Impulse Eating---Grazing While Fixing Meals

I have a lot of issues when it comes to eating. I have come to understand I am not alone in this reality. As I focus on my Year of Intention I have committed to unveiling my eating quirks to look at them, understand them better, be mindful of them and ultimately switch things up so I can continue to advance in my journey of an ever improving healthy lifestyle.

One of my most nonsensical quirks is my habit of impulse eating while I am in the midst of preparing a meal. What is this about anyway? Why in the world when I am minutes away from eating a meal am I scarfing down a wad of calories? Why can't I just wait?

I hate the fact that I can consume as many calories in my pre-meal grazing as I do in eating my prepared meal. I hate that I end of being full before I even start my meal. I really hate the reality that once I start to graze it is nearly impossible for me to stop. I just keep eating.

So I started asking myself-- why can't I wait until my meal is prepared to eat? There are a few answers:

• I hate the feeling of being hungry. I always have. It is a fear, really. It makes me feel anxious and insecure. The idea of waiting to eat is really uncomfortable for me. Hmm..this is interesting...
• Because it is such an ingrained habit, I unconsciously start grazing before I even realize I am doing it.
• When I see appealing foods I have the impulse to try them. It is as if I want to be the first one to try it and see if it still tastes as I remember it.
• Food keeps me company. I am usually alone in the kitchen when I am preparing a meal. It is almost as if the food and I are having a conversation as I pick and choose my nibbles.

In dissecting my grazing while preparing meals I had to ask myself, how does grazing help me with my intention to live a healthy lifestyle? It doesn't. I don't think it is possible to dismiss my real issues around hating the feeling of being hungry. Grazing isn't the answer yet there does need to be a better answer. How can I satisfy my hunger, avoid the mindless grazing and have a conversation with food without the consequences of mindless eating? This is particularly relevant when I am fixing dinner.

There has got to be a way to have a snack that satisfies and allows me to stay in control while preparing a meal. Having a snack with just a few bites doesn't appeal to me. It seems to me like it would just start the grazing, not contain it. Then I thought about making a smoothie. Something I could easily whip up before I start the preparation of dinner. It is something I could start sipping as I am assembling the ingredients of the meal I am preparing and continue sipping throughout the preparation of the meal. This is appealing to me because it can satisfy my hunger and it is not something that is bits and pieces of a meal so I am not triggering my mindless impulse to graze.

Other benefits of the smoothie idea is that they can be made in all sorts of flavors, colors and, to a degree, texture. Smoothies can be made to a specific calorie count which can be in keeping with a healthy snack @200 calories. I have found a few new yummy smoothie recipes in the recent cookbook by Rocco DiSpirito, The Pound A Day Diet. I also have some additional smoothie recipes on this blog you can try.

This smoothie tactic has been very successful. When I take the time to make the smoothie and start sipping it as I am getting the food ready for dinner I feel in control, feel I can happily stick to my smoothie and do not need to graze otherwise. With a big glass of smoothie to sip on I can last throughout the meal prep so I can avoid other temptations. I do get full but not stuffed before the meal. The fear is gone; the satisfaction is high. It fits with my desire to live with intention and live well and healthy.

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2017: Our Year of Intention

New Year’s Resolutions are a lot like diets. They don’t work. Often, with the best of intentions, we make pledges to ourselves to make big changes with the desire to live a better, usually healthier, life. The problem is that our resolutions tend to have outcomes that are very different than our stated intention.

There is a lot of buzz out in the world these days about “intention” and living a life with intention. Oprah Winfrey is big on the power and benefits of intention. She runs her companies that way. She attributes her awakening to intention to a book by Gary Zukav she read in 1989 called Seat of the Soul.

What is this thing called Intention? How is it different from purpose? And how does mindfulness fit in? Does attitude play a part in the outcome? How do we figure this out?

Intention is most often described as an outward manifestation of purpose. Purpose is regarded much more as an inward reflection on what is important to us, gets us up and out of bed everyday and allows us to imagine making a difference. Intention is the way we realize our purpose.

The challenge is that intentions don’t automatically have positive outcomes. Remember the famous quote—“The road to hell is paved with good intentions?” Without conscious effort intentions can have very different outcomes than we want, or, in fact, never materialize. This is where mindfulness becomes important. It is the link between our purpose and our intention. Mindfulness helps us shepherd our intentions so their outcomes are what we intend as a direct result of our stated purpose. We have to be actively engaged and present in the process in order to get where we want to go. Having a purpose doesn’t get you anywhere. Having good intentions won’t guarantee an outcome. Mindfulness helps us focus on what is important and how we can then live a life true to our purpose with aligned intention.

Of course, if we have an attitude that is afraid to believe or cynical or negative, how likely are we to achieve our purpose and have the ultimate intentional outcome we desire? Not, likely.

We are complicated beings. What happens in life is not always what we wish. Often we may subconsciously undermine a powerful intention because of underlying feelings our issues we aren’t fully aware we have.  We have control over so much of our lives but we often forfeit that control because of all the twisted layers of our lives. We live our lives more as automatons than as people with powerful purpose realized through true intention. We can change that.

This year can be our year of true intentions.

If a key purpose in my life is to live a healthier lifestyle and help others do the same then it makes sense that each time I start to eat I should be consciously and mindfully asking myself---“Is this supporting or undermining my purpose? By choosing to eat what is in front of me can I honestly say it is supporting my desired intention?”

We wake up every day with good intentions. How can we mindfully help ourselves be true to those intentions more consistently and throughout each day? Through being mindful of our purpose, and asking ourselves whether what we are doing is our true intention. If it isn’t, don’t do it.

Oprah Winfrey has lost 42 pounds and built a success-driven life. We can too!

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