How I stopped my ice cream binge.

I have a confession to make. Last Saturday, as I was strolling down the ice cream aisle at the local Harris Teeter, a carton of Blue Bunny white chocolate macadamia nut cookie ice cream called my name. “Pssst, Linda. Over here!” And before I could get around the corner, it had hopped right into my cart.

There was a time in my life when I knew that I couldn’t buy whole cartons of ice cream. I would buy individual ice cream sandwiches or bars so that I could “eat the whole thing” without consuming several thousand calories in one weak moment. But it’s been many years since I even thought about going on an all-out binge, so I figured I was pretty safe.

The ice cream lived happily in my freezer for a few days. I had a small serving on Sunday and another Monday. But by about Wednesday, I could hear it beckoning me at all hours of the day. “One scoop won’t hurt,” the voice said. And the voice of reason replied, “I need to put it in a dish so I won’t be tempted to overeat (advice I frequently share with clients at Hilton Head Health). So I had a small dish and went back to work.

By the next afternoon, the voice got louder. I had my single dish, and then it shouted: “You worked out this morning; you’ve had a hard day; you can eat a light dinner and exercise extra tomorrow; a little bit more won’t hurt….” I finally caved in, snatched it out of the freezer and started eating it right out of the carton—shoveling it in as fast as it could slide down my throat, digging out the special bites of cookie dough and leveling off the top as I went. That’s when the voice of reason said, “STOP!”

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.