LittleTurtle Practices Mindful Eating

[LittleTurtle]

I had a major epiphany towards the end of the 5^th week during my last challenge. 

 

LittleTurtle, on 06 Feb 2015 - 10:50 AM, said:

OK.  Here's what happened last night:  I've been really wanting wheat the last couple of days, but instead of eating what I wanted, I ended up eating too much of something else.  Of course, I felt horrible afterwards, but then I had an epiphany.  I truly need to stop trying to eliminate certain foods from my diet.  The problem isn't what I'm eating - it's how I'm eating.  It seems like I have a tendency to eat as though it's the last meal I'll ever have.

So I really began to contemplate what my issue is and where it could have possibly stemmed from, and then I remembered a story my Mom told me about when I was an infant:  Apparently, when she was nursing me at some point during my infancy - her milk ducts ran dry or something.  Anyway, I was losing weight like crazy, so she took me to the doctor to see what was wrong.  He was brutal and very tactless when he informed her that her milk ducts were dry and she'd basically been starving me...(or something along those lines).  I started to wonder if I have some kind of ingrained fear from infancy that there is a possibility that I will run out of food at some point.

 

I've decided that from this day forward - challenge goals or not - I am not eliminating ANY food from my diet.  Instead, I absolutely MUST be very mindful about my intake of all foods.  I need to try to break my habit of over-eating (especially when I'm craving something that I'm trying to not eat). 

 

Here’s the deal.  I’m still working towards lowering my body fat to 20%.  However, in the past, when I’ve eliminated certain foods, it’s like I take two steps forward and then set myself two steps back.  It’s frustrating.  I just want to eat what I want to eat and not stress about whether it’s Paleo or how many grams of sugar it contains or if the food contains wheat…or, or, or!  That constant worry combined with my OCD has me freaking out over every ounce of food I put in my mouth.  And then I measure how guilty I should feel by how much I think overdid it.  It’s not a healthy (or fun) way to live.

 

For this challenge, I’m going to be focusing on “Mindful Eating Habits”.  I’ve noticed that I eat as though it’s the last meal I’ll ever have.  Mostly, it’s just a contest for my stomach to see how fast I can get food in it.  I need to slow down, take my time, enjoy the food that I’m eating rather than racing to fill the hunger void.  I’ve practiced this exercise a few times already and it’s hard!  Like really hard!  But I’m confident that I can master this art by the time the challenge ends.  I think a very important part of this is to not let myself become too hungry.  As long as I’m not feeling famished, I think it will help with eating slower.  This is my theory, anyway.

 

MAIN QUEST

Practice mindful eating while working towards lowering body fat to 20 %

 

Goals

1.      Practice mindful eating habits starting with one meal every day.

2.      Exercise 4 times per week every week.

3.      20 minutes of yoga or walking on non-workout days.

4.      One day of absolute rest each week.

           

GRADING

Spreadsheet

[Chanda]

Love it! 

 

Well done on learning something really important about yourself and to be honest about how we humans react to ignoring some of our needs. I too end up over eating when I try to deny myself certain foods... and I too have learned to relax the control over what I eat. Its one of the reasons for my "Fuel" goal, instead of saying no snacking or less deep fried foods or no giant piles of carbs, I am saying eat more vegetables and fruit. Nothing is being eliminated... but by default some will be replaced.

 

Hint for slowing down how you eat: try to eat things that require you to "work". For example, instead of already shelled nuts... get nuts that you need to crack open to eat. Same with fruit. Sitting down to peel and cut a piece of fruit as you eat it or cracking a nut at a time... is a lot more mindful than getting them ready then eating them (or pulling them out of a bag). I had this insight when I remembered how my grandparents (all 4 of them did this) would savour nuts/fruit as a snack. The act of shelling/pealing/cutting slowed down their eating. I started doing this and its become a regular event... and when I pull out the nut cracker or start pealing a mandarin my girls magically show up for a snack.

 

I am told that chewing a few extra times and/or putting the fork down between mouthfuls can also help slow you down. It worked for me when I had to learn to slow down my eating... growing up with 3 brothers one learns to eat quickly.

 

Enjoy your meals!

[Ambisagrus]

Good stuff, LT! Are you still thinking of doing the accountability group?

[Taijibum]

Subbed. Your "last meal" poverty thinking food thing is exactly what I have. I need to watch you.

[annyshay]

Me too! Following.

Good stuff, LT! Are you still thinking of doing the accountability group?

Really? About mindful eating? There seem to be lots of us working on it...

[LittleTurtle]

Hint for slowing down how you eat: try to eat things that require you to "work". For example, instead of already shelled nuts... get nuts that you need to crack open to eat. Same with fruit. Sitting down to peel and cut a piece of fruit as you eat it or cracking a nut at a time... is a lot more mindful than getting them ready then eating them (or pulling them out of a bag). I had this insight when I remembered how my grandparents (all 4 of them did this) would savour nuts/fruit as a snack. The act of shelling/pealing/cutting slowed down their eating. 

This made me chuckle because it is SO true!  I'm so not even lying when I say that I made a post on my Facebook about how "I've come to the decision that life is too short to shell my own pistachios."

 

Thank you for the support!  I guess it's time to start buying my pistachios in the shell once again.   

 

Good stuff, LT! Are you still thinking of doing the accountability group?

Thanks!  And yes!  The post is HERE!  Can't wait!  

 

Subbed. Your "last meal" poverty thinking food thing is exactly what I have. I need to watch you.

Wonderful!  I appreciate the support.  

 

Me too! Following.

Really? About mindful eating? There seem to be lots of us working on it...

Yes.  HERE.  I certainly have noticed a lot of people working on mindful eating.  I hope you join!  

[Lady of Gallifrey]

I really like your challenge. Mindful eating..that's a wonderful concept. 

[Nusuth]

Amazingly hard concept aswell ^^  tho the teasers say that once you get it, it's a breeze     /pulls out a shotgun & looks for a guru

[Heidi]

Wonderful insights and goals, LT.

Cheering for you, as ever.

[Lady of Gallifrey]

Hey Little Turtle...how are things going?

Sent from the TARDIS

[LadyGrey]

I've been practicing my mindful eating habits at lunch, and at the other meals only if I think to remember xD  Tracking my food has helped me alot!

How have you been doing? 

 

Oh yeah, I haven't even walked 2 miles yet this week  Yoga only once. 

[Heidi]

How's your week going so far?

Sent from my KFAPWA using Tapatalk

[LittleTurtle]

I really like your challenge. Mindful eating..that's a wonderful concept. 

Thank you!  

 

Amazingly hard concept aswell ^^  tho the teasers say that once you get it, it's a breeze     /pulls out a shotgun & looks for a guru

It really is hard!  And it takes much more effort than I originally thought it would.  If you find that guru, send him/her my way!

 

Wonderful insights and goals, LT.

Cheering for you, as ever.

Thanks, Heidi.  

 

Hey Little Turtle...how are things going?

Sent from the TARDIS

Hoping that Week 2 goes a little bit better.  I think it would help if I threw away some things in my kitchen...  Those damn pretzel Goldfish are hard to eat mindfully!!

 

I've been practicing my mindful eating habits at lunch, and at the other meals only if I think to remember xD  Tracking my food has helped me alot!

How have you been doing? 

 

Oh yeah, I haven't even walked 2 miles yet this week  Yoga only once. 

I've been really trying for dinner the most.  That is when I'm most hungry and want to eat fast to fill the void.  It's been going okay, but there is much room for improvement.

 

How's your week going so far?

Sent from my KFAPWA using Tapatalk

Week 1 was not my best.  It probably wasn't my worst, but I needed more exercise.  I've been feeling like a lump lately.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I'm trying to cope/deal with some personal matters lately.  I apologize for being absent on the threads.  I might be hiding in my "shell" for a bit.  Of course, I'll still be working on my goals, but not reporting as much as normal.    

[Lady of Gallifrey]

Glad to hear you're still working on your goals. Don't worry about not being around. You need to take care of yourself, take the time you need and know we'll be here for you.

Sent from the TARDIS

[LadyGrey]

I've been really trying for dinner the most.  That is when I'm most hungry and want to eat fast to fill the void.  It's been going okay, but there is much room for improvement.

Dinner is the same for me. Except that is when I am most distracted because my family sits down to eat together. I enjoy that time with my family, so I would find that very difficult. I haven't been tracking or practicing mindful eating for 3 days now  Been in a slump and depressed too. Hang in there! I am cheering for you to succeed too!

[Heidi]

 

I'm trying to cope/deal with some personal matters lately.  I apologize for being absent on the threads.  I might be hiding in my "shell" for a bit.  Of course, I'll still be working on my goals, but not reporting as much as normal.    

Take your time, dear. We love you.

 

Are you going to CAMP? 63 spots left as of this morning, and I haven't got a designated roomie yet.

[LittleTurtle]

Firstly, please accept my deepest apologies for being completely absent in the threads this challenge.  I followed through with my goals though!  Here is my completed spreadsheet:

 

Challenge #13

 

I learned A LOT about myself over these past 6 weeks.  I successfully weaned myself off anti-depressants with the approval and guidance of my doctor.  I discovered that Prozac was making me gain weight.  It was a slow gain, but a large gain in the course of over a year.  I was getting so frustrated with everything and couldn't figure out why I kept gaining despite my diet and exercise.  The biggest thing I've noticed since being off it is that my anger and temper have been a bit overwhelming, but that just means I'm meditating more, so I suppose it all evens out.  

 

I learned that mindful eating is a BITCH.  It's way harder than I thought it would be.  I think it is easier for me to just have meals planned and prepped so I don't eat poorly than it is to be mindful of what I'm eating.  It's horrible to admit, but I hate to eat slow!   

 

I rediscovered my love for running.  I've been running more than I have since I can remember.  The greatest part is that my body doesn't hurt post run.  I remember when I'd run one or two miles and hardly be able to walk the next day.  I'm so proud of what my body is capable of doing!  

 

I've determined that weekends are the very hardest part of the week for healthy eating.  My boyfriend and I have started making breakfast at home on at least ONE of the weekend mornings.  We do eggs, fruit, black coffee, and multi-grain toast with Kerrygold butter.  It's actually kind of fun and helps start the day off right.  Still, it's hard to keep the momentum when I don't have any kind of schedule to follow.

 

Sugar is my Achilles Heel.  Once I start, it is SO hard to stop and it's ALL I can think of.  I'll be thinking of ways to reduce my intake without depriving myself into a sugar binge.

 

And that's about it for this one!  

[Waanie]

Congratulations for getting off your meds! It's a pity they made you gain weight, but at least you now know that it were not YOUR efforts that stopped you from losing it .

As for sugar binges, it helps me to incorporate a little sugar in a meal, and after a meal is eaten I then do not crave more sugar. However, if something is mostly sweet and I know there is more, I'll eat more. Nutella sandwich? I can stop after one. Cookies? I will not stop until all cookies are eaten and then hunt for more sweet stuff. I guess sugar is as much my achilles heel as yours .