|
Today we continue to draw from Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat by Dr. Michelle May. Eating, dieting, and weight management are almost universal issues for us these days. Every article on health, on aging gracefully, on preventing cancer and diabetes and dementia, points to healthy weight as a key to success. Yet, for many of us, the challenge feels overwhelming.
Dr. May describes the challenge and proposes a strategy for working with it. She provides a diagram of the "Eating Cycle" that asks the questions: Why do I eat? When? What? How? How Much? And Where do I invest the energy I ingest? We have taken a quick look at why? what? and how much? Today, the question is "WHEN?" (And "when" leads back to "why?")
- I eat when I am hungry (because I am hungry).
- I eat at social events (because the food is free, and eating dulls my social anxiety).
- I eat often between meals (because I am procrastinating or taking a break).
- I eat on my birthday, his birthday, our anniversary, holidays, the day we paid off our house, the day I got out of the sling (because eating is how we have always celebrated special occasions).
- I eat when I am tired, when I am bored, when I am sad, when I am mad (because I feel bad and food will give me pleasure).
Looking at the calendar, I see "when I eat" sprinkled across every day, week, month, and year. If I see food as the enemy and diet as a strategy, the calendar looks like a minefield. If I see food as my friend and healthy eating as a powerful goal, the calendar still looks like a minefield (to be honest) but I have the tools I need to make it safely through without blowing my health and happiness to smithereens. The following three strategies have worked for me:
- Look at the week ahead. I find it helpful to identify upcoming eating challenges.
- Express an intention. "I want food to be my friend because delicious and nutritious fuels support the healthy life I want to live. I seek diversity, balance, and moderation in the way I eat."
- Pick small, do-able steps that take me where I want to go. I rehearse "small sundae" instead of "peanut buster parfait." We agree to share a small pizza, not a giant one. I propose coffee with a friend, instead of lunch. I indulge in one outstanding dessert at the potluck, instead of sampling them all.
When this week will you face eating challenges? How do those challenges fit within the healthy life you desire? What small step will take you in the right direction?
|
