Think yourself thin!

When I was on the train the other day heading to Philadelphia, I was reading Health magazine.  (July/August 2008).  There was this article "How to Think Yourself Thin".  My first thought was no way.  If it was all that easy, we would all be toothpicks!  The my second thought, again, if its that easy- who would need a coach?  But, it sparked my interest so I read it.  The article was about being mindful and listening to your body's natural hunger cues.  It was a different approach to get away from dieting or emotional eating.  

The article stated there are a lot of benefits to mindful (intuitive) eating.  Including- lower BMI's lower cholesterol and lower risk of cardiovascular disease.  But, I also think this is true of any healthy diet!

The article states that eating is an automatic behavior, like brushing your teeth.  That we should be focusing our attention on it instead of just gobbling.   They recommend you ask yourself the following 6 questions and answer them honestly.  Think about the food you want and why you want it.

1.  Are you really hungry?  Is the craving from the neck up or shoulder down?  Is the hunger emotionally driven or true hunger?  Try to distract yourself from emotional eating by calling a friend, polishing your nails.  If you hear your stomach rumble or feel low on energy, than that is actual hunger so dig in.  

2.  Do you send at least 20 minutes on every meal?  That is the amount of time it takes your brain to recognize you are satisfied.    Most of us eat faster than that and then tend to keep on eating after we are "done" because we do not give our stomachs time to tell us we are full.  The slower you eat, the more you will enjoy your food and the more satisfied you will feel.

3.  Do you use all of your senses when you eat?  Mindful eating means being aware of the foods texture and tastes, and even the sounds around you.    To help you slow down, close your eyes for a moment and enjoy the flavors without anything interfering.

4.  Do you multitask at meals?  Eating while driving or munching during a movie, or eating at your desk all limits your ability to truly pay attention to what's going in your mouth.

5.  Do you listen to your body's natural "stop-eating" signals?  Just as we discussed above to listen to your body to start eating, you need to listen to your body when it is time to stop eating.  You should feel satisfied but not completely full.  Try pausing once half your food is gone, and see how you really feel.    And basically- Watch your portion sizes.  Keeping them small gives you more visual cues when to quit.

6.  Want some chocolate?  Giving yourself permission to indulge can help intense cravings dwindle.  BUT, set boundaries for yourself.  

Some people who follow this program had a few good tips.  One lady would ask herself, "Am I physically hungry?"  Of the answer was no, then the question became, "What am I looking to food to do more me right now?"  She started to learn her hunger and trigger to help her lose weight.    Another lady asked herself  "How do I want to feel when I am done?"

Last tip to go with question 5 above is to follow the hunger meter.  Before you sit down to eat, do the following simple steps.

1.  Take a moment and assess our hunger.

2.  Give it a rating on a scale of 0 (ravenously hungry) to 10 ( Thanksgiving stuffed).

3.  When your hunger is a 4, it's time to start eating; waiting until you are a 2 or a 1 could put you at risk of overeating.

4.  Start slowly when you get to a 6 or a 7 and reassess:  Are you still eating to satisfy your hunger?  Or are you simply munching mindlessly?

Now you know the tips.  As you are working out everyday, eating clean, you can also think yourself thin!  It can only help!