We recently saw a meme on Facebook from OMG Paradise that said “An optimist is someone who realizes that a taking a step backwards after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s more like a cha-cha”. Beth shares her cha-cha below.
“No Foods Are Bad Foods”
The holidays are over and it’s time to get back to work.
I don’t believe in or practice the idea of a New Year’s resolution; never have, but there’s nothing wrong with seeing the advent of a new year as a time to get back to basics. It was way too easy to convince myself that “no foods are bad foods” translated by my Christmas zeal into “eat all the chocolate you want because it’s not bad!”
Intuitive Eating, Common Sense & New Year’s Resolutions
A Review Of Mindful Eating
So, I feel that it’s even more important to take a look at my habits. Well, not really a look, but a relook. A “going back to school” almost, to reacquaint myself with the concepts and ideas promoted at Green Mountain. I went in search of my binder.
I flipped open the front cover and my personal note sheets fell out.
The first page starts with my scribbly notes on mindful eating:
Being present w/o judgment, becoming aware of needs — what role is food playing — feel empowered by your relationship with food; gear what, when and how much you eat to feel well – that’s empowering.
Wow, right there on the first page.
Re-evaluating My Eating Behavior And Relationship With Food
My backsliding is all about forgetting the primary tenets of mindful eating. What is food all about? What is my relationship to the process? What are my goals?
Mindful Eating Review: The Basics
In fact, my backsliding had encompassed more than chocolate, I had become lax about balance and returned to watching TV while eating. I will even admit to too many meals grabbed from the fridge while dashing out the door.
So I kept flipping.
- Behavior – there were my notes about hunger cues. Better get out the guide and prop it back up between the salt and pepper shaker.
- Nutrition – I had written in the margin – what exactly is a protein, how can dairy be protein, veggies? That’s Beth shorthand for “get thee some nutrition education!” Time to reorient myself about what particular foods are, in the sense of which food group, and identify the ones that I am more likely to enjoy.
- Then I got to the last section Sustain the Change℠. Leafing through, I found on page 10, the suggestion to mark a calendar with check marks for positive milestones so I grabbed my datebook and jotted down “checked back in”.
Maybe I’ll place the same notation on the first of every month in the remainder of my calendar as a reminder that backsliding is only an invitation to “check back in” and get back on track.
2015 is looking up!
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