Weight-Loss Wednesday #3

Greetings... 

I hope everyone has had a great week so far! Mine is moving right along and I'm just waiting on Fridaaaaay to get here soon! I'm super excited to be going to the Honda Battle of the Bands here in Atlanta, GA! I haven't been in quite a few years and although my glorious Alma Mater will not be there this time, it will not stop me from wearing my sweatshirt and representing them in their absence!

So I've been going with the whole concept of not 'dieting' or counting calories, because the book called Eat Q recommends not to. A world without dieting?!? Yes I know. The whole idea is that you want to live life like...... well normal I guess. I don't know what most thin/skinny people do, but I'm sure they don't always go around counting every little calorie they put into their mouth, right? At least I hope not.. In any case, that's not how I want to live my life. I just want to know what I should and shouldn't eat, make sure it still tastes good, and doesn't require for me to starve myself and deny my body of nutrients. So with that being said I thought I'd share more tips on what the book says that can also help in the mental warfare that occurs when choosing what to eat and when to stop eating.

P.A.U.S.E 

Perceive * Recognize that this is the moment you chose what you’re going to eat

Allow * At least 10 mins for that thought to sink in

Understand * what your feelings are in the moment and why as well as pay attention to your body                               language (i.e slumped shoulders, clenched fists)

Stay * In the moment and lean into the feelings instead of away from them

Entertain * the options you have to either stop eating or keep eating

This method was probably created for me. I find that I have the mindset of needing to finish everything on my plate, so as not to be wasteful. I hate wasting food. Whenever I'm leaving food to be thrown away, I hear that little voice in my head that says, 'Um, what are you doing? Don't you know there is someone starving somewhere right now?!? You better eat it!' Then I feel guilty for not eating it, but then if I eat it I feel guilty for getting full. Oh what a catch twenty-two! Guilt is a sneaky little unwanted mistress, no? 

The great thing about reading this book is that it’s forcing me to become aware of my habits, that way I can stop them. Such as, it just now occurred to me today that I've been treating eating healthier like a job. I can generally do great for breakfast and throughout the day at work, but as soon as I get home I feel like I'm finally on my own time and I can do what I want. I stop drinking water or anything for that fact when I get home and I tend to have a bigger portion of food for dinner. Now that I know that I can watch for that! 

Okay, that’s all for now. Give me your thoughts on the P.a.u.s.e. method and tell me about your struggles or successes! Until next week..

Ciao!

 

 A. Sparkle

Weight-Loss Wednesday: on Thursday

Greetings...

So it’s time for what I’ve decided to be our weekly update. Last week I told you that I was reading Eat Q by Susan Albers, PSY. D. and have been learning about that method. I like the idea of it all, but it’s definitely harder than I expected. When is anything dealing with changing how you think about things not hard though? I’m still in for the ride. Anyway, I’m learning a lot about myself and my eating habits. It raises a lot of questions about why you crave certain things, what specifically you normally go to for good eats and are they comforting. Speaking of comfort foods…. You know how when you’ve had a really crappy day and you need that piece of chocolate/bag of chips to calm you down and make everything right in the world again like RIGHT NOW or you’ll implode? Well it does comfort you….. but studies show that that only works for three minutes… 

Three Minutes!?!

Crazy right? Also.. did you know that when you eat, it causes dopamine (the pleasure hormone) to be released in the body. Every wonder why the act of eating in general feels good? That’s why!

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So here is the core method so far: The Eat Method

 Step 1) Embrace your feelings - in other words identify how you're feeling whether it be angry, sad, happy, excited, etc.

Step 2) Accept Your Feelings - The author says that you have to live with how you feel. Don't try to distract yourself from the feeling because, when you ignore your emotions you end up eating mindlessly. When you eat mindlessly you aren't thinking about what you're eating, how much of it you eat, or if there will be a consequence in the end. 

Step 3) Turn to Positive Ways to Manage Your Feelings - She says that you can do so by talking to a friend about what's going on in your life, taking a brisk walk, writing in a journal, meditating, just anything really to help you unwind from life's woe's.

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So what's happened since last we talked? Last week was good. I struggled to up my liquid intake, but I did it. I’m not one of those people that has to be drinking something all the time or even with my meal. I can go hours without one drop of anything and be fine. Between water and tea I generally hit 6-8 cups on the daily depending on the day. I hadn’t cooked in quite some time and so last week, I made taco soup which is healthy and oh so good and Hamburger Helper was thrown in the mix as well and made with ground turkey. I felt good about last week. I identified, accepted, and managed even though I stressed.

This week is a different story. I’ve been in misery mode where everything is annoying and it all started out with catching a stupid cold. I was tired of being sick, I just wanted to breathe, I was super exhausted, stressed out from work and I was craving yummy horribly unhealthy foods. It’s amazing the effects being tired has on your body. Apparently when you’re tired, you crave sugary & salty foods and I can attest to that! 

I have an intense need for salty foods when I’m stressed and so wanting immediate relief from the ‘pain’ I got some fast food. It wasn’t even worth it though, because the food was lousy for the most part. I totally didn't accept how I was feeling. I just wanted the bad feelings to go away and so I comforted myself with food, which ended up not being comforting at all. Well... let me not lie. It was some comfort. For about three minutes! ;) Can I just say how weird it is to know that you're eating mindlessly, while your doing it? At least I can recognize it, right?

Having a cold was awful and being stressed out from work was no fun, but the thing that threw me off my game was being tired. I couldn't remember things and I didn't want to think hard about anything at all. This weeks lesson: Get enough sleep at all cost!! So that's my journey so far. Share with me what you think of the Eat Method. Sound good or like a bunch of baloney? What are your struggles or successes? I'll be here. Let me know. :)

Ciao!

A. Sparkle

Weight-Loss Wednesday

Greetings!

 

 

So one of my goals for this year is to live a healthier lifestyle. Does that mean I'm going on some extreme nonsensical diet where I starve myself and deny all the wonderful foods that life has to offer? No! What I am doing however is reading this lovely book called Eat Q, by Susan Albers, Psy. D. So as not to bore you with all the details, the short version of what this book is about is giving you tips and tricks on how to handle emotional eating, eating when bored, and stress eating.

 

 

Truth Moment: I'm a total emotional/bored/stress eater!

I'm about halfway through the book and I’ve already had success. The whole idea is that you don’t have to count calories or completely restrict yourself from the things you love. You live as a normal person making smart food choices. The biggest thing that stood out to me was that people that have a low ‘Eat Q’ or low emotional intelligence are more concerned about instant gratification instead of looking at the long term effects. When I read that I knew it was especially true for me. Let’s say, doughnuts were made available to me (one of many weaknesses), I knew automatically I was going to eat it because it would give me a pleasurable taste. However I wasn’t thinking about how I would feel after I ate it or how I would be eating a big meal for lunch and dinner therefore causing weight gain as an end result.

Just taking time to think about what I’m choosing to put in my body and how much of it I eat has made a difference so far. I’ve already lost 2 lbs just by changing how I eat and increasing my water intake. So as I learn, I’ll share you with you. I’ll share my struggles and success and you can do the same. Leave me a comment or shoot me an email at eclecticoasisart@aol.com!

 

P.E.A.C.E

A. Sparkle