For those of you who read last weeks post on emotional eating, you will know that I am currently in the midst of trying to reclaim my diet and body. Having to eat gluten again for the biopsy and being unable to work out due to health reasons has seen me fall back into some unfortunate dietary habits. I started afresh on Monday after a hugely monstrous weekend of basically stuffing myself with everything I could get my hands on. I let myself have that weekend because I knew that midnight on Sunday would signal a new, fresh start for me. Still eating gluten, I'm not expecting to see the scales drop or the notches on my belt decrease because, as you can see from a few posts down, eating the stuff leaves me incredibly bloated. What I'm doing at the moment is, what I would call, 'damage limitation'. I'm basically trying to reclaim my approach to my diet before it claims me. When I say diet, I mean it in the nutritional sense: not the cabbage water, crust of bread style. Healthy, balanced meals coupled with as much gentle walking exercise as I can currently manage is very much the dish of the day.
I think one of the biggest stumbling blocks for anyone when they decide to eat better is the sense of deprivation. It's the pink elephant syndrome: as soon as you decide not to eat chocolate/ crisps/ pies etc, your every waking thought becomes consumed with, well, consuming them. I have found a few ways of making sure this doesn't happen to me and have outlined them in some handy hints and tips below. If anyone has any others to add, feel free to leave me a comment below :-)
Don't buy it.
Yes, that simple. If your 'trigger' foods are not in the home then you can't eat them. It sounds obvious but so many times I've justified buying my food nemesis' 'just in case' someone drops round. Edit: I live in the middle of nowhere. I then find myself eating the entire pack of biscuits, guilt ridden and upset. If someone does pop over, there's no shame in offering them a drink and a healthy snack. I don't know where we've got it into our cultural psyche that we need to offer people copious amounts of sugary snacks the second the doorbell goes. Have some fruit, dried or fresh, to hand and offer it up to them, you never know, they might be just as grateful as you to bypass the biscuit ritual.
Treat yourself
'Naughty' foods are, more often than not, blessed with the title 'treats'. We 'treat' ourselves after a long week/ day/ hour with a glass of wine, a sharing size bag of chocolates, or a takeaway. Never once, in the history of humankind, do you hear anyone say, 'I'm so pleased with how that work meeting went, I'm going to treat myself with a nice bunch of kale'. I'm not kidding myself: no one is going to start seeing a salad as a reward for a weeks work well done. What you can do is learn to give yourself none food based 'treats'. Little things to look forward to. Because, really, the basis of a 'treat' is the chance to reward yourself with something enjoyable and pleasurable. It isn't a 'treat' if you wolf down a family sized packet of biscuits and sit wallowing in guilt for the next few hours. Here are a few ideas of inexpensive ways to indulge yourself:
- A Pampering Bath: give yourself the spa experience at home. Post coming up!
- A mini facial: massage away any tension with a home facial.
- Computer game: even better a multiplayer one you can enjoy with friends.
-A walk in your local area: engage with your local surroundings and yourself. Take notice of the things around you. Stop and say hello to passers by and relish the great outdoors.
-A new book: even better, one from your local charity shop or library. Or listen to Radio 4 and their book of the week.
-Check out your local community groups or centres for any free activities. Not only will it be a chance to engage in a new activity, you could meet new, like minded people.
Learn to connect with yourself again.
In an age of connectivity we have lost connection with ourselves. We are always switched on. Phones, tablets, computers, music, TV: the list goes on. It seems we are increasingly switched on digitally. All these connections with the virtual means we have lost our connection with the actual: ourselves! We need to learn to switch off in order to switch on to ourselves. It may sound incredibly hippy like but when was the last time you truly had a quiet moment with yourself. Letting the mind wander allows you to think through the days events, sort through any problems or obstacles you may be facing and put things into perspective. I personally find going out for a walk allows me to connect with myself the fullest. Leaving the confines of the home and getting out and into nature can really help realign your mind and body. Walking helps you connect your body and your mind in a gentle, none impacting way. You can also reconnect with yourself via breathing exercises and meditation. These can be done anywhere, on the bus, in the office, or at home. I enjoy taking a good minute just to tune into my breathing. Breathing in through your nose, exhale the air back through gently pursed lips. This filters the air and maximises each breath, clearing your mind and lungs. This is also a great exercise if you're prone to panic attacks or find yourself in a stressful situation as it helps to regulate breathing. Another breathing exercise is to lay flat on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees pointing towards the ceiling. Bring your lower abdominal stomach muscles in as if you are zipping up a pair of jeans. Breath in for 5 and out for 5. Release your body then repeat at least 10 times. This is a great way of neutralising the spine, engaging your core and, by concentrating on your body and your breathing, you can quieten all external stimulus and just concentrate on you.
Reconnect with your food.
Practising mindfulness when eating really helps strengthen your relationship with food. So often we just grab something and eat it on the go. Dinner is stuffed in the microwave and our mouths within minutes. Preparing meals from scratch is a great way to really connect with what you are eating. However, I do understand time is often a luxury many of us can't afford. If you can't prepare food from scratch, make sure you are engaged in the meals you do eat. It might sound obvious, but how many times have you stuffed a sandwich on a lunch break or troffed a TV dinner without pausing for breath. Before you know it, the food has left the plate and mysteriously bypassed your stomach. Within minutes you're hungry again. It is well known that it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to tell your stomach it is full. Scoffing a sandwich in record timing means you bypass this essential step meaning you're more likely to reach for the snacks later. Eating is a multi sensual pleasure. Take time to savour each bite. Chew your food and think about the texture, the taste, the smell. Try to identify each flavour within it. Do not allow yourself distractions. I try to eat my lunch and breakfast without the interruption of electrical devices, the internet or the TV. All this may sound odd, but think about how children really connect with their food and how much pleasure they get from sucking, chewing, handling and examining their food. Taking time to eat means you're more likely to really appreciate the flavours and textures and, hopefully, you'll take this on into preparing your own meals.
Find flavour
Linking in with mindful eating is flavour. So many of the foods we binge on are terribly sweet or artificially flavoured: crisps, biscuits, chocolate, match snacks. How many times can you honestly say you've relished the actual flavours of those hurried binges? The mistake people make is to go on an extreme diet, stocking their cupboards full of cardboard flavoured crisp breads and dusty rice cakes. Flavour is so important. Making healthy meals flavoursome means you'll be less likely to reach for those fast snacks. Bring flavour to your food. Spices and seasonings will become your best buddy. If you have a sweet tooth, bring some sweetness to your main. Combine spicy and sweet foods. A chilli, mango and Mint dip with some spiced sweet potato wedges is a favourite of mine. With so many flavours circulating your mouth, it'll be a case of Bye-vita, rather than Riveta.
Fall with grace
I'm going to tell it to you straight. You will fall. Whether you're out and about or at home, everybody has those overwhelming moments where that 'do it' voice cannot be silenced and they reach for the naughty food. This is probably THE most important point. It may be tempting, after giving into temptation, to throw all your hard work and positive mental attitude out of the window. In my experience, if these binges happen mid week, I tend to just give in and think, 'I'll start again on Monday'. Of course, on reflection, that is a ridiculous attitude. One small instance should not throw the entire week into disarray. A very good phrase I heard was this: 'Just because you burst one tyre doesn't mean you slash all the rest'. Don't let one day ruin everything you've worked hard for. Don't beat yourself up. Draw a line and move on. Your tomorrow self will thank you for it.
