconnected from our authentic Self.

I believe that honoring feelings is the key to loving ourselves. Without exception, in every situation where I have allowed myself to feel my feelings rather than resist them, I have felt more alive, more vibrant and more connected to my true Self.

Remember that getting in touch with your feelings doesn’t mean you have to act on them. Simply becoming aware of emotions can help steer you toward an authentic relationship with who you truly are.

http://www.newparadigmcoaching.com/

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31. July 2008 by Patricia.

Most of the diets I’ve tried in my “past life” as a yoyo dieter and binge eater restricted the number of calories I could eat, but gave me one loop hole: I could eat all the so-called “free foods” I wanted - cucumber, celery, carrots, sugar-free candy, popsicles and chewing gum. And I took full advantage!

Looking at these “free” foods from a strictly caloric perspective, this idea makes sense. Most diets are based on a reduced calorie intake. Once you’ve eaten your quota for the day, and you still want to put food into your mouth, what do you do? Eat calorie “free” foods of course!

I would like to propose to you that these “free” foods are not as innocuous as they might seem.

For any of us who have an issue with overeating or bingeing and who want to break free of these behaviors, we need to be curious every time we put an item of food in our mouth – even if it is calorie-free. Some questions to ask are: “What am I feeling?” “What’s going on right now?” “Am I truly hungry?” “What do I really need?”

I have given up eating chewing gum on a regular basis and now chew it very infrequently as a breath freshener. I realized that most of the time I pulled out a stick of gum, unwrapped it and shoved it into my mouth, I was suppressing a feeling I did not want to acknowledge. I began to understand that chewing gum soothed and calmed me down and helped me center myself temporarily. After finding other ways to get back to center, I now don’t need this crutch.

Whenever you reach for food – even the calorie-free variety – and you know it is not out of hunger, see if you can get to what’s really going on. I have found journaling, meditating and movement practices such as yoga all helpful.

Diet programs and advertisers often advise eating all the calorie-free foods you want. Go ahead, they say, it’s only chewing gum. But is it?

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