Procrastination-by-Inquiry

This is a phrase I just read on Christine Kane's blog this morning and I LIKE IT!  Have you ever found yourself putting off the actual doing of something so you could wonder about it?  Doing it in your head so you could think out the pitfalls of the project...and then calling a friend to see what their take on the idea is...and then doing a quick Google search to see if there is relevant information out there about the project...and then guess what???  By the time you do all that, you have lost interesting in the actually doing...or you have just talked yourself out of it.  Bummer!!

Weight management and cultivating mindfulness are both prone to Procrastination-by-Inquiry.  You do the research and read the blog but you never quite make it happen.

I am a firm believer in visualization.  One of the exercises I ask clients to do is figure out how their life would be different if they lost the weight -- and then create a mental image around that difference. Visualizing that life is a good exercise but not at the expense of living the behavior change IN REAL TIME.

Practice makes perfect.  You are going to screw up with anything new you try.  If you aren't screwing up, you are only doing what you're already good at -- not developing new skills and pushing yourself.

There is NO substitute for the Doing!  Don't put mindfulness off for another minute just because you are trying to align the planets for your perfect success -- it won't happen.  Push up your sleeves and get to work!

Did your weight cause you stress last Christmas?

Or maybe it was just the thought of all the available food and wondering how much weight you were going to gain.  Holidays are stressful enough without that!

Behavior change experts are finding that it takes 16-24 weeks of support and practice to make a solid behavior change (that will  last through the holiday temptations).

Now...not to be downer (because I have banned talk of the leaves starting to change and how the air is starting to smell like fall --and I have not mentioned to anyone, except you, that the other day I saw a huge flock of birds gathering in a tree) but guess how many weeks we have until the holiday season starts?

Well...honestly, it depends on when yours kicks off but I have friends that swears the parties start Nov 1 and run until January 6.

So...we have just enough time to get on that behavior change horse and ride!

To help with that, I have set up 2 group trainings:

Thursdays
September 9 - October 14 at 8:30am at my Fitness Center in Kalamazoo
or
Mondays October 18 - November 22 12pm to 1pm

Just click here and choose Eating Coach Group Training from the drop down list.

These group trainings are designed to give you tools, practical self knowledge and a new perspective on how to Eat, Enjoy, and Be Happy with your eating throughout the holidays (and for the rest of your life).

Do something Friday

Waste : to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander

Some people hit a big stumbling block when I suggest throwing food away.  Eat half your dinner out and then throw the rest away.  Get the bag of cookies you are craving, eat 8 and then throw the rest away.  Sure, you pay a premium price per cookie if you do that, but you aren't going to eat the rest of the bag if they are in the trash.

Are you wasting that food if you throw it away?  I suppose.  However.....

According the the definition above -- if you are consuming something without adequate return (as in you're eating something that doesn't taste good to you -- no positive psychological return) or you are eating more than you have physical hunger for (you are overeating and storing those calories straight to fat -- so there is no biological return), you are wasting the food.

Waste is waste -- either don't put it on your plate or throw it out -- but don't just eat it because it's there. 

Look for the return on your investment -- don't be wasteful!

How helpful is your desk being to yourself and others?

Think about your desk drawers -- are they stuffed with snacks? (okay...maybe not stuffed but do you have a stash?)  Do you have a nice bowl of change sitting there waiting for the vending machine craving to strike?

Let's face it -- sometimes work gets boring or stressful -- and we turn to food to calm or distract us.  Don't make it easy on yourself!  Having a drawer full of things to snack on will create a greater desire to snack.  Knowing that you have easy access to whatever the vending machine is full of will make you look at what it's full of (just so you don't miss out on something good).

Clean it out and get rid of it.  I am pretty sure you aren't going to starve to death without stashed Pop Tarts.

Immutable Truths

When was the last time you questioned an immutable dieting "truth"?  You know what I'm talking about -- that convention so ingrained that if you aren't following it, you feel guilty because you know you're not doing what you should -- for example, no one who is trying to lose weight should eat pizza...at least while they are on their diet and perhaps ever!

Or what about the convention that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?  How does that stack up against the idea that you do not need to eat if you are not physically hungry?

Here's the thing -- Breakfast would be the most important meal of the day if you ate a reasonable sized dinner at 5:30pm and then didn't snack in the evening...at all.  But that isn't the way most of us live our lives.  It takes a super kitchen wizard to get home from work at 5:15 and have dinner on the table by 5:30.  And we do snack in the evening.  Which means we aren't fasting for the 12+ hours that used to be the case.  If I eat dinner a good sized dinner at 8:00, there is a good chance I won't be hungry when I wake up (which is usually the case) so there isn't a reason for me to eat breakfast before I rush out the door.

The important idea here isn't whether or not you are eating breakfast, it is to question the ideas that "everybody knows are true"....because they might not be true for you any more.

Your body will let you know when you need to eat -- you don't need to feed it proactively to protect yourself from feelings of hunger.

Social Antibodies

Why is it hard to eat less?  Most of the reasons I hear center around the idea that it is unfair for some people to have to eat less than others to maintain a healthy weight.

We have a culture (or at least a large part of our culture) that supports that idea that more is better -- more food, more square footage in our homes, more toys in our garages.

Food has become a plague for many people.  It causes stress for them to eat (What is healthy? What is organic? Does this have a provitamin or probiotic?)  And it is stressful to limit ourselves.  We use food like a drug to separate ourselves from the stresses of our days and provide entertainment when there isn't anything on the 183 cable channels.

So what got us through the plagues of history?  Our bodies developed antibodies to the disease. 

And what is going to get us through this plague on our culture and ourselves?  I just came across the idea of "social antibodies".

What are social antibodies, you ask???

Social antibodies are those mindful eaters out there not only walkin' the walk --  They are also talkin' the talk.  They are letting their friends and neighbors know what they are doing -- that there is another, simple, way to manage your weight.  That if you don't overeat, you won't be overweight.  That you have the option of eating really, really good foods.  And if you eat a reasonable portion of those, you don't ever have to give the low-fat, low-cal versions another thought.

So what do you think?  Are you part of the plague solution?  Or part of the problem? Are you ready to become a social antibody?

*and thanks to Paul Graham for the social antibodies idea that got me thinkin')

Thought for the Day....

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today." -- Japanese Proverb

The same can be said for changing your eating behaviors.  Start today.