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It's amazing how much better I feel after a good night's sleep, and now have 2 days in a row. Hope you slept & are felling well too, because you've got some reading ahead of you, if you choose to continue here. The next chapter from my mindful eating for binge eaters retreat is below. This one again again at a perfect time for me. It's on eating to a "just right" fullness… feeling better after eating than before you began. I'd been thinking of that expression in a different context after yesterday's journal (thanks so much for all the wonderful comments & wise insights!). I'd been thinking of choosing who I spend my time with in terms of those who I feel better after spending time together than beforehand. But thats another journal!
First, though, I must start my day in prayer --
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
And for this one day & through each one meal, moment, bite, thought & emotion, I'll pray, breathe, log, journal & express my way. I'm grateful today for each of Inspiring you, my family & IRL friends, a cold but dry and sunny day today before the storm hits tonight, and having the health & wealth to live this "just right" life I love! xoxox
EWYL-BE Chapter 8 – Just Right
How Much Do I Need?
Think about what it means to be satisfied. Satisfied means that you simply don’t need anything else – so you’re left feeling content, fulfilled, pleased, or even happy – just right!
How Full Am I?
• The goal is to eat with intention – so before you start eating, decide how full you want to be when you’re done.
• Estimate how much food you’ll need to reach that level of fullness & serve or order the appropriate amount of food.
• Create a speed bump by physically or visually dividing the food in half. Check in when you reach the speed bump, then again when you’re done eating.
• Give yourself a Hunger & Fullness number in the middle of eating, at the end of the meal, and 20-30 minutes later.
Hunger & Fullness Scale
4 or less = Still a bit hungry. Your options:
• Wait awhile to see if your hunger & fullness number increases.
• Eat more now.
• Eat again in a while.
• Stop at a 4 (this is a good idea if you plan to eat dessert, if you’ll be eating again soon, or when you don’t want to feel food in your stomach like before exercising).
5 = Satisfied – Feels great! Remember this feeling!
• I’m not hungry & I feel comfortable.
• I could eat more but I don’t need to.
• The flavor of the food begins to fade.
• Harder to give each bite my full attention.
• I feel light & energetic, and ready for my next activity.
6 = Full.
• I can feel the food but it’s not unpleasant.
7 to 10 = Very Full to Sick.
• “I ate (way) too much.”
There is a point at which overeating can become a full-blown binge. Thoughts like “I already blew it – I might as well keep eating” and feelings of guilt can lead to shame & self-loathing, fueling the Binge Eating Cycle. Awareness of your responses to overeating can prevent the progression to a binge.
You are in charge, so you can choose whether to overeat or binge. You’re not a bad person based on how much you eat, but you might feel physically bad, and therefore regretful. Regret leaves the door open for learning. When you overeat or binge, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, try to understand why it happened so you can learn from your mistakes.
Why Did It Happen?
When you overeat or binge, review your last eating cycle & ask questions to help you determine why it might have happened:
• Why? Why was I eating in the first place?
• When? When did I get the urge to eat? What was I thinking? What was I feeling? What else was going on? Was I hungry? How hungry was I? Was I too hungry? If I wasn’t hungry, what was the physical, environmental or emotional trigger to eat?
• What? What did I choose to eat & why? Did that affect how much I ate? Did I choose food that was satisfying? Did I like it? Did I feel guilty about my choice? Was I afraid I wouldn’t get to eat it again?
• How? How did I eat? Was I mindful or distracted? Did I eat fast?
• How Much? Did I set an intention for how full I wanted to be when I was done eating? How much food did I have in front of me? Were there any physical, environmental or emotional triggers?
• Where? Where have I been investing my energy lately? Have I been practicing self-care?
I Ate Too Much! Now What?
Don’t miss the lesson. Once you’ve recognized possible reasons for overeating or bingeing, make a plan for what you could do differently next time. After you’ve gathered your lessons, validate your experience, accept that it happened, & let the binge episode go. It is important to move on to your next eating cycle – after all, change can only happen in the present moment.
Re-enter Your Mindful Eating Cycle
Even people who eat instinctively sometimes overeat, but they don’t feel guilty – just uncomfortable. They may naturally make up for occasional overeating by paying attention to their body wisdom. After overeating or bingeing, simply return to mindful eating:
• Why? Eat to fuel & nourish your body.
• When? Wait to see when you want to eat again. When you wait until you’re hungry, you may find you don’t want that next snack or meal as soon as usual.
• What? Wait to see what you’re hungry for. Don’t punish yourself or try to compensate for overeating by restricting yourself. Instead, ask yourself, “What do I want?” & “What do I need?” Trust your body wisdom; it typically seeks balance, variety, & moderation, so you may want something small or light.
• How? Eat with intention & attention.
• How Much? You may not be as hungry so pay attention to how much you serve, order, prepare & eat.
• Where? Don’t use exercise to punish yourself for eating; instead, be active & use your fuel to live an active, vibrant life.
Occasional overeating – eating when you’re not hungry or eating past the point of fullness – is part of “normal” eating. Bingeing – allowing yourself to slip into a mindless or unconscious state in order to escape your current physical, emotional or other reality for a little while – is destructive to your body, mind, heart & spirit.
Bingeing is like a poor choice in friends – a friend who makes rebellious, risky behaviors seem “worth it” at least in the moment. Recovery from this behavior requires a conscious decision that bingeing is no longer an option. That doesn’t mean you’ll never binge again; after all, finding the middle path requires you to give up the expectation of perfection. It means you say “good riddance!” & recognize that during times of vulnerability, you may experience feelings of loss, grief, anger, bargaining, sadness or depression. Recovery is not perfection but it spells out your vision for a life well-lived.
Diet Calendar Entries for 12 February 2014:
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1305 kcal
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Fat: 42.52g | Prot: 109.32g | Carb: 144.52g.
Breakfast: Primal Nutrition Primal Fuel - Vanilla Coconut Creme, Spectrum Naturals Organic Coconut Oil, Harmless Harvest 100% Raw Coconut Water, Lactaid 100% Lactose Free Fat Free Milk. Lunch: Lactaid 100% Lactose Free Fat Free Milk, Primal Nutrition Primal Fuel - Chocolate Coconut. Dinner: Sunsweet Mediterranean Apricots, Denny's Sauteed Spinach, Lactaid Cottage Cheese, Cantaloupe. Snacks/Other: Whole Foods Market Avocado Vinaigrette Dressing, Mann's Sunny Shores Rainbow Salad, Evolve Greek Kefir, Ralphs Whole Raw Almonds. more...
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1843 kcal
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Activities & Exercise:
Pilates - 30 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours, Weight Training (moderate) - 30 minutes, Resting - 14 hours, Circuit Training - 1 hour. more...
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