Today's Phrase:
Mindful Eating
So, this isn't an unknown thing, but I just wanted to post a little about it and my thoughts...
As I mentioned, I have a tonne of baking to do this weekend. I started last night and got going with it. Baking makes you think a lot about picking and mindful eating - cases in point:
1 - licking the bowl. I have a REALLY good spatula for this job now. I chuck it in the sink then which is filled with soapy water - nobody wants to eat bubbles of fairy!
2 - trimming off the excess. Again, usually the baker's perk. Something which I gave to the dog last night!
3 - Tasting the icing - got to make sure it's ok...and then lick the bowl too. Nope, not needed.
4 - when baking individual things, like scones for example, the last one is always the "baker's" because it's been rolled out a couple of times. The dogs LOVE cheese scones (they are Labradors so eat anything. Infact, Von has become my kitchen assistant!) Or, I chuck it straight in the bin/composting.
5 - To check a cake is done, stick a skewer in. Then if there's any mix on the skewer, that's what I get to have! I washed it away yesterday.
5 - When portioning, it is easy to have the "offcuts" or the rubbish bits. Bin or OH. Not for me.
These are ALL things I have done/used to do. Sometimes, if I was alone in the evening, I would make a mini cake JUST TO EAT MYSELF. Madness. It's this mindfulness and focus which meant I didn't have ANY of these "perks" when baking last night. I got straight to it and whilst I was waiting, cleaned the hob off and did the washing up. I sipped my fizzy water and not a morsel of cake was eaten!
Number two mindfulness: Preparing sandwiches for guests at work.
So, the sandwiches are bought in, so essentially, I just have to cut them and put them onto platters along with crisps etc. This is another opportunity for picking...
1 - having a sneaky sandwich whilst nobody is watching. They'll not count them up, so you can easily sneak a bit/half and NOBODY will know. Nobody except you. You're not dieting for other people, you're doing this FOR YOU. So you only cheat yourself.
2 - A bit of filling that falls out is fair game, right. Wrong. The bosses dog had a bit of prawn and a bit of beef that usually, I would munch.
3 - Putting crisps into a bowl means that usually, I could eat a couple of them and again, nobody knows. Not this time!
4 - There's ALWAYS leftovers. I can share them out after i've taken what I wanted, and eaten it whilst loading the dishwasher. That way, nobody sees and it didn't happen.
5 - Bits on the sandwich platter that have fallen out. Mmm, ham hock and bits of lettuce are tasty, but I don't need to eat them, do I?
6 - Bowl of crisps. Middle of the office. I can have a crisp EVERY TIME I WALK PAST. Nope. Do not need these.
The same goes I guess when preparing lunch at home. Aside from picking as i'm preparing, I am the cook, so I get to pick which meal/portion size I have. Invariably, I will pick the one with the bigger portion, because I get to make the choice, piling my plate up with food which is most definitely far too big a portion, and then munching through it quickly, rather than savouring the meal and leaving it when i'm full. Then, if OH hasn't finished his, I can take the plates back into the kitchen and have a dishwasher treat again, because that bigger portion wasn't enough. Now clearly, if OH didn't finish, the portion size was too big...so i'm eating a bigger portion to start, and then finishing his...portion control is one of my big problems I am going to combat with this diet.
So, mindful eating. Learning what my body is trying to tell me. Which is WHY I STOPPED EATING at the wedding meal at the weekend when I was full.
Things I need to remind myself of:
You don't have to clear your plate to show appreciation of your food.
I don't have to rush my meal - it's not a race.
If I only have a little portion, then I have to SAVOUR every mouthful, every taste, and listen to my body if i'm too full - not put more on my plate to get more taste.
If I "cheat" with the portion size, I am only cheating myself.
To eat mindfully is to enjoy eating, rather than picking and ultimately just eating for the sake of it and eat because it's there.
Once mealtime's over - THAT'S IT. You're NOT hungry, just bored. Have a glass of water instead.
These are all things I need to start doing once I start moving through the steps...but important to be thinking about it already for me.
Again, long massively rambling post, but i'm sure there's some of you that can relate to parts of this (well I hope anyway that i'm not alone!) It's all of these "bits" which add up and up and up which is why i'm here in the first place!
xx
