A Few Degrees Early, Avoid Mindless Eating, It Starts With Mindset
Hi Folks! Connor and Nick here from Healthy Living With Nick and Connor. Thanks again for being on our email list, it means a lot, and we are excited to share our weekly email with you. We hope you enjoy it! Here is what we hope you take away from this one:
Set long term trajectories for your habits and goals, making it easier to stick with them and so small degrees of improvement can be noticed.
Avoiding mindless, rushed eating. Focusing on staying in the moment with your meals can lead to improved satiety, digestion, blood sugar control, and supports better portion control all while allowing you to improve relaxation and enjoy sharing other’s company.
What often prevents us from achieving challenging goals is not the activities themselves, but the mindset to get them done. To be successful, start by getting the mindset right and go from there.
Starter Mindset Tip: The 1 Degree Rule; Think in Long Term Goals
Small differences, like a slight shift in direction of even one or two degrees, compounded over time, lead to significant change (read The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allen Poe). A few degrees may seem insignificant in the moment but over months and years they create entirely new trajectories. Whether in habits, decisions, or skills, if you focus too much on short term goals or only on large changes, you may miss small improvements that would have been more transformative over the longer term. With challenging goals, think in terms of a few degrees but over a longer period of time. This will make it easier to maintain, and over the long term can lead to big successes.
Health Recipe: Pay Attention While You Eat
Timing: Daily
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Serving Size: Medium
Spiciness: Medium
INGREDIENTS
You and your food
REASONING AND BENEFITS
Paying attention while you eat and not rushing or going into a ‘food trance’ helps in a number of ways. The most important thing is that you will enjoy your food more if you are paying attention. Sitting and savoring your food and ideally sharing it with others allows for better adsorption and avoids overeating. It promotes satiety, helping with weight control, and blunting blood sugar spikes. By slowing down and enjoying the food it will allow you to relax and be present. It can be a great time to work on maintaining your focus and on sustained attention. Focus on talking and connecting with those who are eating with you. Avoid screens; phones, television or computers.
INSTRUCTIONS
Pause before eating a snack or a meal. Take time to appreciate the food and remember to be present when eating.
What’s the rush? Slow down with eating. Make the conscious decision to slow down with meals.
Taste your food. Chew your food. Taste it some more.
Pay attention to when fullness sets in.
When satisfied don’t feel compelled to finish your plate. Put it away for later.
Remember to move after meals. Go for a short walk.
PRO TIP: Slowly changing your approach to eating, connecting with what goes in your mouth and the people sharing your meal, will help prevent mindless overeating and a mindless relationship with what you eat.
* Make the mealtime/snacktime an experience of connection with what you eat. Enjoy the food.
**Avoid screens while eating. Make a rule of no phones, television or computer screens while eating.
*** Use the mealtime as a good opportunity to work on improving your focus and attention, communication, and listening skills.
Dessert Quote:
“Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitudes. It's having the right attitudes that's hard.” — Robert Pirsig, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values.”
Sources:
Learn more about mindful eating:
Pollan, M. (2009). In defense of food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Penguin.
Learn more about building the right attitudes in your life:
Pirsig, R. M. (1974). Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance : an inquiry into values. Vintage Books, [], Cop.
