What’s going well

I’m almost 25% of the way through the Lean Eating program, and there’s been a lot of information thrown at me. Some of it has stuck, some perhaps notsomuch.

But – the stuff that’s sticking is making a difference.  Although I really thought that the “what” habits would be easier (basically, what I should be eating), I’m finding that it’s the “how” habits that have made it into my regular repertoire. 

Like, I do a much better job at checking in with myself before eating:  am I actually hungry?  Or just bored? Emotional?  I don’t think I can overstate how helpful this has been. I mean, of course I ignore myself sometimes, but it has otherwise consistently kept me from a lot of mindless eating.  It doesn’t take long or anything special, just an awareness that I oftentimes use food as something other than just to feed hunger. I’ve found that during work when I’m not too busy and once I’m home in the evening are the two big times this really comes into play.  The work vending machine cries in loneliness every once in awhile, but it’s definitely played into the progress that I’ve been making.

Awesome sushi and my sushi buddy’s thumbs up

And score another for mindfulness:  I also do a much better job at noticing when I’m getting full and stopping shoving food into my mouth.  It’s still hard to not clean my plate, but I kind of work around this by divvying out smaller portions, making a deal with myself that I’m allowed to go get seconds if I’m still hungry. Going out to dinner sometimes presents problems, though, because I find that I pay less attention to what I’m doing.  Yes, I’m eating slowly, but sometimes I bypass the point of full before even really realizing it.  My special weakness?  Sushi!  I inhale it … and because it’s a shared dish, I hate to be the one not holding up my side of the bargain (and it’s not like sushi is something I want to take home in a doggy bag).

I know I still have a long way ahead of me, but I feel like these two habits can really change my life.  If I only eat when I’m hungry, and don’t overstuff myself, I should be golden, right?  I need the other habits to up the ante, but figure these habits, consistently practiced, should get me where I’m going (though slowly).