It's not what you eat but what you think!

One of the first quotes by Wayne Dyer to inspire me was 'Change the Way You Look at Things and the Way You Look at things Changes'. A Simple concept although not always easy to implement.  Even when facing challenges that we feel we can do nothing about, we can still bring about an inner peace by thinking about the challenge differently.

When facing difficult challenges I can easily fall into unhealthy or excessive eating and likewise when I overcome these challenges my healthy eating resumes. The key for me is to be Conscious of this, Conscious of the thinking that leads to the negative habits.  Not with a view to denying them but to embracing them. Only then through this Conscious Acceptance can I  leg them go.

Shed negative thinking and shed weight at the same time

I recently moved home from the remoteness of the Alpujarras to the city of Granada and a friend asked me 'how did you feel when you packed up and left?' I didn't have to think about the answer because it was so noticible for me, noticeable in my body - I felt lighter, as if I had shed pounds.  In fact I had to check myself a few times, check that I hadn't left the house naked!

I know that when we move house we can do it hoping we leave our 'baggage' behind, often finding after a short while that our problems and difficulties have surfaced again. What I have realised is that my old home WAS the baggage. The location, the remoteness, the lack of stimulation was all baggage and holding me back.

Do you love your body?

My body at last, I claim you!

I live here!

I am not some discarnate spirit using just any vehicle to get around….

for so many years I rejected my body because it isn’t perfect

according to the standards of my culture.

I have been unfaithful to it, letting other’s opinions turn me against it,

allowing others to use it without love, without tenderness…

Because I myself rejected my body I didn’t protect it,

didn’t demand that it be treated like the precious gift that it is…                                

My body, the temple of my soul deserves better from me.

I reclaim this body…

This body is a miracle; it is the first gift of the Creator to me – my birthday present.

I take this body to have and to hold, in sickness and in health,

to honour, love and cherish until death do us part.

I am a woman reclaiming my body”

 - Janet F- Quinn

To fully reclaim our body and free us up to make more conscious and healthy choices in relation to how we treat it, we need to understand our thoughts and how they relate to our relationship with food.

What I’m talking about here is not just what we put into are bodies but why?
What is the thought or belief that leads us to treat our bodies the way we do or don’t do?
And what feelings and behaviours are triggered by these thoughts?

Awareness of this will not only support your choices but also aid motivation and persistence to achieve your goals.

So here's a journal question - What do you need to change, do differently, give up, or introduce to 'reclaim your body'?

To discuss this more and find out how the Conscious Eating Coach can support you further e-mail jacqui@artoflivingcoaching.co.uk

WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!

Interesting title huh?

In buddhist philosophy EVERYTHING is connected, therefore what we put into our bodies has a direct impact not just on our physical appearance but on the unseen condition of our body, mind and soul.

What do you put into your body that helps/hinders your health? If it's not helpful then ask yourself why do I think I don't deserve better?

Choice

Choice based on what we already know will always result in what we know, so if you want something new and different you need to know something new.

How this translates to conscious eating is that if you want to change your habits permanently then you need to understandand them - where they come from, how they manifest in your life and what triggers them - when you understand that you will know something new and be able to make different choices.

It it that some foods are bad for us or simply just not good for us?

I had an interesting conversation today with a cook. The cook wondered how we can know specific foods are bad for us, her thoughts being that unless we just eat or drink only one particular thing each day how can we know which of the things that have gone into our body are not good for us?

Interesting question.

How do you know what your body likes/dislikes?

By listening to it of course!

When you listen to your body you become aware of your body’s needs, likes & dislikes, you learn what is good for it and what is not.

The conversation continued to certain foods that are known to be less healthy for us for example white bread and pasta and here the conversation turned to the question - is it that this food is BAD for us or just NOT GOOD for us?
And what’s the difference?

It is certainly not good nutritionally as this kind of ‘food’ has been stripped of all the nutrients…and so does it follow therefore that this food is bad for us?
I think that it depends on each persons body and toleration level and whether you are getting the nutrition you need from else where or relying solely on this processed ‘food’ under the illusion that because it is edible it is food and therefore good for you.

What saddened me about this conversation, was her attitude to her own health in that she would look to change her diet, if and when she had to as a result of ill-health. I find this attitude most common with people in the west, that they will continue to put into their bodies what they like to eat judged by taste and look rather than by quality and contribution to the health of the body. In the western world, in the so called developed world, we seem to have lost the meaning of food, we have lost the primary reason why we eat – to sustain our life not to gratify our senses. This saddens me and encourages me to continue with working with people on conscious eating. For every person I can support, maybe they can support/encourage/influence at least one more.

Weight Loss Plateau - Is it emotional?

As some of might know I'm always looking for the underlying psychological causes to our health issues and I think a weight loss plateau might also come into this category.

If you are someone who has reached a plateau for a while then maybe there is an emotional block to moving forward.

When I did some work on this for myself some years ago, my explorations revealed that holding on to weight was a form of psychological 'protection' for me. Fat meant being safe, that 'I couldn't be 'got'.', and only by recognizing and acknowledging this was I able to let it go and move on.

So if you think this might apply to you then ask yourself the following questions...

• Why did I put the weight on in the first place?
• How did it serve me? (e.g. helped me cope with a breakup, de-stress etc.)
• If I was to reach my ideal weight, how would my life change?
• What or who might I have to let go of that maybe I'm not ready to?
• Who do I think I'll become when I lose the weight?

If you want to explore these more then e-mail me for your complimentary Conscious Eating coaching session.

5 Tips for moving past the Plateau

1. Persist - just hang on in there! If you're sticking to your regime then it is coming off, just maybe not enough for the scale to see right now.
2. Check for hidden calories, it is surprising how many calories can be hidden in a teaspoon of this or a pinch of that - be honest with yourself.
3. Increase muscle building exercises - Muscle burns fat!
4. Revisit your goals and motivation for losing weight in the first place and ask yourself if maybe you have reached a plateau because that is where you body feels most comfortable.
5. ACCEPT that you are where you are, ACCEPT that your body is resting from weight loss right now, ACCEPT that you are eating for health whether or not you are losing weight, ACCEPT YOURSELF FULLY. Refusal to accept the reality of where you are right now will build into stress and likely be the cause of 'why do I bother' binges.

How to move forward when you reach the Weight Loss Plateau

I've been thinking lately of plateau's - specifically when after a few weeks dieting you hit what appears to be a wall and no matter how much excercise you do or how many calories you cut down to, the weight just doesn't budge.

Everyone on a weight loss diet will at some stage reach a plateau - maybe for a week or two, maybe even longer. Rather than becoming despondent over this - that your 'hard work' seems to not be paying off anymore I would like to invite you to take this opportunity to review and revisit your plan.

Firstly, accept that for the moment your body is resting where it is. Getting annoyed will only increase resistance, make you unhappy and probably contribute to you giving up.
Secondly take a moment to acknowledge what you've achieved to date, not just the pounds lost but the way your clothes feel, the way your body feels - relish in your success to date!

When you've done that you will be in a far more positive place to then take a look at your plan.
So when you do ask yourself the following questions...

• Are your original goals still valid or do you now have different ones?
• Does your original strategy for achieving these goals need to be changed or varied?

Although our bodies work somewhat like machines, unlike machines we cannot guarantee the output and our bodies will work at the pace they want to work, maybe you need to vary your routine, maybe up the exercise, maybe leave off the exercise for a day or two.

If you are considering reducing your calories more, just remember that your bodies need a minimal amount of calories to function and cutting down too much is unhealthy and cause your body to hold on to fat if it thinks it is going to starve.

Too busy to eat healthy

Do you find yourself using this reason for not eating healthy? That you are too busy. That it's easier to grab a sandwich or burger than to sit down with a salad.

I too used to use this reason for many years, I was way too busy in my job and then too tired when i got home however what i can now see is that by eating unhealthy was contributing to my tiredness. And when tired, can we really perform at our best? I now know that this was just an excuse not a reason - I actually just couldn't be bothered to prepare a meal just for me.

And what does 'couldn't be bothered' mean. It means not putting myself or my health first, it means not caring enough about myself. it means considering my job more important than me.

When we look at what's on offer with 'fast foods' today, we really cannot use this as an excuse anymore, there are many prewashed and pre cut salads available, there are many healthier versions of prepared foods. Whilst I am not an advocate any more of such 'tv dinners' as they contain far too much salt, and other unnecessary unhealthy extras, If you really do not have time to prepare your own meal then maybe you could consider some of the alternatives to bread & buns.

It's not so much that YOU are too busy rather than your thoughts are too busy to consider the healthier options.

If you're ready to challenge your beliefs and thoughts around healthy eating so that you can move forward with a diet that reflects who you really are then contact me, the Conscious Eating Coach for a sample session and lets see how much change you can make in your eating simply by changing your thoughts about eating.

Fad Diets versus Listening to YOUR Body

A friend brought me a copy of a blood group diet the other day for me to see what foods were recommended and what were thought detrimental to my particular blood group.
As a vegetarian, and someone who not only doesn’t eat meat but dislikes it intensely I was surprised to see that it recommended several kinds of meat including bunny rabbit! and scavenging bottom feeding seafood like prawns, whilst my staple breakfast of banana and almonds were not.

This, to me is just another reminder to listen to MY body and to not blindly listen to information published for profit by someone no matter what their qualifications.

There is much information out there and all sorts of ‘diets’, some that have been written by doctors and have been proved to be not only ineffective long term but detrimental to one’s health and are preying on the many people who are looking for the ‘miracle’ or ‘quick fix’ diet.

I’m not saying don’t use these, I’m just saying don’t take blindly, the information. Just because someone has letters after their name does not necessarily mean they have your best interest as heart – especially if what they are sharing with you means financial profit for them.

There is much healthy eating information published by organisations such as Heart Foundations, Cancer Research and the Nutritional Society who willingly share their information for free. Government websites for different countries also publish advice and information.

One thing for sure that you need to hear is that there are no ‘quick fixes’ so stop looking for them!

The only sure way is to listen to your body, get to understand what your body can tolerate and what it cannot and when it is full and when it is hungry and when you are eating for your body or eating because of your emotions. And learn a little about nutrition, about why sugars, most fats and refined products are so unhealthy and why raw, unprocessed foods are so good.

The only sure way to lose weight and feel healthy in your body is to make a PERMANENT change to your eating. This doesn’t mean depriving yourself of the occasional snack or your favourite food but eating these in moderation and teaching yourself to ‘like’ the foods that better support you.

Seasonal Eating

Spring here in Spain has definaltely arrived even though the high Sierra's had another flurry of snow this week and I found myself thinking, what does the change is season mean in relation to Conscious Eating?

Until I moved to the mountains is Spain I wasn't at all aware of the seasons of food or what that might in fact mean for me.
Now, seeing fruit and veg grow and buying from local farmers - this has become all very clear. For example, the oranges have now stopped, the trees are bare of fruit but loaded with blossom for the next crop next winter.

• Why is it that nature brings us oranges is winter?
• If they only grow in winter then where do the big supermarkets get supplies from the rest of the year?
• How 'fresh' can they then be?
• How many thousands of miles have they had to travel and in what conditions?

These are the kinds of questions that i'm now asking myself when I go to the grocers.

Nature knows, and if we follow her example and eat foods that are in season then surely we will be giving our bodies the best and most necessary nutrients for the time of year, whilst also contributing to care of the planet by reducing the need for produce to be shipped across the globe.

How conscious are you of the seasons of your food?

Getting Back on Track with your Weight Loss Goals

4 week Telecourse Begining Monday april 27th 11am EST (4pm GMT)

Cost $59 or £39

For more information or to register e-mail info@consciouseatingcoach.com

...And you're finding it hard to get back on track,

Don't despair or give up!
There's no time limit by which to have to get eating healthy, although the sooner you begin the better you will feel.

Take the next step in your self care and commitment to healthy eating &/or weight loss and join me for a 4 week Conscious Eating Telecourse focussing on re-creating & re-commiting to your goals.

And with the support of the Conscious Eating Coach and other women like you, set your intention for what you want your relationship with food to be like and commit to small, fun, achievable goals without deprivation.

Size Really does Matter

Just look at the differences between portions sizes NOW and 20 years ago

I was making my lunch the other day, totally conscious.

Conscious of both the excessive amount of veg I put in the oven, the excessive amount of olive oil I poured over it and the excessive amount of noodles I cooked.

Why did I do this I asked myself?

Well, olive oil is a 'good' oil and If I hadn't cooked all the veg then I would have had to throw the rest away because it's been in the fridge too long and if I didn't use all the noodles I would have put back in the cupboard an amount too small for a portion...and anyway...it will save me having to cook dinner tonight.

What interesting excuses I am using to overeat - all attached to limiting beliefs of course.
So what if i have to throw food away, so what if I put a small portion of food back in the cupboard and why deprive myself of dinner just because I overate at lunch!

Does this story sound familiar?

Do you have similar habits?

How conscious are you of your portion size and how that fits in with your 'healthy eating'?

Claiming Your Body! - Janet F Quinn

My body at last, I claim you!

I live here!

I am not some discarnate spirit

using just any vehicle to get around….

for so many years I rejected my body because

it isn’t perfect according to the standards of my culture.

I have been unfaithful to it,

letting other’s opinions turn me against it,

allowing others to use it without love,

without tenderness…

Because I myself rejected my body I didn’t protect it, didn’t demand that it be treated

like the precious gift that it is…

My body, the temple of my soul deserves better from me.

I reclaim this body…

This body is a miracle;

it is the first gift of the Creator to me – my birthday present.

I take this body to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to honour, love and cherish until death do us part.

I am a woman reclaiming my body”

- Janet F- Quinn

Healthy Eating Habits

Introducing Healthy Lifestyle Habits


Habits cannot simply be dropped they have to be replaced by something else so if you find yourself simply wanting to not do something anymore think what can I replace it with?

Habits take about 30 days to change so you need to practice persistence. If you are finding it difficult to change the habit then there is something deeper like an unmet need or limiting belief that you haven’t yet identify, however you don’t need to wait until it is identified to move forward – changing your habit and replacing it with a more supportive and healthy one will simply be initially, a change of behaviour rather than a shift.

Practice lovingly letting go of your old habits when they appear. Acknowledge how they have supported you up until now. Embrace the choice you are now making to let go and do things differently knowing that the old way is always there if you wish to choose it.

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.

Half of the things you do you might as well turn over to me
And I will do them – quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed – you must be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done and
After a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of great people, and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great,
Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine though I work with the precision of a machine
Plus the intelligence of a person.
You may run me for profit or run me for ruin –
It makes no difference to me.

Take me, train me, be firm with me, and
I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.

Who am I?
I am a habit.

- Businesssuccessbuilder.com

Sensory Eating

Do you Eat with your senses or sense what you're eating?

Do you choose your food based on what your body needs & wants and what you know will keep you healthy and then when eating it really see, taste, smell, touch and hear it or do you choose to eat someting based purely on what your eyes/nose/tongue are saying to you - ie because it looks, smells, tastes appealing?

Big fast food and soda companies spend large amounts of money on their advertising campaigns appealing to our senses knowing that many people will be attracted to their product because of it's sensory appeal.

How often, when watching television, reading magazines do you come across adverts and then suddenly think 'I fancy some....' and go to the fridge and get something to eat or drink?

How many times have you actually stopped to think am I hungry/thirsty? Do I really want this? ...and more importantly, what is the qualily of this so called 'foodstuff', is it healthy for my body or might it actually, in the long term, cause some harm?

Further to this, how many times do you find yourself eating more than your body actually needs or wants simply because you like the look or taste of something?

Sensory Eating is I believe, like a two sided coin, one side is eating consciously, using each of your senses to savour and enjoy your food, with the other side making your food choice based solely on one or more of your senses. Which do you do?

So here's my challenges to you,

1. Next time you notice that you 'fancy' a specific food whilst seeing it in an advert, stop and think for a minute about what is really going on for you? Why is it that you have a sudden desire for this? What is it that is making it so attractive right now?
2. Over the next week, choose one specific meal per day and consciously eat it using your senses. What do you notice?

Hunger Versus Craving

Hunger V Craving

Whilst both hunger and food cravings are caused by the release of certain chemicals in our body, the chemicals and the process of their release are completely different.

Feelings of hunger are produced by the release of the hormone ghrelin when our blood sugar and insulin level drops, once we eat and these regulate, another hormone, leptin is released to suppress our appetite. Basically it is our body that is triggering the release of the hormones.

Cravings, on the other hand, are triggered more by the mind. They are much more complex and can be triggered through eating certain kinds of food, through sensory memories and through emotions.

Eating - Have you ever known anyone (other than pregnant women) to crave foods such as celery? Cravings through eating, result from eating sugary or fatty foods which release a chemical called opiods into our bloodstream which give feelings of pleasure. The more you eat the more you want.
Sensory memories - this ranges from memories stored deep in the brain from when we were in the womb, to seeing a picture of a chocolate cake or a Macdonald's advert in a magazine. Sensory memories trigger a part of the brain that releases the hormone dopamine, also producing a feel good factor that has been described as similar to that of a drug addiction in that the more you feed this craving the more you need to keep your craving at bay.
Emotions - Studies on mood have found that our emotional state normally has a greater impact on cravings than hunger [source: Hill 2007]. What this means is that there is a direct correlation between our emotions and our cravings. The hormone seratonin, also known as the 'happy hormone' is released in response to balanced emotions, supporting our continued emotional stability. If our mood is low or negative then the release of seratonin is restricted and the higher the chance of us having cravings, especially if our diet too is not particularly healthy.

So you can see from this small excerpt how complex and individual cravings are and how, more often than not, it is cravings that get in the way of people maintaining a diet or healthy eating regime, especially in the early stages.

Working with a Conscious Eating coach will give you the support to explore what is going on for you as a unique individual to empower you to make better choices.

5 tips on Dealing with Cravings

1. The more fat your body has the more cravings you are likely to experience, losing body fat will reduce the cravings.


2. Don't deprive yourself - a little of what you fancy, occasionally, will satisfy the craving.


3. Vary your diet - boredom and anxiety with what you're eating contributes to craving.


4. Less emotional stress and more balance in your life will not only reduce cravings but support you in maintaining a healthier diet.


5. There are many factors to cravings - each are unique to you as an individual, working with a coach to explore yours will empower you to make better choices.

Food Cravings

Late Night Munchies

Do you find that no matter how committed you are to healthy eating or weight loss diets, there's a specific time each evening that you get the 'munchies'?
...and that small square of chocolate or a cookie or two does nothing to alleviate this craving?
Have you really stopped to think about this or do you just accept that this is the way it is?
Because it doesn't have to be this way.

If you have eaten sufficient nourishment during the day then a need for food is not what this is about...it rarely is in our society.

What is happening is that there is some other need, some psychological/emotional need that is not being met and because that need is going un-noticed, un-acknowledged or even denied, it is seeping out like like water through a crack in a glass, and the more this need goes unmet, the emptier the glass gets, transforming itself into the dreaded 'munchies' or as is more commonly known in this profession as emotional eating or 'putting food on feelings'.

To get to the source of this need often takes some time and exploration but when you finally do acknowledge the true source of this need and take the appropriate steps to get it met then you will notice that the 'munchies' just disappear.