Mindful May
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taylok23
Posts: 823 Member
As we move toward May, I've been thinking a lot about my eating habits and the fact that I've gotten off track with maintaining. I'm finding that I do a few things that I'd like to start focusing more on: stop snacking when I'm not hungry (been saying this forever), don't eat just because of a time on the clock, and pay attention to when I'm full rather than cleaning my plate. Anyone else find any of these challenging? What's worked for you to curb these habits? I do think a lot of this is ingrained and is hard to break. I'll admit that I do have cheats on occasion but more often than not am fairly low carb and am religious about exercise. I just tend to go over on calories because of the reasons mentioned above. Join me for the month in mindful eating!
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I think a lot about the not eating just because of the time on the clock. I would love to start doing this. I can't figure out how I can. We have designated break times at work and if I don't eat than. I might not get the chance to eat.0
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When you are preparing meals for others, it is hard to just watch them eat. I do try to keep my meals smaller and try to make a conscious effort not to overeat.0
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I used to do a mindfulness challenge. Here's the link to give some ideas on what mindful eating can mean: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10646916/march-2018-mindfulness-challenge#latest0
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Boredom is a big driver for me along with availability. Some "good" foods like almonds as an example, I have to just not have in the house or I will end up eating a pound of them. From a boredom standpoint, my TV watching is down to maybe 30-45 minutes a day outside of some sports (big basketball fan, so watching a bit more now that the playoffs are here). It is easier now, but sitting and watching without a snack was hard to get used to.
Time on the clock was an issue for a while. It just took time to adjust. The only time that comes up now is I make myself eat dinner early, or not at all. The blood sugar response the next morning is affected too much by eating late regardless of what I eat to bend on that one. Since BG control is my number one reason for eating this way, I have to be strict there.
Overeating, for me really comes down to availability. I have to make it as difficult as possible to get more than I should. When I cook dinner, I frequently make enough for more meals. So, I pack up those leftovers into meal size amounts at the same time as I put it on my plate. That way, to get more, I would have to actually break into what I am planning to have for lunch the next day.
Eating as slowly as reasonable is helpful also. We have family dinner most nights, so this helps because we have conversation. It is easier to eat slowly if you have conversation and avoid talking with food in your mouth. This was big for me because I used to go to a pizza buffet on my 30 minute lunch break and down 35-40 pieces of pizza and still make it back to work on time. The speed with which I used to eat was scary, which made overeating very easy.
Good luck. You got this.1 -
Goals work for me. I have an event this summer I want to be in better physical shape for so I have the stamina to enjoy it and do it better. My motivation is really high right now. I think mentally you have to “be there” for it to work. At least that’s me.3
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Since my last post, I’ve tried to be more mindful of eating and how I’m feeling. I can’t say I’ve slowed down although I have made an effort when I think about it how fast I’m eating. I have definitely stopped eating seconds at dinner over the last week by waiting to truly determine if I’m still hungry or acting out of habit. This has definitely helped me rethink eating more. I succumbed one night to snacking but otherwise have held off and distracted myself. I’m still in the habit during the day of eating because it is “lunch time” so that will be my next focus. I think this will still be a challenge of grabbing something because I have a break from meetings. Preparing in advance should help to have something handy when I do get hungry, regardless of schedule. Anyone else trying to be more mindful?0
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I haven't been able to break the clearing my plate, so I just put less on my plate, and then if I'm still hungry after half an hour, I'll go get more.0
