Again with the Magic Beans

Mindful Eating:
1. Deliberately paying attention, without judgment, to ones own experiences.
2. Cultivating openness to, and an acceptance of all experiences.
3. Mindfulness happens in the present moment.

I spoke to a group at the Crossroads Village Apartments yesterday. Great group of people. They seemed interested in the thinking behind mindful eating and had lots of questions about how it really helps you lose weight. One thing I always get, though, is the person who wants to know what foods they can eat mindfully to help them lose weight.

We have been ingrained with the belief in Magic Beans -- that all illusive food or combination of foods that will give us perfect health and a thin body to go along with it. Well....guess what?? There are no Magic Beans. Food is food -- neither inherently good (just because lima beans are a healthy vegetable doesn't mean they taste good to me!) or inherently bad (alfredo made with whipping cream and real Parmesan is definitely not "low cal" but boy is it delicious!!).

Deliberately paying attention and not pigeon holing (judging) foods is one of the cornerstones of mindful eating. Believe me -- I would lose weight if I was on a diet of lima beans (mostly because I think they are so gross I wouldn't eat them -- or perhaps I would gain weight on a diet of lima beans because I would have to cover the taste of them with so much butter or cheese that I would take in lots of extra calories) But one thing I know for sure -- my life wouldn't be more enjoyable because of the lima beans.

There are some people out there that just don't get this concept. EAT WHAT TASTES GREAT -- JUST EAT LESS OF IT.

The reason a person gains weight is just that they are eating too many calories for their activity level. Cut down the calories to the level you expend and your weight will be stable. Eat fewer calories than you expend and you will lose weight. No games, no gimmicks, no tricks -- but no Magic Beans.

The question, for me, always comes back to:

Would you rather eat foods you enjoy but eat smaller amounts?

Or do you want to slug it out on the "Diet Du Jour", eating foods that, at best are only okay and at worst taste like the cardboard box your last pair of sneakers came in?

For me: Life's too short -- I want the food that makes my heart sing! And I will be happy to eat less now so I can have some more in the future.