Stinking Thinking

I've spent the last three years beating myself up and living in the future.  Why?  The elusive goal.  If I'm not busy hating myself for not making goal while I was on OPTIFAST, I've been projecting "I'll do this when I reach goal."  What's the result?  An unhappy, stagnant, and sometimes frantic Maura.

I say I want balance in my life.  It just hit me - that balance starts with my thinking. I've been so obsessed with failing to meet my goal that I haven't given myself credit for what I have accomplished - losing almost 70 lbs and more importantly - maintaining that loss.  To lose sight of what I have done and focusing on what I have failed to do only sets up that cycle that helped me eat my way to obesity to begin with: I eat for comfort.  The difference today is that at least, I burn off a good number of calories through added exercise.

I posted about my partner's concern over my "all or nothing" crazy thinking when it comes to exercise - or even keeping up with posts on MyFoodDiary.com.  His concern was that other people's neuroses were rubbing off on me and feeding my own addictions.  This time away (sort of) from MyFoodDiary, has helped me see that I've done a pretty good job at protecting myself from other people's 'stinking thinking', but I have completely polluted my own life with my perverted and hateful thinking about myself.

It just hit me that in the last 1 1/2 years, I've made three major changes in my life.  Prior to OPTIFAST, I would have easily gained at least 30 lbs through stress-eating my way through these changes.  I've gained 8 lbs.  Instead of focusing on how much more healthfully I generally cope with stress, I've been obsessing over the 8 lbs and causing myself much more stress.  I've not allowed myself to fully rejoice in the the positive changes I've made - all because I've slipped a little and because I've not met goal.

I need to think some more about what goal means to me and why I keep making sure it's elusive. But more urgently, I need to make sure that my fitness activities and eating restraint come from a place of peace and balance, not a frantic all or nothing, last-ditch effort - to lose 10 lbs.  I'm not sure exactly how to go about doing that, but I think asking myself "why" and "how will doing this? (or eating this?) engender peace and balance in my life?"

Enough for now.

My Threshold Habit

Next month, I will be celebrating 3 years of successful  - for the most part - weight management after losing almost 70 lbs on OPTIFAST.  I'll post more about the ups and downs of the past year later.  Today's post is about my threshold habit: No McDonald's.  

First of all, what do I mean by threshold habit?  For me, it's a habit I identify with my life when I was fat.  It exemplifies that part of my life.  And it's a habit I refuse to practice - not even once. For me, if I make an exception, I'll be opening the door and inviting my former habits back into my life.   It's a threshold I will not cross.  

Why McDonald's?  Before I lost weight, several meals per week came from McDonald's. Almost daily, I'd stop and get a biscuit breakfast on the way to work.  And then a co-worker and I would go and get a 'value' meal for lunch.  The food was cheap and usually filled me up.  But if left me wanting more and I'd end up hitting the vending machine mid-morning and again mid-afternoon.  By giving myself the MickeyD's 'out', I allowed myself to not plan my food, prepare my food or take any type of responsibility for making sure I was eating healthy.  

So what did I do with all that time I wasn't preparing my food?  I was vegging out in front of the television or indulging my internet addiction.  I certainly wasn't spending the time exercising or even taking a walk to get fresh air.  I wasn't reading to enrich my mind.  I wasn't knitting to indulge my creative self. 

My life was flat dull and very blob-like.  

When I started OPTIFASt, I made a committment to myself that I would not gain the weight back. As I was going through the OPITFAST programl I had the opportunity to look at my life and make decisions about what worked and what didn't.  I realized that I would have to spend time preparing my food and exercising.  To make sure I stuck to that, I took McDonald's (or any fast-food, for the most part) off of my list of options.

And now, almost three and a half years later since I started OPTIFAST, I have not had McDonald's.  I go there to use the restroom when my partner and I are out and about, but that's it.  Eating at McDonald's for me symbolizes crossing the threshold back into a pattern of unhealthy habits.  And I won't go there.

What's your threshold habit?

MFD visitors  - please visit my old blog on MFD: Mindfully Being Healthy.  RealPeach has posted valuable information there regarding different forms of exercise: cardio, strength training, yoga and pilates.  

Two Topics - Accountability and Don't Go Hungry Questions - Revisited

Accountability 

Yesterday was a doozie when it comes to my eating.  I did everything like I did when I weighed 210 lbs.  I wanted to eat, I ate.   There are some exceptions:  I didn't hit the vending machine so I stuck to my boundary about not eating anything I didn't bring from home.  Another is that a much smaller quantity of food now makes me miserable.  That's it though.

I ate mindlessly.  I ate crap - real food, but not healthy food.  And by the time I went to bed last night, my stomach ACHED.   So not only did I have a sore back, I had an aching stomach.  Hmm - was I looking for balanced pain?   

No, I was looking for comfort in all the wrong places. By the time I got home from work, I was in real state of self-pity.   I indulged it big time.  Comfort food for dinner followed by cookie dough.   It expanded in my stomach and well....

Now for the big difference between now and 210 lbs.  I stepped on the scale this morning.  They were up 3 lbs.   I know I didn't eat enough to gain 3 lbs, but I probably did gain at least one.  The thing is - I held myself accountable for my actions.  Not stepping on the scales may have sent the message "I didn't weigh myself so what I ate last night doesn't count."   That is a very dangerous message and one that sends me on a slippery slide UP the scales.   My point is - pick at least one tool to use consistently that will give you feedback on your efforts.  Use that tool to hold yourself accountable.  It truly can make the difference between weighing 150 lbs or weighing 210 lbs.

Now for the Don't Go Hungry Questions.

I'm adding one:   Will this food still be with me 3 hours from now?   And if the answer is yes, I need to rethink eating it.   One thing I'm learning is that when I eat too much (even if only a little too  much) in one sitting, I will be  miserable for hours.   What I want to do is use that knowledge to stop the eating too much pattern.   I'd rather eat a little more often and have a happy tummy.

Keeping On Keeping On - Part 2

One of the reason I wrote about 'keeping on keeping on' last week was because I was talking to myself.  Reminding myself it's a daily thing. Automatic.  It takes time and effort - but so does brushing my teeth or taking a shower and I don't freak about those things.  Or get tired of doing them.  I just do them.  And get on with life.

What I haven't made too public - until today - is that my kinder, gentler approach to weight loss/management is not working.  Based on the numbers, it should be working.  And it's frustrating me to the point of hurdling me into a depression.

I went to the doctor today.  She agrees - I should be returning to my normal weight based on calories and exercise.  She does think my diet needs tweaking (less starch, more green) and I should consider upping my exercise time to 60 minutes a day on most days.  And I must include weight training.  Pilates is not enough.

Blood work was drawn.  A nutritionist was recommended.  And I'm still frustrated.

But - I'm going to go on keeping on.  I'm going to keep on track with my exercise and I'm going to keep on tracking my food intake.  But  - I'm going to up my calories just a bit, to make sure my body has the fuel it needs for the workouts.  

I'm going to try to be patient.  And I was reminded to look at what I have accomplished - I lost almost 70 lbs, and have maintained most of that loss for almost 3 years.  I AM on the right side of the statistics.  And I will keep on keeping on to make sure I stay there.

Keeping on Keeping On

Today is one of those days.   Nothing to rant about. No amazing insights.   Just another day  of keeping on keeping on.

Work is a bit boring.  Very quiet.  Email is boring.  MyFoodDiary.com forums are quiet.  It's just a low key kind of day.  The kind of day that in a former, fatter, lifetime would have sent me scurrying for change to hit the vending machine. Anything to alleviate the boredom.  

I have no desire to hit the vending machine.  Though I do wish I'd brought more food with me - I'm hungry.  I also have the desire to have some amazing insight to share.  Or something to rant about. But, there it is. Life is happening without hoopla.  And guess what, weight management can happen without hoopla (rants, raves and insights) too.

Weight loss maintenance isn't sexy.  It's not really all that exciting. The scales are stable.  Body size is stable.  Status Quo. Gone is the excitement of wearing a smaller size every month.  Gone is the excitement (and ego-stroking) of receiving tons of compliments over my progress. Sometimes it's hard to be happy with that. Today is one of those times.  I'm losing weight slowly so it's not exciting.  I want something exciting to be thinking about to help motivate me to continue to distract myself from improbable hunger signals with tea and rambles on here.  But it's not likely going to happen.  

So, I keep on keeping on.  We'll go home tonight and I'll work out.  My partner will prepare dinner and while it cooks, we'll enjoy cocktail hour together.   He'll have a scotch and I'll have another cup of hot tea.  And we'll play a hand of gin.  After dinner, I'll clean up the kitchen and prep my food for tomorrow.  And then we'll watch a movie together.  And I'll knit. 

You know what? The status quo ain't so bad.  And THAT is what keeps me keeping on.

No Time is Not an Excuse

I've been seeing a lot of questions about how to eat healthfully when you 'don't have time' to plan, shop and prepare your food.  I am not a mother and I don't have 3 active teen-agers and a husband to feed.  I, did, however, grow-up in that environment.  My mother and father worked full time.  My brothers and I held part-time jobs and were very active in school.  And we sat down together and ate dinner together as a family.   The dinner table figures heavily in my childhood memories and I believe that one family activity helped shape me more than almost anything else we did.   For we're southerners and if there's food and people in the same place, there's going to be talk.  And talk we did.   I learned to shape my thoughts and debate ideas with my parents.  I'm not classically educated, but today, I hold my own with many people who are.  I know how to think and I thank my parents for that.

But I digress.  Back to the time thing.  I think that in many areas of this country we're busier than we were 30 years ago.  I don't think that's a good thing, but it is our reality.  The "food" industry as capitalized on that and as they've increased their profits by shrinking the quality of what they sell as "food" our waistlines have expanded.  When I was growing up, we ate vegetables that had been harvested from our garden and canned for winter consumption.   We didn't eat this way because we were food snobs, but out of necessity.   There was a recession going on and food was expensive.   My parents, while working full time, planned and planted and nurtured a garden big enough to feed five people during the growing months as well as provide enough produce for preservation for the winter months.  My father did the gardening - prepping the soil, planting, etc.  We ALL did the harvesting.  And my mother, with my "assistance" preserved the food - either canning or freezing hundreds of quarts of tomatoes, green beens, english peas, corn, squash, beets, pickles, peaches, fig preserves, pear honey, blackberry jam.  And more.  When did she do this?  At night, after dinner, she'd fire up the pressure-cooker and go to town.   Did she complain "I don't have time?"  No.  She did what she needed to do to provide real food to her family.   

I'm not suggesting we plow up our yards and grow our own veggies - but if you can, do.  I am suggesting, however, that we need to rethink our priorities and put healthy food back at the top of the list.  And we know we can't trust Con-Agra to sell us real, healthy food.  We need to buy base ingredients as locally as possible and then prepare it ourselves.   Since most of us are busy, we need to plan how we're going to accomplish this.

Here's my plan for the week:   This weekend, I made yogurt for myself and baked sweet potatoes to enjoy this week.  Last night, I took leftovers from a meal last week and added some steamed broccoli from last night's dinner and portioned out two lunches.  Tonight, after dinner, I'll cut celery and carrots and prepare a yogurt dip for snack variety.   Yes, I'll be tired after working all day, then working out and then cleaning the kitchen after dinner.  But - I'm worth the effort of making sure I have a healthy snack of real food instead of risking what the food industry wants me to buy from the vending machine.

And that's the point - I'm worth the time and effort it takes to eat real, healthy food.  So are you and so are your children.  Re-think things.  What can you do in 15 minutes today to have a healthy snack tomorrow?  

When I was single and super busy, I did take some shortcuts:  Amy's or other high quality frozen dinners if I didn't have anything else for dinner.  That's preferable to McDonald's.  In fact, a peanut butter sandwich is preferable to McDonald's - if you're not allergic to peanuts.  Stonyfield plain yogurt with granola or Kashi is preferable to Pop-Tarts and takes about 2 seconds longer.  Not everything we eat has to take a long time to prepare.  Think about what you can eat that requires minimal effort.  

Try, if you can to block some time on the weekends to cook for the weekend.  It doesn't have to be gourmet:  plain baked chicken or turkey, sweet potatoes and broccoli.   All told these dishes will take about 1 hour to prepare and you've got lunch for a week.  

Please don't misunderstand.  I recognize we're all super busy.  My time-constraints are far less than most people's and I appreciate that.  I also think that busy or not, with some planning and taking advantage of nature's own fast foods (fruits, nuts and veggies), we can eat healthfully.

.

Seven Powerful Words

Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants

                                                          - Michael Pollan

In my last post, I waxed inelegantly about eating real food and how it is worth the effort and expense to eliminate, as much as possible, processed foods from your diet.   I have to admit it wasn't until I read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma that I began to understand just how perverted food has become in this country. Not only has food become perverted, so has our thinking about it.  And the more perverted our thinking becomes - the more money big agri-business stands to make.  But that's not really the point of this post.  If you want to know more about that - go get The Omnivore's Dilemma from your public library.  It's worth the read.  Plus, Michael Pollan is a great writer.  

I just stumbled across this NY Times blog entry: An Omnivore Defends Real Food  and started thinking a bit more about my rant about real food.  I also thought about a huge debate I tried to have with my partner's nephew's fiance.   We live in GA.  Tomatoes are not in season in January in GA.  My partner and I don't buy fresh tomatoes in January because 1) they taste horrible and 2) the carbon foot print it took to bring them here is quite huge.  We will buy tomatoes starting in June.  And hopefully, my garden will produce some this year.  Anyways, the debate was not possible - Jane (name changed to protect everyone's privacy) didn't get it.  My partner and I tried and tried to the point of being almost rude, but her stock answer was "I like tomatoes and what can one person do anyway?"

I think what saddened me is that Jane didn't seem to get it that her body deserves more than inferior tomatoes shipped in from Chile.   What saddens me more is that most of the population doesn't get it either.  And until we do, we're stuck with sorry tomatoes in January.

Wait.  Aren't tomatoes good for you?  Of course.  But fresh tomatoes in January (in GA) can not be locally grown.  They have to go travel half way across the country at best, but the more likely scenario is that they traveled half-way across the globe.  Picked well before they were ripe so they could survive the trip.  Why?  Because we've become greedy.  We like fresh tomatoes so we are entitled to have them in January.  Nope.  I don't buy it.   The costs - fiscal, environmental and social - are too great.

Yikes - I still haven't gotten to the Seven Powerful words.   If you can't tell, I get a bit passionate about this.  Let me try to get back on topic here.  Many people spend tons of time looking for the perfect diet.  Weight Watchers.  Jenny Craig.  South Beach, Atkins, etc. etc.  The perfect diet is summed up in seven powerful words: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants.

Michael Pollan is not an diet expert.  But he's spent quite a bit of time researching the quality of our food and has seen correlations between eating food-like substances and obesity.  I know that I am far more satisfied with one piece of superb dark chocolate than I am an entire Snickers bar. Why?  Snickers has too many food like substances in its ingredient list.  But Pollan isn't advocating a chocoalte diet. Or  butter diet.  But a diet of real food where plants take center stage.  Not vegetarian, but more plants than animals.   And if you think about it - if you do that, your caloric intake should naturally reduce.  

It's not onerous.  Just takes a bit of discipline and planning.  And maybe a spirit of adventure to give fresh veggies a chance.

The Don't Go Hungry Questions

Since last May when I first heard about Paul McKenna's "I Can Make You Thin" approach to losing weight and maintaining the loss, I've struggled with really understanding what it means to follow his golden rules:  

1. Eat What you want, not what you think you should eat
2. Eat ONLY when you are physically hungry
3. Eat Mindfully
4. Stop Eating when you are no longer physically hungry

The first rule always 'got' me.  How do I know what I REALLY want?  Left to my own device, cookies and cake usually pop to the top of the list.  But in reality, I don't really want cookies and cake - or not too much anyway.  The concept intrigued me.  I felt if I could master these rules then for once in my life, I would be free from my obsession with eating.   It didn't work.  I gained a few pounds that have stuck around like unwanted guests.

Then I read about Dr. Amanda Salisbury-Sains and her "The Don't Go Hungry Diet."   It advocates the same approach of eating what you want and only eating when you are physically hungry.  But she takes it further.  She provides great guidelines on how to assess your hunger and even better - how to determine what you really want to eat.  I call them "The Don't Go Hungry Questions"  and keep them high up on my left side bar as a visual reminder to ask myself these questions when I want to eat.

• 1. Am I hungry?
• 2. How will this food feel as I eat it?
• 3. How will this food feel right after I've finished eating it?
• 4. How will this food feel 1 hour after I eat it?
• 5. How will this food feel 2-3 hours after I eat it?
• 
  

Question # 5 was my A-HA moment.  So often my stomach would ache and feel painfully bloated about 3 hours after dinner.  Rightfully, I blamed it on eating too much, but I didn't stop the behavior the next day.  Once I started asking myself the Don't Go Hungry questions, I realize the amounts of food I was eating as well as WHAT I was eating were causing me to feel so badly.  And by consciously asking myself these questions prior to eating and while I'm eating, I am able to stop eating before it becomes too much and to make food choices that make my body feel good.

The result? My weight is heading back to the happy zone.  Mindfully. Slowly. Sustainably.  It feels good.

There Is No Magic Pill

**** Warning: Major Rant Follows ****

I think by now if you follow this blog, you know I use an Internet site to track my calories and get tons of support from some very wise people.  Every now and then someone will ask about using the latest diet gimmick being marketed and it almost invariably makes my blood boil.  I hate it that there are still "Snake Oil" frauds out there trying to bilk people out of their money.   Repeat after me:

THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL   THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL   THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL

What does work?  Consistency, planning, determination, a sound diet, exercise and most importantly - the right mindset.  If you go into a diet thinking it's a temporary thing, then the weight loss will also be temporary.  And that could be more harmful to the body than being a few pounds overweight.  

Instead of thinking "I need to lose weight"  think "I need to manage my weight better.  I can do that by making some changes to help me shed a few pounds and then maintain that weight."    Weight management.  It includes loss and sustained effort to maintain.   I'm proof positive of that.  I stopped taking as much as effort as I needed to maintain my weight and now I'm off track a bit and need to right my course.  (see Keeping the Pounds Off for more on this great analogy)

And while I was off course, there was part of my mind looking for that magic pill.  I wanted to drop those extra pounds fast.  What happened?  I'd take a drastic almost hateful approach and lose two lbs.  I'd loosen the seatbelt too much and then gain 2 or 3 lbs.  Rinse and repeat.   It's so easy to fall into this.

But I got my head right (and rant on here to help keep it right) and am taking a healthier, gentler approach that will facilitate successful weight management to regain and maintain my healthy weight.  Wow - that takes longer to say that "I'm dieting and need to lose a few" but it sure does feel healthier to say that to myself.  

My head's no longer in the sand about my weight and how I gained a few lbs.  I'm no longer looking for the magic pill.  And I feel strong and healthy.  I know I'll get back to my happy weight.  And I'm confident I'll stay in the happy range because I won't have achieved the happy weight thru gimmicks.  

No-S Diet

No Sweets, No Seconds, No Snacks except (sometimes) on days that start with S.

This is a great simple discipline.  No money is involved either, which I like because I'm fed up with so many greedy charlatans taking advantage of desperate people looking for a magic pill cure to obesity.  There is no magic pill.

Now yes, this guy has a book you can buy - but you don't need to.  His website sums up the plan and you don't need to buy a thing.  What you do need to bring to the table is discipline.  

It's Friday afternoon and my "Friday mode" has kicked in and I want a treat.  But it's Friday.  So guess what.  I'm not having a treat.  I can have one tomorrow on Saturday - a day that begins in S.

I am really liking the simple discipline.  It takes choice out of the equation and I think that is where we get thrown off track with our weight management.  We give ourselves a choice to have a treat that's not on plan  and either it doesn't have an immediate impact on the scales and giving us permission to further indulge or it does have an immediate impact on the scales causing us to beat ourselves up and then indulge to feel better.  Vicious cycles.  All of them.

I think there are some drawbacks to the No S approach but they can all be turned in to advantages:

The author is not a nutritionist, is not a physician, is not a trainer.  He does not profess to be.  The plan does not each you about eating real foods and creating balanced meals.  It does not teach you about true portions.  It teaches discipline.  I think though, the approach will have most intelligent people curious to learn more about eating healthy and will learn more on their own.

Some psychologists may say the 'take no prisoners' attitude about how to measure success is harmful.  After being coddled during my years of obesity, I see now that sometimes a drill sergeant approach IS the best approach.  Success is simple - did you snack, have sweets or seconds on any day that doesn't start with S?  Yes=failure for that day.  It's done. Get up and try again.  No beating yourself up - just admit, though, you didn't do what you set out to do and above all - make no excuses.  

Anyway - that's it.  If you want to see my successes and failures, click here: HabitCal

Sneak Eating

Confession Time

I think I have it sorted out in my brain. I did it as a child for 2 reasons - 1) rebellion against being told I wasn't hungry or didn't need a particular food and 2) it was the only way to get what I wanted in the amount I wanted without hearing "You can't possibly be hungry. You don't need that." How the heck did she (mother) know if I was hungry? It made me feel bad for wanting food.

So, fast forward - after years of practicing sneak eating along with habitually eating too much of all the wrong foods and becoming a morbidly obese woman, I lost the weight. I rarely eat 'wrong' foods and rarely eat too much. But I do still, from time to time, practice sneak eating, which with some foods triggers a binge.

Why sneak eat now? 1) I find I still need to avoid perceived criticism about my eating. While D is my number one supporter with my weight management efforts, sometimes his methods are not helpful. Telling me I'm not hungry or questioning why I bought food seems hypercritical to me and my hackles start going up and the rebellious inner brat makes an appearance. 2) I still sometimes try to medicate stress with food. Sneak eating is the only way to do that since my form of food medication is an embarrassing gorge fest.

I also know that when my hackles go up, there's probably a truth in the criticism that I need to face. The truth in D's comments is that I will eat when I'm not hungry if dessert is involved. I want dessert. I can have it - as long as I plan for it and save calories for it. That's the message I need to give him instead of sneaking my desserts.

Yesterday's sneak eat was a result of my hackles being really raised and ignoring stress about the job search, with the added pressure of learning to eat mindfully. I set up an environment where I could practice sneak eating and I did indeed practice it.

The thing is, D doesn't know about the sneak eating. It's like a deep dark secret and a wall between us. I need to tell him and tell him how he can help me. Keeping cookies out of the house won't necessarily work. I'll turn to allowed foods. It's going to be a matter of environmental control along with a slow and deliberate learning to eat mindfully.

Mindful Eating

This is a new tool for me. Not a new concept, but for the first time, I'm truly embracing the concept. I'm also making it my own.

But how did I get here? It was a big DUH moment when out of curiosity, I decided to check out Paul McKenna's I Can Make You Thin web site. There's a lot of buzz about this show on MyFoodDiary.com and I basically had dismissed it because it seemed like yet another attempt to offer a 'magic pill' to desperate folks in an attempt to relieve them of their money. Yeah, I don't have a great opinion of the weight loss industry.

That said, I got smacked in the face in the first few seconds of viewing McKenna's web page. He has a section called The 4 Golden Rules of Eating. I'll summarize them:

1. Eat what you want not what you think you should eat
2. Eat ONLY when you are physically hungry
3. Eat mindfully
4. Stop eating when you are no longer physically hungry

DUH! I've heard all but the first one before. Many many many times. I've actually heard the first one before - Geneen Roth posited this rule years ago. I tried it then. Gained weight. Why? I didn't follow the other rules. These rules will not work singly. They must be followed together.

I'm not really paying too much attention to McKenna's site. To me, it's just regurgitation of what others have said before. Many times. I am paying attention to the DUH! moment though. D, my partner has often told me I'm obsessed with food. That I didn't have to spend SO much time prepping and planning and packing my food if only I'd just eat ONLY when I was hungry. He's right - to some extent. A lot of what I WANT to eat does need to be prepped and packed. I can't get it when I'm out and about. I don't want to risk being held hostage to the food industry.

That's another rant. Back to the mindful eating.

So here's my take on it:

1. All meals are to be eaten sitting down at a table. In a designated eating place. I set a place - place mat and napkin. Even for snacks.

2. I eat only when I am hungry. That means physical symptoms - tummy growling, etc. D and I had a bit of an 'discussion' about this last night. He thinks I eat too often. I don't know if I got it through his head or not that most of my meals are designed so that I will be physically hungry in about 3 hours. There are times where I think I want something to eat just 30 minutes after a meal. I look at the clock and tell myself that I'm just wanting to eat, I'm not hungry. I can't be. I just ate. (This works only if I'm eating in a balanced way). If I'm hungry 2 hours after my last meal/snack I tell myself "I can eat in about an hour." This works for me. It helps me from getting too hungry. It also helps me recognize true hunger. But D thinks I should tell myself as much as 4 hours away from the next meal that I can be hungry for four hours. That DOES NOT work for me. That's allowing my body to get too hungry and not respecting it's needs.

3. Eat mindfully. At said designated eating place. I put my utensils down between bites. I chew slowly and thoroughly. No, I don't count chews. That is distracting and as far as I'm concerned, a bit OCD. I breathe deeply between bites. I savor my food. Notice the texture and taste. And I assess my hunger level between bites.

4. I stop eating when I am no longer hungry. I have to admit this one is hard. I actually try to put only the amount fo food on my plate that will result in this feeling. I'm a member of the clean plate club. But I'm getting better at this.

The result of practicing this type of eating for a week? I've dropped about 3 lbs. Better yet, I don't feel obsessed by food. I like that.