Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Food Is Not The Enemy



Our relationship with food is primal and complex.
We need to eat to live, but modern convenience combined with sedentary jobs means we often eat more than we need or food which does not nourish us.

As children, our mothers and others often "loved" us with food, or we learned ways to satisfy emotional needs with food and if those habits continued into adulthood, we find ourselves eating not for hunger, but for other reasons.

If you have been 'dieting' for many years, you may be surprised at how quickly you regain weight after the 'diet' has ended and how you manage to gain a little more each time.

You have effectively been teaching your metabolism to become more efficient at fat storage.

For long-term, sustainable fat-loss that you can maintain once you reach a healthy weight range is most effective when you examine your relationship with food and make some changes about the way you think of food in your life and in your body.

Non-Hungry eating plays a big part in weight gain and as the name suggests, happens for reasons other than hunger, boredom, anxiety, sadness, tiredness, for example.

Working with a food diary, initially without making any changes to what you usually eat, gives you a more accurate map of what you're currently doing.
Don't judge, just record.

Imagine using a map of Sydney to navigate your way around Melbourne - impossible!
A food diary helps you to get an accurate picture of where you're at, and better equips you with the right map to get to where you want to be.

Eat mindfully, slowly, focusing completely on each mouthful of whatever you are eating, without distraction. Put your fork down between each bite & really take your time, checking in with your body to see whether you are still hungry.

Eating until satisfied is not the same as eating to fullness and it takes time to become fully aware of the difference.
You may be used to the following kind of thoughts:

  • food is a temptation
  • food means being out of control
  • food means gaining weight
  • food means wanting things I can't have
  • food gives me comfort
  • food makes me guilty
  • food is the enemy.
Well stop right there!

Shifting your thinking around food will shift your experience of food.

Try these thoughts for a week and notice the difference you experience:

  • food means energy
  • food means strength
  • food means having enough vitality to work
  • food means not getting tired before the end
  • food means brainpower
  • I am doing my best to eat slowly and enjoy will all my senses.
  • I can have it if I want it, but do I really feel like it?

For a more detailed consultation on mindful eating, contact MET Fitness.

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