Many of us LOVE to eat. It's one of life's greatest pleasures. There's no shame in enjoying the act of eating, it is a vital and necessary part of our survival. However, many of us are afraid to admit that we do it, let alone enjoy doing it! It's not Porn people!
The reason behind this, is that overeating or eating too much of the wrong types of foods can cause a number of diseases and add extra cushioning to our exterior. We end up restricting ourselves in public or around people we believe will judge us if we eat in front of them. Afterwards, we go home and violently shove pie into our pie holes until we fall into a sugar-induced coma.
If this is something you can relate with, I want to be the first to say- YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are so many people out there who have restricted and consequently binged, including myself (you can read my personal story here). If you suffer from this particularly vicious cycle, please, contact me so I can help you get out of this painful situation!
In the meantime, I want you to realize that everyone has foods that are their favorite, healthy or not. Mindful Eating is a practice that doesn't judge or condemn any kind of food, it is an exercise in the awareness of eating and nourishing the body. Many people judge themselves when they eat, so they try to distract themselves from judgement by turning on the TV, reading, or browsing the Internet while they eat. Then they get done, and go back for more because their brain didn't get to fully experience the pleasure of eating.
That's why I've written up this exercise in Mindful Eating so that you can teach yourself to eat with enjoyment and pleasure again.
Step 1: Go out and get whatever food you normally binge on or eat excessively. It doesn't matter what it is (healthy or not), and it will be different for everyone. Mine is Nacho Cheese Doritos (I've polished off many-a-bag in my lifetime)
Step 2: Sit down at a table, put the food in a container (plate, bowl, cup, don't eat out of the container it comes in). Have a glass of cold water with no ice to accompany it.
Step 3: Make sure there are no distractions, no TV, music, Internet, nada.
Step 5: Take one regular-sized bite. As you chew the food, notice the temperature, texture, flavors. Is it hot, cold, crunchy, chewy? Do you taste the garlic flavor that you smelled earlier? Chew it as long as you can and notice how it tastes.
Step 6: Put your fork or eating utensils down, take a deep breath and take a big drink of water.
Step 7: Repeat Step 5 & 6, noticing how your body, specifically your stomach feels. Notice your thoughts (i.e., I want to eat all of this, now, fast hurry! Or, maybe you will think to yourself, I guess I didn't like this food as much as I thought I did when I was eating in front of the TV)
Step 8: Rate your hunger level after about 5-6 bites. On a scale of 0-5, Zero being famished, and 5 being Thanksgiving-full, where are you? Do you physically need to eat more? If your answer is yes, eat more, if your answer is no, but you want to eat more, go for it, but keep stopping to note your hunger level and continue to follow Steps 5-7.
While I realize that this is not a realistic way to eat all the time, it will help you to start noticing signals from your body when you become full and it will also help you actually enjoy the foods you like more. Like I said before, eating is one of life's greatest pleasures, so why not actually be present and enjoy the experience?
See if you can secretly practice mindful eating while you are around others as well. It is especially helpful to do this in public so you can practice being aware even though there are many distractions around you. When you get the urge to binge, try doing this first, then see if your urge goes away, or at least becomes less intense. If you would like to discuss this personally or if you would like a more personalized and intensive program, you can check out my 1:1 & Group Programs here.
Like anything, this is an exercise that must be put into practice often in order for it to start working in your favor. Please let me know in the comments section below how this exercise worked out for you, and tell me what food you used when you did it. I'd love to hear about your discoveries and revelations!
Until next time, I hope you are staying Happy & Healthy!
Sincerely,
Maureen
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