You’re staring at the bag of chips or the container of ice cream or tub of hummus contemplating your next move.
One voice warns you, “Don’t eat it!’
Another voice commands, “You want it! It eat now!”
And then in a flash, after you’ve spent the next two minutes in a feeding frenzy — another voice laments, “I can’t believe I ate the WHOLE thing.”
Then you know the next tactic in this mind game is that shame and guilt join the battle. Like the man in the Alka-Seltzer commercial, you feel awful; you’re bloated or your pants are too tight or you’re so full you can’t lay down to sleep.
What’s worse is that you ate so fast you didn’t even get the pleasure of tasting the food you craved. So you had to eat more and more just to prove to the voice in your head telling you to, “eat it now” that you actually ate it.
What if you …
- Allowed yourself to eat what you wanted?
- Ate it slowly?
- Tuned into the experience of eating moment by moment so you could taste and enjoy the food you craved?
You might actually not eat the WHOLE thing. It’s called, Mindful Eating and it really works; not immediately but over time, it will. Try eating with your eyes closed for a few minutes during a few meals and see what happens. You might find that your cravings are satisfied so you don’t, “eat the whole thing!”
If you try this exercise, let me know what happens. I’d love to hear your story.