4 Tips to a Mindful Summer Vacation

Summer is here; I’m so excited. Summer is my most favorite season of all. But for many women I speak to, the thought of summer vacation brings them anxiety and stress about how family trips, outings and days at the beach will affect their intuitive eating journey.

 

Do you feel the same?

 

These feelings creep up because of your past (or lingering) diet mentality. You’ve always dieted before vacation so that you can “splurge” while on vacation. Then you come home only to feel guilty about “blowing it again”.

 

This behavior starts the diet rollercoaster all over again.

 

Let’s make sure the diet mentality stays quiet as you plan ahead for the most rewarding intuitive summer yet.

 

Here are 4 tips to help you navigate your intuitive eating journey during your summer get-away. 

  1. Stay strong against the chatter in your head that is screaming “I have to lose 10 pounds before vacation!”This will only put you back into diet mentality and onto the latest quick fix, which will keep you riding the dieting roller coaster. Continue on your intuitive eating journey with confidence. When the inner chatter starts up, have a comeback to put that voice in its place. And, if you are contemplating starting the journey, now’s as good a time as any. Contact me here and let’s get started.

 

  1. Be aware of mindless snacking while vacationing.Oftentimes when you’re on vacation, you have less structure to your day. You might be lying on the beach where your friends are passing around the snacks; or touring through a new city, walking the streets and trying the local fare. So just pay attention and have an awareness of whether you’re hungry or not before you dig into the snacks.

 

  1. Be prepared.Whether you are sitting at the pool, lying on the beach, in an amusement park or on a full day tour, you are going to get hungry at some point. It’s very important to be prepared and have snacks with you so you don’t have to wing it. Remember, one of the principles of intuitive eating is to honor your hunger. If you wait too long, you tend to not choose the most healthful choices and you tend to overeat, so be prepared.

 

  1. Stop when you’re comfortably satisfied and not when you’re overly full. I know when you’re on vacation it’s so tempting, especially if you’re at a resort hotel which is all-inclusive. This means that all the food and beverages (including alcohol) is included in what you’re paying for the hotel. It’s very tempting to just eat and eat and eat to “get your money’s worth”. This is not staying true to your intuitive eating journey.

 

While on vacation, remember to listen to your body, stay mindful, be present and enjoy yourself!

 

Honor yourself and honor your body by paying attention, being aware and making conscious food and beverage decisions. Stop when you’re comfortably satisfied so that you can enjoy your vacation without regret and without guilt.

 

If you would like more individualized help for your next vacation, reach out to me at bonnie@dietfreeradiantme.com. I’m here to help you.

 

 

Finding Balance with Intuitive Eating

I recently had a client share her success story.  Let’s call her Jessica. Jessica was at a barbecue when chocolate ice cream and homemade chocolate chip cookies were being served. She thought that maybe she would overeat on these desserts because that’s what she’s always done in the past. So she took a small piece of each on her plate.  She ate a few spoonfuls of the ice cream, then a few bites of the cookie, and something that has never happened to her before happened…

She didn’t feel the need to eat more! She was shocked.

She was able to savor each bite using her mindful eating techniques and felt satisfied after only a few bites.

How did she do this you ask?

By using the intuitive eating strategies that I am teaching her, she is learning to move away from the all or nothing way of thinking.  She didn’t feel guilty for indulging in a food she wanted.  She has made peace with food and has reaped the benefits, which is showing up in so many ways in her life.

Had she found herself in this scenario a few months ago before we began working together, the outcome would have been different. The all or nothing thinking is part of a diet mentality and usually leads to overeating, followed by guilt, unhappiness, dieting, restriction, overeating etc.  It’s a vicious cycle.

Intuitive eating is tuning into what your body wants, even if it’s ice cream or a cookie, and giving it what it wants.  If you listen to your body, you won’t feel the need to overeat and have guilt afterwards.  Your body will be happy it can enjoy the foods it wants.

You may be asking yourself, “How do I get myself to this point?”  The answer is to change your mindset.  You have to step away from the diet mentality of restricting certain foods or entire food groups.

The way to make peace with food is to give yourself unconditional permission to eat what you want. I know, this sounds like an opportunity to eat uncontrollably. And to be honest with you, some people use it as an excuse to do just that. However, that’s not how this process works.

Changing your mindset does not happen overnight. Those who work through the process with the support, encouragement, positive attitude and patience are the ones who will experience what Jessica did. The intuitive eating process can help you transform your relationship with food, where you end the battle with food and your body and achieve great pleasure in eating once again.

Here are 2 steps you can take today to become and intuitive eater and change your mindset:

  1. Commit to saying goodbye to the dieting mindset! It is time to recognize that you can have your cake and eat it too. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can find a balance that works for you!
  2. Start tuning in and listening to your body. Your body gives you signals when it starts to get hungry and full. Tune into these signals to know when and what you should feed your body.  You’ll learn to eat what your body craves without overeating.

I am here to help you embark on this journey and break out of the dieting mindset.

If you’d like further individualized support, just fill out this form at the link below and I’ll share how I can support you on your journey:

 www.TalkWithBonnie.com.

End Your Struggle with Food and Dieting!

It’s interesting. Many people know their struggles in life, but choose not to do anything about it. I sometimes wonder why that is. Why would someone identify a challenge they are having in their life, but not want to do what they need to do to change it?

 

While I can be speaking about so many things right now, such as hating your job, a difficult marriage, a strained relationship with a parent or child, what I really want to address with you is your relationship with food and your body.

 

Is one of your biggest struggles in life food and eating?

 

Is one of your biggest struggles in life being unhappy with your body?

 

If you answered YES to the above questions, then are you struggling with dieting?

 

Most probably if you struggle with food, eating and your body image, then you are struggling with dieting. I can say this with certainty because you’ve been led to believe that in order to “fix” your eating and your body, you need to diet. You need to be told what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat. Let someone else tell you all these things so you don’t have to make any decisions about food, and that’s how you will achieve the body you’ve always wanted.

 

Well, this is a lie.

 

And, I guess that you have realized this lie, but you are caught in the web of deceit in diet culture.

 

Diets are SO tempting. Heck, if someone told me I can lose 30 pounds in 30 days, I’d be suckered into trying that too. Except that I have broken out of the web of lies that diet culture has you believing. But I realize that it’s not so easy.

 

I also want to say that I know that some of you reading my blog have stopped dieting because you know that diets don’t work. But you are still spinning your wheels. That’s because diet culture is very sneaky. You THINK you’re no longer dieting, but you very well may be and not even know this.

 

Now, I am only bringing this to your attention because I want you to stop and ask yourself if you are ready to do what it takes to stop the diet madness. If you are ready to finally break the spell that diets have over you.

 

If so, then click below for an ONLINE EXPERIENCE that will get you started.

 

Yes, it’s free! But it doesn’t mean it’s easy. And that’s okay. Because if you are serious about finally ending the biggest struggle in your life > FOOD AND DIETING > then join this unique experience and participate to the fullest.

 

Click here if your biggest struggle in your life is food and dieting!

 

I hope to see you in the experience!

 

 

Eating 40/30/30 Intuitively?

I receive emails every day from people on my email list, my online community, or private Facebook group. One common thread among many of these emails is NUTRITION OVERWHELM.

 

Here’s an excerpt from the end of one of those emails:

“…..I already think about food too much as it is and when I hear webinars about plant-based diets and eating less meat/protein I feel I’m doing the right thing. Yet I then hear “anti-aging experts” talk about needing higher protein and I stress about changing my entire diet. It’s very frustrating! How do I eat intuitively if trying to eat by a ratio 40/30/30? I don’t have any idea about the ratio I eat or even “how many calories” my body needs but I think it seems eating like 40/30/30 is not at all intuitive eating if it needs to be calculated. Please help!”

 

Well, this woman who wrote in to me is right. This is not intuitive at all.

 

We were not born with a calculator attached to our bodies, adding up the protein, carbs and fat we eat with each morsel of food every day.

 

Our bodies know exactly what we need, and if we would stop trying to manipulate this, there would be no disordered eating or eating disorders.

 

There are WAY too many people on the internet touting THE way to eat to help you lose weight, be healthier, and age backwards. My advice to you is to STOP listening to them. Go with your gut! What does your instinct say when you hear or read these “new and revolutionary” ways to eat and live longer?

 

Trust yourself. You were born with the ability to know what you need. Your body is truly amazing like that. If you go for a few days without eating vegetables, for example, at some point your body is going to say to you “can you please give me some roughage so I can have a bowel movement?” It’s up to you to listen.

 

So dear reader, I am not going to tell you what percentage of the macros to eat. But I will encourage you to just be. Just let your body guide you to what nutrients it needs and wants in each moment at each meal.

 

The result: more freedom to think about other joys in your life instead of counting your macros.

 

 

3 tips to manage food stress in your life

44708423 – vector illustration in super mom concept, many hands working with very busy business and housework part, feeding baby, cleaning house, cooking, doing washing, working with laptop. flat design.

I returned to my office yesterday after a 4-day weekend. Wow, the number of emails, messages, Facebook notifications and faxes was truly overwhelming. Then the phone calls started…people somehow know the minute I sit behind my desk.

 

I was overwhelmed. That overwhelm caused me to procrastinate on getting some projects done, like this blog for IE Wednesday which I am writing quite late!

 

What I didn’t do was turn to food. Yet so many people do.

 

Food has become a way for so many women in my community to distract from pain, procrastinate from work, and deal with the stress and overwhelm they experience in their lives. The problem is that food does not fix any of these things!!

 

Food is supposed to be enjoyed. Yet, when speaking with so many clients, and potential clients, they tell me that food is stressful. All aspects of food, whether its deciding what to eat, shopping and preparing food for meals, or even the thought of going out to eat food.

 

And certainly, the guilt they feel after they eat what they think they “shouldn’t eat’!

 

Stress, stress, stress!

 

So today I wanted to share some strategies with you to help you manage food-related stress, without turning to food to cope!

 

If you have had a difficult relationship with food for some time now, then you can probably relate with today’s topic.

 

I know you probably want food to be a non-issue in your life. And you know what? It can be.

 

Let’s first start with 3 strategies that you can put into place immediately to help you minimize the stress around food.

 

Strategy #1: Set up your environment for success.

While I’m all about teaching you how to be intuitive in your eating (of course…I teach intuitive eating!), I am also very practical. It is important to be mindful of your eating and one way to do that is to reduce your external eating cues. That means put all food away after you’ve eaten and don’t leave food on the counters or table. If food is left out, it can very easily lead to mindless munching which then leads to feelings of guilt and frustration for eating when you weren’t hungry.

 

Strategy #2: Seek assistance from your family members.

Food shopping and meal prep doesn’t have to just be your responsibility. Get everyone involved in the menu planning. Even better, assign everyone a night to prepare the dinner. This way the whole family is involved, the kids will more likely eat what they help to prepare, and you get quality family time too.

 

Strategy #3. Start to use meditation and visualization.  Meditation can be a powerful tool to help keep your mind clear and stress-free. You can use meditation as a way to visualize yourself being stress-free around food and, by visualizing that, you can start to believe it will happen too.

 

These strategies are a good place to get started and you can use them as a way to figure out what works best for you.

 

But I have more right inside my online ‘do-it-yourself’ program where you will get my best strategies to decreasing the stress and overwhelm in your daily life!

 

And, because reality has it that there will be times when stress just happens, I teach you the most important questions you need to ask, and practices for you to use to beat that stress without turning to food (because let’s face it, it’s not about the food, it’s about the reasons you are eating!)

 

Save 30% during this Memorial Day Special – 2 days only. Seriously, check out all you get for just $67. You can’t get coaching or a therapy session for that fee anywhere!

 

If Not Willpower, Then What?

In speaking with prospective clients, there’s one comment that comes up a lot in the many conversations we have. That is “I just need more willpower”.

 

I really do understand the reason behind this comment from so many women who have been struggling with their weight and on diet after diet. It’s because diets require you to have willpower.

 

You have your lists of “legal” and “illegal” food. But at some point, you want to eat something that’s on that “illegal” list. But you can’t, the diet says NO! You white knuckle it as long as you can, you have willpower! Until you don’t anymore.

 

So, when the Intuitive Eating Wednesday Question came in for this week, I just knew I HAD to address it. Here’s the question…

 

 “I’ve been trying intuitive eating, but I just don’t have the willpower to stick with it. How can I strengthen my willpower backbone?”

 

Before I get to the answer, let’s get clear on your dieting history. It probably goes something like this:

 

You’ve tried them all. Weight Watchers, Atkins, Weight Watchers, the Blood Type Diet, Weight Watchers. the Scarsdale Diet, Weight Watchers, the HCG Diet, Weight Watchers. Oh, did I mention Weight Watchers?!

 

It is SO easy to get sucked into sensational claims that come with each of these diets. But what you are finding is that they don’t work. Well, they do “work” if by working you mean losing weight, only to gain it back.

 

Yes, I won’t disagree. All diets can work in helping you lose weight. But can we agree that they ultimately don’t work, seeing you are here looking for another way?

 

Throughout all the diets you’ve been on, you’ve tried SO hard to have SO much willpower so you can resist your favorite food that the diets deem bad for you. And, the reason you’ve been sucked into many fad diets is because you only have to endure them for a short period of time and therefore only need to have a little willpower until the diet is over. 

 

Many diets proudly state “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days”, or “6 weeks to flat abs”. I know this is very tempting. And you think to yourself “ok, I need to have willpower for 30 days (or 6 weeks) and that’s it…I’ll reach my goal and the diet and misery will be over.”

 

But we know that you can only resist your favorite food for so long. Maybe you can last the 30 days or 6 weeks. Or maybe you can’t. Either way, what happens? When your willpower weakens and you have an emotional trigger, you cave and have the very food you’ve been longing yet been restricting. And now you don’t just have a serving, you have several servings, and it eventually turns into a binge. Next thing that happens >>> feelings of guilt, shame, hopelessness, failure and the negative self-talk and body bashing.

 

Well, the good news is this.

 

In the practice of intuitive eating, there is no willpower required. Yay! You learn to take all the conditions off your food and when you do, the power those foods hold over you are no more. Even better, once you learn to trust in your inner signals as your guide to eating, you will no longer need to rebel against the diets that are telling you what to eat and not to eat.

 

Because YOU are in charge!

 

So, back to the original question that came in from one of my followers:

 

“I’ve been trying intuitive eating, but I just don’t have the willpower to stick with it. How can I strengthen my willpower backbone?”

 

There is no willpower in intuitive eating. What I want you to recognize is if you are still relying on willpower, then you are still harboring a diet mentality. And this will cause you to continue to stumble on your intuitive eating journey.

 

Give thought to how many times a day or week you think to yourself that you need to have willpower to resist a food.

 

How many times do you call up your willpower before heading out to a party or dinner with friends?

 

Call yourself out on it. Recognize it. The more you do and the more you remind yourself that you don’t need willpower in intuitive eating, the more you will see the diet mentality dissipate.

 

Grab this freebie that I have for you: Your 3 Step Plan to Shift Out of Diet Mentality and the Willpower Trap.

 

 

5 Ways to Avoid Dieting Before the Summer

Finally! The weather is cooperating, it’s in the 70’s and I couldn’t be happier. The windows in my office are open, there is a slight breeze and I am just loving this spring weather.

But for some of the women in my online community, the warmer weather brings up mixed emotions. Their inner voices are screaming both “yay, I love this weather”, and “oh no, I can’t cover up in a coat any longer”. This means that they need to feel comfortable in the clothes they are wearing. Yet, that brings up another issue…

…their summer clothes aren’t fitting as they hoped they would. And vacations are coming, family reunions will be happening and weddings are scheduled. This is causing them to feel like they must go on a diet to lose weight or else …

  • “I’ll have the worst summer!”
  • “Everyone at the reunion/wedding will stare at me and think how fat I got!”
  • “I won’t be able to go on the amusement park rides!”

Can you relate to these thoughts and feelings?

These feelings are made worse by the “bikini body influence” that is surrounding you on a daily basis. From magazine covers, to radio advertisements, to T.V. commercials, you are being bombarded by tips and tricks to get in your best bikini body shape by summer.

What happens when you fall prey to all this bikini body marketing?

You start to bash your own body, you engage in body loathing every time you look into the mirror, and you start comparing your body to everyone else’s (and it never measures up, right?).

All this body hatred fuels the vicious cycle of dieting.

5 Power Thoughts to Chase these Diet Thoughts Away

1. Reality Check
Diets never worked for you, and never will. Let’s say you decide to diet for a few weeks before summer so you can fit into your summer clothes. Summer comes, you’re now wearing those cute shorts, but you are also hanging with your friends, going to outdoor concerts, and eating out in restaurants and lo and behold, you are overeating. Yes, the restriction you endured during the weeks leading up to the summer is coming back to bite you in the butt.

2. Dress for the Present
If you pulled your summer clothes out of the closet and you don’t feel comfortable in them, go shopping. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, just buy a few pieces that you can mix and match. Wearing comfortable clothes that aren’t pinching you and squeezing you will make all the difference on whether you spend your day bashing your body or respecting your body.

3. Thank Your Body
Your body is an amazing machine. Have you stopped recently to consider all the miracles it performs for you on a daily basis? From breathing, keeping your heart pumping, to being able to see the beautiful spring flowers, there is so much to be thankful for. All too often you get wrapped up in body negativity because it doesn’t “look” the way you want it to look, which is influenced by diet culture and the thin ideal society has you chasing after. Instead, start each morning with saying “thank you” to your body for working hard for you another day.

4. Recommit to a Diet-Free Life and Enjoy Each Moment
Using self-compassion, realize it’s okay to think at times “I want to lose weight”. But be curious about what triggered this thought and use self-compassion to recommit to your diet-free life and your intuitive eating journey. Then practice living in each moment and challenge yourself to stay present without judgement.

5. You are not alone!

Remember, others are likely feeling the same way as you. Sometimes knowing this makes all the difference! Reach out and support someone today! Not a member of my private intuitive eating support group yet? Join us here (it’s free!)

 

What thoughts about your journey fill your mind now that summer is here? Post below!

 

Celebration Dinners, Food Police and Trust

It’s all about TRUST! But in whom?

 

This past week I posted the following “If/Then Question” on my Facebook Page.

 

You are going out to dinner to celebrate your child’s graduation. You have been practicing intuitive eating, but are a little worried about indulging because you are going to your favorite restaurant. You then….

 

A. Remind yourself that intuitive eating is about trusting yourself with your food choices, and you are regaining this trust day-by-day.

 

B. Commit to being mindful while eating and will check-in with your satiety level mid-meal.

 

C. Think to yourself – heck, this is a celebration! I don’t usually get to this restaurant often, I’ll skip lunch so I’m good and hungry for dinner.

 

The answers were varied. For those who have worked with me on their intuitive eating journey, or are in the midst of it, they chose option A or B. For those new to the process or that are finding some challenges along the way, they chose C. And that’s okay, because remember, this is a process and the process takes time and patience, and is judgement-free!

 

The feelings of excitement when going to a new restaurant, trying new foods, or celebrating a milestone can dig up some old diet mentality thoughts.

 

These thoughts may sound like:

  1. I’m going to skip lunch today so I can save my calories or points for dinner.
  2. I won’t eat any carbs during the day, because I want to eat from the bread basket at the restaurant.
  3. I’m finishing what’s on my plate, this food is so delicious I don’t know when I’ll get to eat this food again.
  4. If I weigh more on the scale tomorrow morning, I’ll just cut back my eating for the day and be sure to choose only “healthy” foods.

 

All these statements are the food police speaking, screaming at you unreasonable rules. And in each of these cases, what do you think happens?

 

That’s right! You arrive at the restaurant and sit down to dinner in a ravenous state and more than likely, you end up eating to an overfull state. Then you feel physically uncomfortable, emotionally miserable (guilty, shame), and you follow that with food restriction!

 

Restriction – cutting back on your food intake or choosing only “healthy” foods if the scale is higher the next day – is dieting. It’s the opposite of being intuitive.

 

Your body weight is a measure of the weight of your tissues, which includes your bones, organs, muscle and fat tissue AND the substances that pass through such as water, food and waste. If you weigh more this morning than you did yesterday, it doesn’t mean that you have more fatty tissue today because you ate the chicken parm at last night’s graduation dinner.

 

The food police, however, would like to have you think it IS the reason, and therefore it is shouting rules at you to eat less today, to avoid carbs, and to only choose “healthy” foods.

 

Shout back at the food police by doing these 3 things:

  1. Identify the distorted irrational dieting thought and disarm it.
  2. Recognize that a higher weight this morning may be due to some other reason as your body weight fluctuates day-to-day based on many factors.
  3. Don’t weigh yourself. Throw away the scale and begin to cultivate the trust in your body to make food and nutrition choices that are right for you.

 

It’s all about the TRUST!

 

Need help to learn how to trust yourself, your food choices and your body? I’m an email (or phone call away – 516-486-4569)!

 

How to STOP Thinking About Weight Loss

You’ve embarked on your intuitive eating journey because you are finally fed up with diets. After years of chasing weight loss, trying diet after diet, your body weight is back where you started. Or perhaps, like 1/3 – 2/3 of people who regain the weight they’ve lost, you weigh even more.

 

You are now at your highest weight.

 

You wonder how this can be, after all, you’ve tried for 10, 20, 30, 40 maybe even 50 years to lose weight. And yes, you’ve been “successful” in losing weight on some of those diets. But the weight always returned. The diets were not sustainable for life. Like a young 14 year old girl said to me in my office yesterday…”I said to the doctor, how can I never eat carbs again?”

 

Maybe you heard me speak about intuitive eating recently on a summit, or you’ve read the Intuitive Eating book by the original authors and have been trying to practice the principles and become an intuitive eater for a few months, maybe even a few years. Intuitive eating sounds logical to you; you realize this can help you heal your relationship with food. However, you still want to lose weight.

 

There are many intuitive eating and HAES (Health at Every Size) advocates that would say shame on you for wanting to lose weight. Love the body that you have.

 

I’m not saying shame on you. I want to acknowledge your desire to lose weight. I want to show you compassion for the physical discomfort you may be experiencing. But I also want to encourage you to put weight loss out of your mind as you work on healing your relationship with food. I know this is difficult.

 

You see, it’s not “weight loss” itself that is problematic, it’s the pursuit of weight loss that is the problem. There’s a big difference here. 

 

You’ve already tried to pursue weight loss via the many diets, restrictions, detoxes, cleanses, food group elimination, and demonizing of foods. All this caused was a disordered relationship with food and your body.

 

As you begin to change habits, behaviors, thoughts, and feelings around food and your body, you may lose weight, and that’s fine. No one is going to say to you “that’s terrible, how could you have lost weight!”. Your body will do what it needs to do, in its own natural way, in its own time. The interesting thing is that you cannot determine that. Your body determines that.

 

But please understand that the process of intuitive eating is not a weight loss program. Some people may lose weight, some people may gain weight (especially if they started at a low body weight or a place of severe restriction) and some people maintain their weight.

 

So, how do you get weight loss out of your mind as you heal your relationship with food?

 

  1. Write down your WHY! Why do you want to stop fighting with food and your body? Dig down as deep as you need to in order to uncover the true reason. Chances are there is a very meaningful reason why you want to stop the food and body war within yourself. And it’s way bigger than losing a few pounds. Then write your meaningful why on an index card or post-it note and put it in a place you see it often. Read it daily and re-commit to it each time your mind goes back to weight loss.

 

  1. Identify the BIG 3! Instead of constantly thinking about your weight, focus on 3 amazing characteristics that you possess. Unsure what they are? Ask a friend, family member, or your partner. I’m sure they will be happy to share with you how kind you are, funny you are, helpful you are etc. Then on a day that you seem to be worrying too much about your weight, switch it off to focus on the BIG 3!

 

  1. Seek Support! Every one of us needs support throughout our lives. This includes times like this where you are swimming in new waters. If you haven’t yet joined my Intuitive Eating Support Community, come on over. Just click HERE and request to join. The members in this group are here to help you whenever you need it!

 

And of course. If you want my support on your journey, just send me an email to Bonnie@DietFreeRadiantMe.com . I offer 1-1 private coaching at various levels to walk you through your food and body healing journey.

 

 

 

5 Ways to Slow Down Your Eating

In today’s fast paced society, it’s only natural that we rush around trying to get everything done before the day is over. You rush to work, school, and everywhere else you must go. You probably even rush through lunch to get back to your busy day at work.

 

While moving fast may be a necessity for you, eating fast can be detrimental to your health and body.

 

Eating your meals quickly can also lead to overeating and weight gain.

 

Think back to your last meal… did you inhale it or take the time to enjoy every bite?   How long do you think it took you to finish your meal? If it’s less than 20 minutes, then keep reading.

 

If you feel like you’re the only person who does this, you’re not! Most people devour their meals in about 5 -7 minutes flat. They put a forkful of food in their mouths and, before they even swallow, the next forkful is ready to go. Do you find yourself doing this too?

 

Inhaling Your Meals

 

When you eat fast, it becomes difficult to savor your meals.  You’re not able to truly listen to your body and engage in mindful eating. Slowing down as you eat will allow you to really taste every bite and get the most satisfaction out of the meal as possible.

 

Eating quickly also prevents you from eating until you are comfortably satisfied because you don’t pay attention to your inner fullness signals. Instead, you’ll eat until the food is gone.

 

It takes your brain 20 minutes to realize that your stomach is full, so if you clean your plate in record time, you likely miss that fullness cue, and reach for more food. By the time the fullness signals kicks in, you are now uncomfortably full, having eaten more than your body physically needed. You are likely also experiencing bloat, heartburn and other uncomfortable GI symptoms (in addition to the emotional side effects of guilt and shame).

 

5 Tips to Help You Slow Down Your Eating:

  1. Set an allotted amount of time to sit down and eat your meal – pick whatever time works for you! There is no “best” time to eat. Just be sure you plan it into your daily schedule, and that means breakfast and lunch too!
  2. Put your fork and knife down between bites – this means completely putting it down on your plate until you’re done chewing what’s in your mouth. Then, and only then, pick up the fork and take your next bite.
  3. Eat without distractions (meaning no T.V. or Phone) – we all know how difficult this one can be. I suggest making your kitchen/dining room a electronic-free zone! If your phone is in another room then you are not tempted to look at it when you hear that notification. Make sure the kids know too that meal time is not tech time.
  4. Use your non-dominant hand to hold the fork – this is a simple way to help you slow down. Since your non-dominant hand is usually weaker, you’ll have to pick up smaller forkfuls and really concentrate to keep food from spilling over.
  5. Eat with someone else – ask a family member or friend to help you reach your goal of slowing down at meals! You can engage in meaningful conversations between bites and, before you know it, you’ll realize you are engaging in many of the tips stated above.

 

Challenge yourself

Set the timer on your phone and see how long it normally takes you to finish a meal. It might be 5 minutes and you might think that stretching it out to 20 is impossible. It’s not! Continue to use the tips above every time you sit to eat to help lengthen your meal minute by minute. Before long, you will be eating slower and using your inner fullness signals to guide you when to stop. And, you’ll enjoy your meal a whole lot better.

 

If you’d like to explore how I can help you on your intuitive eating journey, just reach out to me at www.TalkWithBonnie.com .