If There’s Food In Your Mouth, Don’t Put Food In Your Mouth!

At the WW Meeting on Friday morning, we talked about different ways that we could eat…..

……..S L O W E R……

There were lots of great tips from the WW members!

1. Set down your fork between each bite.

2. Set a timer, and make yourself make your meal last that amount of time.

3. Take a sip of water between each bite. (We didn’t discuss this one a lot, but there’s a lot more to this than one would realize!)

4. Focus on conversation with your family while you are eating and make sure the TV is off.

5. One member, who rarely watches TV, said she was going to turn the TV ON so she had something to think about besides just eating!

6. Chew your food really well so your body can properly digest it!

We have a nurse in our meeting that works for a GI doctor, and she said every year there are a large number of patients that experience something called “bolus”, (when a large mass of chewed food is lodged in the esophagus), immediately after Thanksgiving due to consuming too much food too quickly! Egads!!

7. My favorite tip, and one I have heard, but not heard in a long time….was…..”If there’s food in your mouth, don’t put food in your mouth!”

Seems so simple right? Like, almost sounds dumb to say. Why would you put food in your mouth if you already have food in your mouth??? But the first time I paid any attention to it, I realized that I was totally shoveling in that next bite before I had swallowed the bite in my mouth. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, or paid any attention to it, but I’m certain I do that now.

We left the meeting being challenged to try something new this week that might help us to eat slower and actually enjoy our food.

If I took a sip of water between each bite of food, then I would be forced to swallow the bite in my mouth before I took my next bite! I did this at dinner last night. It was crazy how much thought I had to put into it, and it was also crazy how long it took me to eat! I felt myself feeling a little antsy, like I was ready to be done eating. I will say I fixed myself a piece of salmon in my favorite method, so I was really looking forward to my dinner and I did really enjoy eating it, but I was amused at the fact that I was ready to be done eating. It took me twice as long to eat as Mike. Usually we finish up about the same time. It was an interesting experiment. I’ll try it again for breakfast this morning.

I do love a plan. 🙂

I’m Inspired by the Inspiration!!

It’s not a vicious circle, but it is a great circle!

My blog may now actually be my new BFF. (Sorry honey.) Yes, I am aware that this sounds completely ridiculous. You know how you have that one friend that you know you can tell anything to without judgement? Well, actually, I guess I have a few of those, and for that, I am truly blessed. But my blog is there for me. 24/7. I can vent, I can cry, I can laugh, I can confess, I can be a complete idiot, I can attempt some creativity and I can talk and talk and talk, completely uninterrupted. For a talker, that’s kinda a big deal. The un-interrupting part.

Here’s an even more awesome benefit to having my blog be there for me. It’s there for others too. Occasionally someone will email me, or text me, or Facebook message me, or even better……come up to me and tell me how they completely related to one of my post and that they were so glad that I had written it! Blows me away every time. So many times we think we are the only one going through something, or feeling something, when in fact, many of us are going through the exact same thing, we just don’t know how to talk about, or we don’t WANT to talk about, or we don’t know WHO to talk about it to. We keep it to ourselves. I recently had someone tell me how much they relate to my blog and how happy they were that I had shared my feelings.

I have heard from many people that have lost their weight, say that “maintenance” is much more difficult than they had ever expected it to be. For some, much more difficult than actually losing the weight! That’s scary. That’s a whole FUTURE of scary. I mean….like….ETERNITY scary! It’s also a huge reminder for me that just because someone appears to physically have no issues with their weight, could not be further than the truth. .

This is a Lifetime commitment for me, and losing my weight over a long period of time may have been the best way for me to do it. My weight and controlling my weight, will likely always be a bit difficult. Some days will be much less difficult than others, they already are. Controlling my weight will always be in my life. Somedays “The Weight of my Weight” will be much heavier than other days, and I accept this. Damn it.

What I am loving so much my about my new BFF, my blog, is that when others tell me that they are inspired by a post that I have shared, it always seems to come at just the right time for me, a time when I need to be inspired, and it completely re-energizes ME! Knowing that I am inspiring others, motivates ME!!

I’m Inspired by the Inspiration!! I love this circle!

Outta Sight, Outta Mind. Then I Saw It.

I bought FIVE bags of candy for Halloween. I bought Four bags of candy that I don’t like, and one bag of candy that I kinda like. Tootsie Rolls. After all of the Trick or Treaters had stopped coming, I had Three unopened bags of candy left, which I was able to donate to a charity. I had just a few Tootsie Rolls left, and I left them out in the garage, thinking I would have just one once in a while, if I remembered that I had them.

I pulled in the garage yesterday and the Blue Bowl on the shelf that was holding the Tootsie Rolls was staring at me!

I peeked into the bowl. I took three mini Tootsie Rolls out of the bowl. I opened them and popped them into my mouth. I chewed them up, then I ran to the trash and spit them out. I forgot I gave up sweets for the month.