mindless eating Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Diet Free Radiant Me | Intuitive Eating | Emotional Eating

There’s Just a Little Food Left on My Plate

You’re staring at your plate that now has just a few more bites of your dinner food left. You’ve really enjoyed your meal, but if you are being honest with yourself, you are satisfied and probably don’t need to eat any more.

As you contemplate what to do, you glance around the table. Everyone else is still eating. You decide to pick up your fork and finish the remaining food on your plate. As you swallow the last bite, you now regret cleaning the plate. You are overfull and uncomfortable.

Why do you do this time and time again?

Sounds like you are part of the “clean the plate club”. There are many reasons that you might be part of this club. Perhaps your mom or dad told you when growing up that the children in another country are starving and you should be grateful for the food you have. Or, you feel bad wasting the money that you work so hard to earn in order to buy the food. Either way (and there are likely other reasons as well such as “It’s not enough to dirty a container for”), you hardly ever walk away from the table with food left on your plate.

This is a practice that is not serving you well on your intuitive eating journey, or your healthy living journey.

Here are 3 tips to help you be totally okay with leaving food on your plate:

Slow down the pace of your eating so you can achieve pleasure in each and every bite. It will be easier to stop when you sense you have had enough.

Promise yourself that you will pack up whatever you leave over (even if it’s a small amount) so you can eat it tomorrow. You will then enjoy this wonderful meal again.

Take less on your plate, knowing that if you are still hungry you can always take more.

Sounds simple? Maybe so, but I do know that it’s not so easy to do. Make a commitment to at least try.

Your turn to take action: What are some of the reasons you clean your plate even after you’ve had enough?

Did You Have a Vacation Mindset Around Food this Summer?

I’m sorry to say that the summer is almost over! Someone asked me today when my daughter starts school, and I had to admit I didn’t know. I just love the summer. The warm weather, the relaxed attitude and vacation time.

This month I actually went on vacation TWICE! This is not like me. But, it’s all part of MY Self-Care Plan. It’s important to stop and take a break and re-energize.

My first vacation was with my husband for 5 days…no kids, just us. It was wonderful. One thing we did that we never have time to do at home is to eat out at restaurants. We actually ate out every evening! The second vacation was a short 2 days with another two couples.

My clients often worry when they are preparing to go away on vacation. They worry about the food they will eat, how much weight they will gain and they often go into “vacation mindset”.

What is “vacation mindset” you ask?

“Oh, I’m on vacation, I’ll enjoy myself and start my diet (or start over) when I get home.”

Yikes. Have you ever said this to yourself? Well, it’s okay if you have, but make a commitment from the moment you read this blog that you won’t fall prey to the “vacation mindset” again.

You see, when you say this to yourself, you are giving yourself permission to eat beyond your point of satisfaction, to eat and snack mindlessly because you are on vacation. And then when you return home, you are upset with yourself and start the negative self-talk and body bashing and probably promise never to do that again. But, you do.

Moving away from this mindset means you are respecting your body each and every day, no matter if you are on vacation or not. Staying tuned in and aware while choosing the foods you love will enable you to have pleasure in your meals and feel strong in your body.

This is the power of being an intuitive eater.

I enjoyed my vacations, and I enjoyed every meal that I ate. I didn’t worry about my food choices, I stayed tuned in and aware. You can too! I’m here to help you if you need me.

Want some extra support? Join my free private Facebook online community by clicking here.

I Have Nothing to Wear!

You are standing in front of your closet and have no idea what to put on to wear today. You think “nothing will look good on me”. You reluctantly take out a pair of pants and a shirt and put it on. You look in the mirror and immediately rip these clothes right off your body. “Ugh”, you think. “Looks terrible”. Out comes the next outfit, then the next, and the next. Until you finally give up and leave the house with the first outfit you put on.

Would you like to change this scenario? Would you like to rewrite it as follows…

“What should I wear today? Oh, this outfit is nice and I haven’t worn it in a while”. You take it out of the closet, put it on, twirl around and head out the door.

Done.

You just saved yourself at least 30 minutes in the morning (if not more!)

So the big question here is how can you turn around YOUR morning routine and be happy with whatever you put on?

First you have to accept your body for where it is at right now. I don’t mean throw caution to the wind and eat mindlessly and for all the wrong reasons. I mean part of changing your relationship with food is letting go of the harsh body bashing that you do. Stop comparing your body to others, stop talking negatively towards yourself and accept that this is where your body is right now. Then, work on understanding the underlying reasons why you turn to food for reasons other than hunger, why you eat mindlessly, and commit to taking a different approach to eating.

Commit to learning to become an intuitive eater, learning to identify gentle hunger and comfortable fullness as your guide to starting and stopping your eating. Learn to cope with your emotions without food. Start moving your body not because you think you have to in order to better your body, but because you feel EMPOWERED when you do. And then, respect that your body is what it is now and you need to feed it, cloth it comfortably and talk nicely to it.

Doing this will allow you to transform your relationship with food and ultimately will help you achieve the body you love and feel good in.

I know this is a tall order. Well, I am here to help you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you need some support. Just email me at bonnie@brghealth.com .

You can also join my FREE support group on Facebook right here.

Here’s to an extra 30 minutes in the morning….

Red, Yellow, Blue, White…Does it Matter?

So, you are probably wondering what I am talking about. Why am I listing a bunch of colors in the title of this blog?

Well, studies show that the color of your plate has a lot to do with how much you eat or don’t eat.

I discuss this on this week’s episode of The Diet Free Zone Show™.

So, just click the image below and watch now.

After you watch the video, come back and comment: What color is your plate? Did you try the experiment I mentioned in the video and if so, what did you find?

Introducing The Diet-Free Zone Show™

I’ve been writing about intuitive eating for some time now. So I thought I’d try something new to help get my message out to more people.

I’ve decided to create my very own show on YouTube.

Yep, I did.

So, yesterday my assistant and I buckled down and taped 6 episodes of my new show called…DRUM ROLL PLEASE….

The show will air every Wednesday on what I have dubbed “Intuitive Eating Wednesdays”.

What will I talk about on the show?

Everything related to intuitive eating and mindful eating.

Click on the intro video above to learn more!

Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there. Just click the RED Subscribe button on my channel and you will be notified when a new show airs.

If you have questions you’d like me to answer on a future show, just comment below and I’ll be sure to answer in an upcoming episode.

Does Your Home Environment Trigger Mindless Eating?

Mindful eating is a crucial step on your path to becoming an intuitive eater. Mindful eating involves developing a special kind of awareness that you bring to the table when you eat. Mindful eating is less about what you eat and more about the way you eat.

When you eat mindfully, you become aware of your eating habits, especially the ones that sabotage eating well. You ask yourself “Do I really want a snack?” “Am I just reacting to food with automatic habits?” “Am I mindlessly wandering to the kitchen cabinets and getting my favorite treat without a second thought?”

When you eat mindfully, you are aware of the sensations you experience when you eat…the taste, texture, aroma of the food, and the thoughts that you have about the food.

Easier said than done?

Maybe so. Especially in this society when you are constantly on the run, putting out fires at work and home and probably grabbing food when you can. There just never seems to be enough time in the day. This leads to mindless eating, not mindful eating.

You have the best of intentions to listen to your internal cues of hunger and satiety and to stay fully present at each meal. But it doesn’t always work out that way. So, what are you to do?

It’s important to set up your environment for success. Meaning, take the cookie jar off the kitchen counter, the bowl of nuts off the living room cocktail table, and keep food in the kitchen, and only in the kitchen. You will be less apt to grab a “couple” or a “few” on your way through the kitchen to the den.

But it doesn’t just stop there. One of my favorite recommendations to setting up your environment for success has to do with your dinner leftovers (or any meal for that matter). Consider the following scenario:

You cooked a delicious dinner of lasagna and enjoyed it with your family. There is leftover, so you put it in a container and placed it in the refrigerator. Later that evening, you feel some hunger and decide to have an apple. You open the fridge and see your dinner leftovers. “Yum, that was delicious tonight. Let me take one forkful”. You stand at the fridge and dig the fork in, only problem is before you know it, the leftovers are gone and in your belly.

Has this ever happened to you? Oh, come on, be real, it probably has.

To set your environment up for success and prevent this mindless eating, store those leftovers in opaque containers (you know, the ones you can’t see through), and put it towards the back of the refrigerator. Out of sight, out of mind. And easy enough to do!

Your turn to take action: How do you store your leftovers? What changes will you make in your environment to decrease mindless eating?

The Answer to End Your Weight Struggles is Here

Last night was really a landmark night for me and I want to share it with you.

I knew how excited I was to share with the world How to Break Free from the Pain of Dieting and Get the Body You Love Without Feeling Deprived. But I had no idea how many of you shared that same excitement. There is one thing that is undeniable. And you know it deep down. Discovering how to give up dieting and eat without guilt can be one of the most crucial factors in finally achieving what you have dreamed of for so long.

Just in case you missed it last night, or want to listen again, here is the link to the replay. You’ll want to listen now because it’s only available for a short time.

On the webinar, I taught the 3 steps that you need to become an intuitive eater. These are the same steps that I have incorporated into my own life. On the webinar, I tell you a bit about my own story and how intuitive eating has changed my life. And, you know what? It can change yours too.

Intuitive eating can help you:

be freed of dieting forever
lose weight and keep it off without feelings of deprivation
eat without guilt or food worry

I also announced on the webinar the premier of Freedom to Eat Forever. This is a revolutionary program that not only helps you shift your mindset and reject dieting.

But more importantly, it helps you experience:

Unconditional permission to eat when you are hungry what foods you desire.
Eating for physical and not emotional reasons.
Reliance on your internal hunger and satiety signals to determine when and how much to eat.

And most crucially of all…reveals how to enjoy a diet-free life and a body you love.

It’s this combination of shifting your mindset and honoring your body that makes Freedom to Eat Forever such an amazing experience. Powerful, even life-changing, to help you not only leap frog your biggest challenges, but to set you up for a lifetime that exceeds your wildest dreams.

Learn the 3 steps to breaking free from dieting by listening to the webinar here.

Or, if you’ve already decided that you are ready to move forward, go ahead and check out the details and register for Freedom to Eat Forever here.

The program begins October 1, 2014. It’s a 90 day (3 month program- October, November and December).

Oh, and by the way, I have a fast action bonus for you if you take action fast. An “Ask Me Anything Coaching Call” available to the first 20 people who register. And, that’s on top of the big dollar savings for those who register through the webinar promotion (and lots of other bonuses and surprises I am throwing in).

Freedom to Eat Forever

Do You Possess The Dieter’s Dilemma?

I know how much you want to lose weight. You have tried for many years. You’ve been successful in that you lost weight on whatever diet you were on at that moment, assuming you were “good”. But then, the inevitable happens. You crave foods that you love that you have restricted for so long. You now enter into the vicious cycle of dieting and the “Dieter’s Dilemma”.

There is a way out. I’ve recorded a video for you this week to further discuss The Dieter’s Dilemma. Just click below and watch.

Learn the 3 steps you need to break free of the vicious cycle of dieting. Click here to register for my Free Webinar on Tuesday September 16 at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST. The webinar will be recorded, so register even if you cannot make it live. I will send you the recording.

How to Break Free from the Pain of Dieting and Get the Body You Love Without Deprivation.

Don’t miss out on this informative free training. It’s your path to freedom to eat.

“But I Don’t Want the Banana to Go to Waste!”

How many times have you eaten something because if you didn’t, it would likely spoil and go in the garbage?

For a lot of mindless eaters, they eat in order not to waste food, not because they are hungry. Several factors can fuel this desire to waste-not. Maybe it’s a cost factor. After all, you spent your hard earned money buying the food and the last thing you want to do is waste your money. Or, maybe you feel guilty to throw food away because there are children in other countries that are starving.

I understand both of these factors. But, when you put the food in your belly when you are NOT hungry, it’s the same as putting it in the garbage can and it’s the same waste of money. Food is too be enjoyed; you should be achieving great pleasure in eating what food you are eating. There is no way, no matter what you say, that you are enjoying that food that you just put in your mouth when you are not hungry in the way you should be enjoying it. Thus, it’s the same waste of money.

As far as the children starving in other countries, yes, I am sensitive to this, absolutely. But, this food you are about to put into your mouth when you are not hungry has no way of getting to those starving children. By all means, help them in other ways, send aid, but don’t eat because they are starving.

Let me drive this point home with a story.

I was visiting a friend over the weekend. She prepared lunch for us which was delicious. After lunch, as we were cleaning up in the kitchen, she looked at a banana sitting on her counter. She picked it up and ate it. She then said, “I really wasn’t hungry for that”. So, I asked her why she ate it. She replied “If I didn’t eat it, it would have spoiled and ended up in the garbage”.

The moment she said those words to me, she gave a chuckle. She then said, “wow, that sounded ridiculous”. She recognized that eating the banana, or any food for that matter, when she isn’t truly hungry, is just not satisfying. As a matter of fact, she now felt overfull. She could very easily have turned it into some banana muffins.

The light bulb went on for her at that moment, and she committed to being more mindful of her eating, eating only when she is hungry, and not to avoid waste.

Your turn to take action: Do you eat to avoid waste? Please share your story in the comments section below.

Being Mindful With Godiva Chocolate

One of the beautiful things about being an intuitive eater is being able to eat what I love! I don’t have to worry anymore about whether eating a particular food will cause me to gain weight or not.

One of the doubts I often hear from my clients is whether or not they will actually choose nutritious foods once they give themselves permission to eat what they love and desire when they are hungry. And I tell them YES, you will. Once you give yourself that unconditional permission to eat, you will find that you will gravitate towards lighter healthier foods, and your meals will be well-balanced nutritionally. It’s just something that happens when you begin to experience how great you feel eating these foods.

You will also find that the heavy, less healthy foods don’t seem so desirable after a while. The physical and/or emotional discomfort from eating those foods becomes burned in your memory, and you won’t want to repeat.

This doesn’t mean there is no place in your eating for what I call “play foods”. Of course there is. Let me share a recent story.

My husband and I were on vacation in Las Vegas two weeks ago. As we were walking through one of the casino hotel’s shopping areas, we stopped at the Godiva Chocolate store to watch them make chocolate dipped strawberries. We walked inside and an employee was giving out small samples of chocolate covered caramels. These were very small, similar to the size of a small paper clip. The employee put one in my palm; I picked it up and took a bite. I savored it, allowing it to melt in my mouth so I could taste the chocolate and the caramel. I then took a second bite. It was delicious. It hit the spot.

I took notice of how other people were eating these chocolate samples. Some took one to two bites as I did, but others popped it into their mouths. I overheard a man saying to his wife that he could eat a few more. His wife said one was just enough for her. What was the difference, why did he need more and why didn’t she? I noticed he was one of those people who popped it into his mouth without even tasting it. It was down before he could even think about what he just ate. His wife, on the other hand, took two bites and savored each one.

My point is…eating healthy doesn’t mean depriving yourself of your favorite foods or treats. Part of learning to become an intuitive eater is learning to be a mindful eater. Enjoy every bite you take, with purpose, and you will have great pleasure in your foods, those that are nutrient dense and those that are “play foods”. Tune into your belly as you are eating, and let your stomach be your guide. You will know when you have had just enough.

The more you practice these techniques, the more intuitive you will become, and you will see, weight loss will start happening, without you worrying about the scale and about the effects foods will have on your weight.

Do you want to discuss how you can become a mindful eater? Just click here and we will set up a time.

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