182.6 Bored? With Food?

We just got home from having a wonderful dinner at The Arizona Biltmore, a grand hotel in Phoenix. We were with friends with whom we eat out about once a month, trying all sorts of restaurants that we hear about since we are all relatively new to the area.

Elaine and I were talking about favorite foods and I mentioned that I had noticed that she never eats all the food that is served to her. I was curious as to why this was the case. Was it a way to control her weight, did she just feel full a lot sooner than I did (!), or what was it all about? She laughed and said that she gets bored tasting the same food over and over. She gets bored! I had never ever even thought of not eating something on my plate because I was tired of the flavor. We are talking filet mignon, elegant fish dishes, and superb salads. Bored?

Yes, she is slender and loves food, just not very much of it at one time. I am thinking on this because it is a very novel idea for me to digest . (Sorry about that.) So I am wondering if I can incorporate this way of thinking as I head into maintenance. Bored, hmmm.

185.2 Mindful vs Mindless Eating

I mentioned that I was looking forward to reading the book called Mindless Eating. (http://susanlosingaweightlossadventure.blogspot.com/2010/06/1854-new-look-at-books.html). It arrived a few days ago and I find it hard to put down. It's filled with lots of research and probably more facts than I thought might be included but it's extremely well written and funny.

What I've come away with from reading this book is how much of what we eat is totally mindless. Also, I've learned that we are influenced by so many food cues that we aren't aware of that have tremendous potential to encourage mindless eating, such as the size of our bowls and plates, the size and shape of our drinking glasses, and even the size of the package, can, or bottle that our food comes in.

What makes this book entertaining is the very clever research that was done on how/what/why we eat what we eat. Although you might not think this sounds like good summer reading, it just might fill the bill for you. I'm really enjoying it and find myself becoming very mindful of lots of aspects of mindless eating.

185.8 Awareness

I write a lot about awareness while I'm eating, about what I'm eating, how fast I'm eating, and how my body/hunger level is doing while I'm eating.
















This morning, I got caught being extremely unaware. No, not about food, but about my surroundings. Living here in the desert has caused me to be much more alert to where I am in space when I am near the many cactus plantings in our yard, or when I go walking. Since balance is one of my issues, I have to be careful not to lose it while walking by one of the beautiful or not so beautiful cacti that seem to be every where out here.

As I was finishing dead-heading a large geranium plant I backed right into this cactus! Suddenly I was very aware of that plant and very aware that I had been stabbed in my arm. One thing I didn't know until recently is that you can get terrible infections if a cactus needle breaks the skin. Oh, it did break the skin and that area is now covered with antibiotic ointment.

So, I have a new respect for awareness! (Sometimes I wish there was an ointment I could apply when my food/eating awareness gets away from me!)

187.4 Food For Thought!

I am staying positive because yesterday, when I didn't write a post, I weighed in at a very pleasing 186.6. And, this morning when I met my friend to take our walk, the first thing she said was how great I looked, and I was wearing shorts! She doesn't read the blog and didn't know of my former discomfort about my legs, etc., so I was very happy. And, I just said thanks instead of going into a long harangue about how uncomfortable I was , blah, blah, blah! There is a new lightness about me now that I "Let It Go!" And, I have truly integrated the knowledge that nobody really cares about all the stuff I carry around about me half as much as I do. Now there's a big admission!

So today I want to mention a book that I have just started working with. My daughter, Alee, suggested that I take a look at it and I am really interested in all it has to say. It is titled Women, Food, and God, and is written by Geneen Roth. She's been writing on women's issues since the mid 80's, in case her name is familiar to some of you. I'd love to hear from you once you have taken a look at it. It has certainly engaged my mind and I think it contains a lot of food for thought! (Yes, I know I did that!)

Hope you've been enjoying this long weekend.

207.8 Just Do It!

You know how sometimes something just clicks and you didn't even know you were thinking about it?  That happened today for me. I was coming home from doing errands and started thinking about what I still had to do today, and taking my walk immediately came to mind.  But, on the heels of that thought came the very welcome realization that I had already taken my walk today.  In fact, I had walked further than usual in the same amount of time.  I had walked faster!

What I have figured out is that once I just do something that is good for me, I can let it go and live my life without it hanging over me.  It is sort of like ordering that meal that is a healthier choice than the rest on the menu, and then adding that I don't want any potato.  Once I do that, all the tension is gone, the meal is satisfying and I don't have to focus on it anymore.  (And, I don't ever remember wishing I had had the potato or whatever.)

So tomorrow when I get up and start thinking about when I will walk, I will open that front door and go!

209.4 The Power of Food

I have been thinking about the power that I have given to food over the course of my life.  I have given it the power to make me happy, to quell my discontent, to comfort my anxiety, and of course, to nourish my body, oh, and by the way, my spirit, too.  It is just food!  Why do I give it so much power?  In my family when I was a teenager, whenever I was unhappy my mom would jokingly ask if Susie needed a cookie!  Of course I did, at least two!

But I have friends who, maybe like you, can't eat if they are unhappy, or upset, or even very happy.  Why is it that they don't give food the power to help them through life's ups and downs?  Is this something we learn or is it just the way we happen to be wired to deal with stresses?

No matter why I am the way I am about food and its power, it has been important for me to change my view of the connection between food and my emotions.  I have needed to figure out how to make the situation better and leave food out of it.  Over the past months I have made big strides in this arena both in terms of awareness and in terms of  taking action instead of taking something to eat.  Susie doesn't need a cookie when she's unhappy anymore!