I am becoming a person who is always curious about myself. I am willing to be kind, patient and compassionate, and will ask for help when needed. I understand the power of stepping outside of my comfort zone and am committed to doing the recommended exercises and practices.
-----Dani Spies (The Don't Diet)
The above statement is what I was required to say to myself as I began The Don't Diet. I will list below some other gems that I am thinking over as I finish out Week 5 of the course:
- Be present while eating.
- Hunger cues reach my brain from my body similar to the signals I might have when in pain from something like cold weather. It is helpful to eat and is enjoyable. I need to eat, food helps my body to feel good and to be healthy. Hunger cues are not the same as Feelings/Emotions.
- Be curious about feelings in general -- the definition of Feeling/Emotion -- the vibration in my body caused by a sentence in your/my mind -Dani Spies
- Stress lowers my body's ability to digest.
- Look for/notice and increase the pleasure of eating while eating.
- Three ways to relax into eating: Breath deliberately/rhythmically, Chew more, Slow down the pace.
- Before eating realize "I'm going to eat soon" and take 5-10 long breaths.
- Make changes slowly start with one meal.
- Emotional eating --celebrating an occasion falls in this category and is not 'wrong' ie: some emotional reasons for eating are encouraged and wonderful.
- Three things to do with feelings: React/Resist or hopefully --- Allow
- Learn to digest and sit with feelings to be present with them, and make room for them
- How to feel feelings: Pause, Identify, Acknowledge, Describe, Allow take deep breaths and think/say to self that (feeling) won't hurt me...eating _____ won't help....slow down, is eating that worth ____ will my feeling still be there when I'm done along with guilt and shame?
Thanks for readig.
Stay well,
Amy BH
