"Nurturing power of food"

SlimmingdownSusan

I've been reading a great daily motivator called, "100 Days of Weight Loss", by Linda Spangle. Each day has really practical advice on how to view food & exercise and how to stay the course. The entry I read last night has been an eye opener for me. I am such a binge eater & I find myself scared to restrict myself from binging while I'm trying to lose weight right now. I want to change this part of my life, and so far this book is helping me work through some of those issues I have. Thought I would share this....

Day 16
Nurturing power of food

When you're feeling stressed or sad or lonely, food does seem to make you feel better. At least initially, it calms your anger or anxiety and lifts your spirits. But how long does food keep working?

As you know, the first two bites of any food have the most impact on your taste buds. But they're also the only ones that have any emotional power! After you finish those first bites, you'll have received whatever benefits the food has for you. Eating more of it simply won't bring you additional satisfaction or make you feel any better.

You're Done!
After a long, stressful day, Kathy grabbed a pint of chocolate cherry ice cream from the freezer and then sank into her couch. As she ate the ice cream straight from the carton, she kept thinking, "Maybe this is the bite that will do it." Of course, it didn't work. She just felt worse.

If you're eating as a way to feel nurtured or calmed, you'll usually experience some level of those feelings right away. But continuing to eat won't bring any more satisfaction or make you feel better. In fact, at some point you'll probably begin to feel frustrated and disappointed with your behavior instead of being healed by the food.

Once your understand that eating more won't continue to improve your emotional state, you can use this in your favor. With a little effort, you can train yourself to feel better after eating only a small amount of nurturing food.

Letting food work
In weight loss seminars, I often hand out small chocolate chip cookies, Then I invite the class participants to eat two bites of their cookie while allowing themselves to feel nurtured and emotionally soothed by them.

After they finish those first two bites, I ask them to throw away the remainder of their cookies. Some people can hardly bear to do this. Yet at the same time, they admit those two bites were completely satisfying, and they really don't need to eat any more.

Today
* Intentionally eat something that will help you feel better. Soak up the pleasure from a delicious piece of chocolate. Allow yourself the comfort of eating your favorite ice cream or a luscious cinnamon roll. Eliminate any thoughts of guilt or remorse as you eat this food.

* After two bites, stop! Remind yourself that your needs have been met and eating more of the food won't increase your healing level. Then give away or toss whatever food is left.

*Write about how you felt doing this exercise. Also, notice what level of satisfaction you experienced as you ate the first tow bites of the food.

vhuber

Thank you, a very good read but I felt a since of panic while reading that!! Yikes!!