Pattern Awareness

jaedwa1 wrote: »

My pattern was not a snacking one, it was a drinking one. I'd come home, open a beer or pour a glass of wine and catch up on my personal mail. Then I'd have drink while making dinner. Then have a drink during dinner...you can see the pattern there. Of course, my waistline was growing and my sleep patterns suffered. I started to be more mindful when I noticed I was not really enjoying the drinks...I was just doing it out of habit. I bought some peppermint tea and discovered that holding a mug of tea was just as soothing as holding a beer or a glass of wine. Now I have a cupboard full of herbal teas and those are my goto drink(s) for my evenings at home.

Awesome awareness, learning, and adjusting! It takes courage to look at yourself and your behavior through these sort of growth oriented lens so good on you.

ronjsteele1 wrote: »

stroutman81 wrote: »

ronjsteele1 wrote: »

RAinWA wrote: »

I have found that applying the same ideas that are taught to people learning to budget really helps me. The want vs. need idea really works for me.

YES. YES. YES. I thought I was the only one that noticed this! We are big Dave Ramsey fans. We haven't had debt for most of our 21yrs of marriage. As I have listened to him over the years I noticed as my weight increased (started mostly about half way through our marriage) I got lax with our budget and savings. When I'm doing really well at saving, I'm doing really well at "budgeting" my daily calories. When I'm spending more then I know I *should* (even if we can afford to), I'm not doing well at budgeting my daily calories. I'm so glad you "verbalized" this because I have seen it in myself for a long time and really wondered if they were connected. For me, if I want a real view of how I'm doing in one of these areas, I look at how I'm doing in the other area and that usually answers it for me (especially if I'm having a hard time being objective in one area or the other). From there I start looking at what I need to do to make adjustments.

Well, for some reason this just made my day. LOL

What about finance management do you think influences the way you interact with food? I think this is very interesting.

Or do you think that it's not so much these two things are interrelated, but rather there's an underlying theme in your life that tends to influence both of these things simultaneously?

It's not so much that these are interrelated as it's an underlying theme. Interestingly, it's one of the themes I have been working on this year at an emotional level (vs. cognitive). I think it largely has to do with telling myself "no" or denying myself something I want. Wanting immediate gratification vs. delaying gratification for a greater goal. Why I think, or what does, happen if I deny myself something or delay gratification by delaying something I want? Quite a bit more in depth then that, but that's the basic underlying theme. That same thing would apply to finances much more today if not for the things I've learned from my husband and others about managing finances and avoiding debt. But I still manage to play the theme out by becoming lax in my budgeting or saving. It's a long standing theme. Thus the reason for my focus on it this past year because it definitely affects my ability to lose weight and maintain the loss.

Heck, impulsiveness is embedded in our DNA. Our brains outsource a lot of what we do to its older centers. Executive function, impulse control, and a lot of what goes on in the prefrontal cortex is relatively new in terms of the spectrum of brain development. New = weaker in some regards. At least that serves the purpose of what we're talking about here.

I think all of us contend with impulse control. And all of us experience a nonlinear journey where sometimes decisions are easier to make than other

I think you're on the right path. Increasing emotional awareness is massively important. Most of the reasons that lead people to overeat stem from emotional places. And most people leave these emotional triggers in the dark. They either aren't equipped or they're too wrapped up in automaticity to see them. The more awareness they can build, the more impulse control they'll have.

Meditation plays a role here too. If you haven't experimented with it... it might be something to look into.

ronjsteele1 wrote: »

Ha! Just figured out what you do. Interesting that you sound very much like a psychologist. You ask excellent questions for getting people to think about things underlying their eating issues.

The way I frame questions mostly stems from the art of motivational interviewing. It's part of the foundation of how I communicate. Thanks for noticing!

My husband use to be your neighbor. He grew up in Wyndmoor. When we first met he use to talk about going to PTown all the time with friends, etc. We haven't been back there since 1996. That's probably a good thing since the freeways/expressways scare the crud out of me. LOL!

**Sorry for the interruption. Back to the original thread**

Get out of here! That's crazy.

Not much to do in the town of Pottstown itself. I don't hang out there too often... it's pretty rundown. But I live out in the burbs. Love where I live... which is near St. Peters Village. You should ask him if he's familiar with it.

kommodevaran wrote: »

I'm still learning. I have gathered so much information now, that learning often is just about connecting the dots

That's pretty much the name of the game... always and forever.

Most people know what to do. It's the whole, "getting yourself to do it consistently" bit that alludes most people, though. And that's where connecting the dots and lots of introspection come into play.

Another thread reminded me - I have been chasing a phantom. What if I told you... there is no off-switch for hunger. Because there is no need for one. In nature, food is scarce, and we eat when it's available. A constant overabundance of food requires a different strategy, but we are intelligent and capable of adjusting to new environments. "Fullness" is not a sensation but a habit, a culturally acquired skill. Normal weight people just take what they need, eat it and enjoy it, they don't obsess over "am I still hungry, or am I full now, is this feeling I'm having now, satisfied, or am I closer to stuffed?". That's where I want to be too.

Lots of big ideas in there!

While there isn't an "off switch" for hunger, there are a number of messengers in the body that let our brains know we're fed. So it's actually both... a sensation of biological origin and a habit. It's really difficult to separate physiology and psychology... they're just too intertwined. But I think you're on the right path. If you can dial into a routine that honors the biological side of the coin... you're going to have a easier go at it over the long run.

Also, fwiw, I'm a normal weight person but I do consciously monitor the degree of satiety I'm experiencing over the course of a meal.

I also, though, have habits that help enhance this consciousness. And other habits that unconsciously enhance calorie management.

So it's this complex and dynamic process of physical and emotional regulation.

Timshel_ wrote: »

stroutman81 wrote: »

Our brains love patterns.

Exactly. They are called habits, and the true key to being healthy is changing our habits to a healthier lifestyle. And that is the toughest part of it all.

That it is. Of course the fitness industry wants you to believe it's simpler than this. That there are easy fixes that you can pay for. But intrinsic change is ultimately what's going to drive the sort of change most of us are after. Ya know... the forever kind.

And that's why I much prefer to perceive this as a giant experiment where I'm constantly testing things out and learning. This prism helps check the dichotomous, perfectionistic thinking that tends to pervade our minds when we're setting out for change.