Indulge Over Labor Day Weekend & Stay On Track

Labor Day Weekend is upon us. It's time to enjoy friends, family and food but sometimes that can be a recipe for disaster towards your healthy diet. Don't fret here's a few mindul tips from Bob Wright, Hilton Head Health Director of Education.

• “Control the controllables." Concentrate on what you’re personally accountable for to set yourself up for success.


• Have a good balanced breakfast and maybe a healthy snack before the Labor Day buffet, this will help rein in hunger and empower you to make better food choices.


• When you indulge, consume conscientiously. Eat treats mindfully. If you are going to have one, eat it slowly and savor every bite.


• Have no say in what Auntie May whips up for the annual Labor Day feast? Don’t sweat it. If you don’t have as much control over the food choices, be sure to get a good workout in in the morning, and look for ways to stay more active during the weekend.

Find these tips and other tips to stay mindful while you indulge for the Labor Day Weekend on Eat This Not That.

Wellness Wednesday: The Mindful Eating Challenge

When was the last time you tasted your food? I mean really tasted your food?

Yesterday I ate an orange that was so deliciously sweet and thirst-quenching I compared the experience to a spiritual encounter. A bit dramatic you might think -- but you’ve been there. You’ve eaten something before that has given you such pleasure you didn’t want the experience to end. Perhaps your eyes even rolled into the back of your head with each bite. That’s what really tasting your food feels like…indulgent, eye-rolling, spiritual encounters. So, when is the last time you did it?

Making the conscious decision to deliberately taste your food is the practice of mindful eating. Extreme pleasure is a wonderful benefit of mindful eating but an even better gain is satiety. When we mindfully eat something we enjoy, our brain receives the message that we are truly satisfied. Often, we will reach a state of satiety before we reach fullness. Thus, mindful eating is associated with weight loss.

This week I challenge you to mindfully eat one thing each day. Not necessarily your entire meal, just one component of your meal, or a snack. I want you to imagine that you are a child tasting your food for the first time. Float in the experience. Take your time. Let your eyes roll into the back of your head.

Kids' Hilarious First Reactions to Food Caught on Camera ABC News Blogs - Yahoo!

Before Taking the First Bite…

We all know how difficult it is to fight intense cravings or to break old habits of mindless eating. So, when you’re in those moments, what do you do? What do you do to avoid taking the first compulsive bite?

Mantras always help me, but I have to say them out loud. If I say them in my head without giving them a voice, they aren’t quite as powerful. Here are a few pocket responses when you feel yourself wanting to impulsively eat.

• I am one bite away from a binge.


• My choice is between unhappy eating or doing without just one small compulsive bite.


• Each time I face a situation without compulsively eating it becomes easier to make that choice again in the future.


• This will not make the situation better. One bite will make it worse and can lead to a binge.


• Do I want to give up the joy and serenity I’ve experienced from overcoming my battle with food for this?


• I can remember the misery, shame and guilt I experienced when compulsively eating and I won’t go back there.


• I can experience the gratitude of trading just one small compulsive bite for the happiness that freedom from food obsession provides me.


• I value my body so I won’t give into my childish tantrum for unnecessary food.


• I am worth saying no to compulsive eating. I am worthy of happiness and freedom.

I’m serious about the pocket part. Put them on a card and carry them around in your pocket. You can pull out the card anytime you feel like compulsively or impulsively eating.

Craving Control: Ride the Waves

Food cravings—intense desires to eat a specific food—come in waves, building in intensity.  If you don’t give in to the craving, it will subside and then gradually build again.  One effective way to manage cravings is to “ride the wave”—distract yourself until the craving passes.  Cravings usually last  no longer than 15-20 minutes.  To manage your cravings, start by delaying the decision to eat for 10 minutes.  During that time, do something that keeps your mind and/or hands occupied: 

- Exercise
- Do a crossword or Sudoku puzzle
- Polish your nails
- Play the piano
- Work in your garden
- Wash your car
- Call a friend
- Take a shower or bath
- Walk your dog
- Organize something
- Send an email
- Clean your house
- Practice tai-chi or yoga
- Knit
- Play solitaire

When the 10 minutes have passed, decide whether you still want to eat that food you are craving.  If so, decide what you will eat (perhaps a lower-fat, lower-calorie version would satisfy your craving) and how much you will eat.   Then measure the appropriate amount and eat slowly and mindfully.

Stop, Sit, Eat

 

 

Have you ever eaten an entire meal yet felt as if you didn’t even eat? Your mouth wanted more, your stomach wanted more…wait a minute, DID you actually scarf down a meal or not?

 

Perhaps you were eating while driving. Perhaps you were standing at the kitchen counter.  Perhaps you were eating out of the refrigerator.  Perhaps you were watching TV. Perhaps you were at your work desk.  Perhaps you were….

 

Perhaps that’s why you didn’t feel satisfied!  Eating a meal that leaves you full and content does not only mean eating healthy and nutritious food. Equally as important is the act of eating mindfully.

 

What is mindful eating?

 

Mindful eating means being fully present in the moment—seeing, smelling, feeling and tasting the food you are eating. In addition, it involves appreciating the way your food looks and feels—the colors and textures, as well as taking note of your body’s reaction to the foods such as your hunger levels and mood.

 

Key components of mindful eating:

1)    Sitting down at a table to eat

2)    Eating without distractions i.e. TV, computer, newspaper

3)    Eating in a neutral environment—a location that does not conjure up negative emotions or stress

 

Eating mindfully allows you to feel fuller while eating less. One contributing factor to this is the natural tendency to spend more time eating at each meal. Thus your stomach has adequate time to send the necessary signals to your brain alerting it that it is no longer hungry.  You will also find that your body is better able to digest the food consumed.  

 

Strategies to slow down eating:

1)    Use your non-dominant hand

2)    Drink water in between bites

3)    Observe, smell, and feel your food

4)    Think about the love that went into preparing the food

 

Life seems to be getting more and more hectic every day.  Fewer families are sitting down together at the dinner table to eat a home-cooked meal.  Don’t let that be your family.  Set aside 15-30 min. to sit down and enjoy your meal.  If you are by yourself, sit outside or by the window and simply enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds of nature.  You may think that there isn’t enough time in the day to set aside for dinnertime, but surely you have 15-30 minutes. Treat yourself and your family as well as you would if you had a guest over for dinner.