Tuesday 31 August 2010

Mindful eating - revisited

I have struggled for a long time with my eating habits.

I have gone from whining in my head (and sometimes outloud) about 'how come other people can eat whatever they want?' to blaming western society in general for unrealistic body expectations, to saying, 'what the heck' and eating whatever I want, whenever I want, and then getting angry and belittling myself for not having the will power to eat less and exercise more. I've also found it maddening that I've been able to cut back consumption in other areas of my life, but not in the food area. I've blogged about that frustration before.

I've tried to be more 'mindful' while eating, and to not do anything other than eat when I'm eating. That worked for about five minutes and then I go back to doing what I've always done, which is chowing down while watching TV or reading. In short, nothing has worked (notice the disconnection here - it leaves me out of the equation entirely)...until now. Well, until about nine weeks ago. That's when (through the magic of facebook,) I noticed my sister doing an awesome job of losing weight, with the help of a website called myfitnesspal.com .

Don't worry, I'm not going to use my nice, non-commercial blog to talk up some product or service. In fact there is no product or service to talk up, really - it turns out it's all about that whole connection/disconnection thing again. By that I mean that I was completely disconnected from the facts about how many calories I was burning compared to how many I was taking in. And I was delusional in a sense, because I seemed to have the idea that just because I felt guilty about what I ate, and really wanted to exercise but was too [insert excuse here] to get up and move, that the laws of biology and physics would change for me and I would lose weight merely because I wished I could so badly. It was the calorie counting tools at MFP that stripped me of those delusions and reconnected me with the truth of "doing the math." There was no way I could balance my input of calories with my output of energy until I knew how much of each I was consuming/expending. And so now, nine weeks later, the number on the scale is heading nicely downwards. :) It's another example of joyful moderation that I am glad to incorporate into my life.

So, at last, I am at eating and moving mindfully. Not in the sense that I am doing only that and nothing else at the time, but with an over-arching yet basic awareness of the connection between what I eat and what I do. And I really think that it is this kind of fundamental awareness between consumption and its consequences that we as a species have to get connected with, and soon. I'm glad that I can do this myself in an everyday way now, and witness the results!

P.S. - If anyone is using MFP, my username is themyriadthings, and I'd be happy to be your MFP friend :)

9 comments:

Simply Authentic said...

Glad you've found something to help you find that balance. It definitely helps to recognize that balance really is the key to the equation--moving more when we eat more and sometimes vice versa. For those that burn many calories sometimes they've also got to eat more so as to have enough energy, as in those avid avid exercisers. My motivation came from establishing goals for myself. The veg diet helps limit my calorie consumption somewhat (although I do love sweets) but my big thing was that I wanted to be able to run again. So I started out with a goal of running every day for a month, then changed to 3-5x a week for about 5 months, and when I started to plateau then I switched it up again 7-11 miles per week to push myself to run farther each go for less outings. ;) So far running so frequently is stabilizing my weight and benefiting my emotional and mental health---definitely something I notice if I miss a few days in a row. And that's the nice thing the current goals have enough flexibility that I don't have to run every day. Sorry this is a novel! :) BUT I'm so glad for you---keep with it!! And be willing to adjust as you need while still getting what you need too!

Theresa said...

Hi SA - you inspire me with your running! My sister has started to run too, after losing 30 lbs on the same website. It makes me think I might be able to try it too! Balance is key, absolutely! I like that I can eat anything I want, so long as its a reasonable and measured portion and I balance it with exercise that I like, such as walking or riding a bike.

Eco Yogini said...

yep, eating mindfully is tricky. i try to do it- but get bored with my thoughts haha.
andrew and i used to be really good at eating at the table and connecting with each other... but lately we've just been eating on the couch watching MasterChef or something.
maybe the table isn't in a good spot at our new place.

in any case, Andrew really spent some time figuring out calories, not because he wanted to lose weight, but he wanted to make sure he ate enough now that he's been working out and running.

Theresa said...

Hi EcoY - hope all is well with you! The mindful eating is tricky indeed. I'm glad to have found something that has 'gelled' for me so that I pay attention to what I'm eating. I do a lot less gobbling of food now, and more slow enjoyment of my smaller portions. It's a change I feel really good about, and the hypocrisy of my eating habits has bothered me for a long time. I have a lot less existential guilt this way, and that can only be good!

Simply Authentic said...

Ha Theresa, I agree---I want to have cake AND enjoy it too! Nothing wrong with some of the sweets and more "negative" food choices if it's moderated and balanced with calorie burning. Sending you a big "pumped up" hug! :) Let me know if you start running---I've been thinking about trying to do an accountability type of thing from my blog. Two of my cousins and a friend are just starting up with running but have yet to decide if I want to use blog space to do it.....

Jerry said...

Congrats on the inspiration and finding/making use of a resource to help you along your path. I would offer a reminder that appetite can shift with the seasons as well. We tend to be hungrier in autumn and winter as our bodies still tend to want to store energy for winter. I know this is certainly the case for me. Come spring and summer my appetite really winds down, but some autumn...

Best of luck in your efforts!

Theresa said...

Hi Jerry - that makes a lot of sense, for sure. I know I do certainly like to start cooking and baking at that time of year, with all the 'taste-tests' that involves - I will pay attention to that, thanks!

Mrnoself said...

I think mindful eating can be difficult. It's a great way of appreciating the simplicty of eating for survival and also gain pleasure from the act of eating. I think often eating is done for comfort.It's a great way to self soothe. It can also be an ethical action and a way of interacting with the world that is highly meaningful. Interesting post.

Theresa said...

Mrnoself- thanks for coming by and posting :) You make some thought-provoking points. Mindful eating is certainly not easy. I do like to take the time to remember where the food came from and all the people and resources that went into it before it came into my hands. The universe in each bite, really. :)