Mindful Eating

                               Never order food in excess of your body weight. 

                                                   ~~Erma Bombeck

The Holiday Season (and all the tempting food that comes with it) will be here before we know it.  To head off possible gluttonous feasting and the guilt and regret that follows, my next 6 posts will be from a course I taught on weight control strategies. 



Weight Control Strategy #1 -- Mindful Eating

When I talk to clients, they all start out saying the same thing. “I really don’t eat that much.” They have no idea of how many calories they're consuming day in and day out.  When I have them keep a Food Diary, they're amazed at the number of "hidden" calories that manage to sneak into their daily eating routine.  I kept my own Food Diary for a week and was astounded to see that I was eating well over 3,000 calories every day.  That's an awful lot for my 5'6" frame. 

Where are the hidden calories in your diet? Here are some common food traps:

* Your morning Mocha Frappuccino or Caffee Mocha Espresso

* Adding sugar and cream to coffee

* A glass of juice with breakfast

*  Regular dressing on your salad – 2 Tbls. per serving  (don’t we always use more)

*  M&M candies from the vending machine as a midday snack

*  A couple pieces of candy from a coworker’s candy dish

*  Putting mayo on your sandwich

So, the first thing to do is become aware of everything you are eating. No more mindlessly popping food into  your mouth without a second thought.  From now on, account for every calorie.


~Take Action~

Before changing anything else, you must know where you are right now.  Buy a small notebook or download an app on your phone, and keep track of all...and I do mean ALL... of the food you eat.  Keep the notebook or phone with you at all times and record the food and calorie count immediately.  If you wait and try to do this from memory, you will miss many calories.  I use an app called Fat Secret which automatically logs in calories as I select the food.

Do this every day for one week so you can see how many calories you’re really consuming. You will be surprised.


Blessings,

Cindy
cakozak88@gmail.com


This Post is excerpted from my class, "8 Weight Loss Strategies"