Sharing a challenge: thinking about food
What started out as training for a half marathon, has turned into a very interesting process. During my long training runs, my body started talking to my mind. With each run this inner dialogue got more involved, until I finally really listened to my body and switched from running to power walking. I will now be walk racing the half marathon at the end of May.
To bring you up to date on my training, last Sunday I walked 9.6 miles (15.4 km) in 2 hours and 24 minutes. I thought that since I was now in harmony with my body in terms of exercise, the inner dialogue would stop.
Not so!
Instead, my body spent the walk nattering at me about food.
“I don’t like what we eat.”
“‘That’s because we eat chocolate bars and a bag of chips at 2 p.m. everyday at work”, I concurred.
“No. I mean in general,”‘ my body replied.
“What?”
This threw me. At home, I eat very healthfully.
“List all the foods you really love,” my body suggested, “without thinking. Just off the top of your head.”
So, I amused myself for the next block or so coming up with my favourite foods.
When I was done, my body said, “Where’s the bread? Where’s the pizza? Where’s the white pasta? Where’s the white rice? Where’s the heavy sauces? Where’s the red meats?”
I knew my body was firing this list at me because Mr Very Right does the cooking and he incorporates these food items into our meals.
“Well, I am not actually very fond of those foods. They are okay once in awhile, but not on a regular basis.”
“Then why are you eating them?”‘, my body quite reasonably asked.
“Um, because they are there,”‘ was my sheepish response.
“Uh huh,” was all my body had to say.
So, this week, I listened to my body and ate only what appealed to me. My only rule was it had to be healthy. As in no chocolate bars or bags or chip. Also, I didn’t worry about getting all my food groups at once. Or even in the same day!
This worked beautifully.
One day I craved a lot of fruit. Another day, I went heavier on the fresh veggies. Another day, what I really wanted most of was protein.
I had complete control over breakfast and lunch. For dinner, I only took the parts of Mr Very Right’s menu that appealed to me. Then I supplemented it with something else if need be.
The only problem I ran into was my brown bag lunch. I found by lunch time, I didn’t necessarily want what I had packed myself. So, I resolved to buy my lunches. A little pricier, but not much because I have a really good deli in my building where I can load up on fresh veggies or fruits for under $5.00.
As a result of my new strategy, in just a week I have gained my energy back and trimmed down. I only lost a pound, but my clothes fit better because I am no longer puffy and bloated.
I think the biggest change is that I am no longer reactive where food is concerned. Before I eat anything, I take the time to ask my body what it really wants.
And guess what?
It hasn’t asked for a single chocolate bar or bag of chips all week!
Gosh my body is smart.
Have your say:
Are you a reactive eater or a proactive eater?
More information!
In case you are just tuning into this series, here are the rest of the Sharing a challenge posts to date:
Sharing a challenge
Motivation
Getting the right fuel for the job
Falling off the rails
Going into survival mode
My body rebels
I finally listen to my body
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Hi Eliza – Vewwwwy interesting! I’ve definitely turned into a reactive eater. I’ve got an issue with the mid-afternoon. That’s when I routinely fall off the wagon. I’m going to be thinking about this more. I’ve already changed up my exercise routine in an effort to deal with it, but I wouldn’t count it as an overall success just yet.
@Betsy – mid afternoon is a killer for me at work. By this time I am generally frustrated and tired so I turn to the ‘quick fix’. I am pretty sure next week’s inner dialogue post will be on work. Sigh.
Love it!
I’ve found by listening to the body these go together for me: stress and chocolate (or sugary stuff), boredom and popcorn, inadequacy and anything to fill the gut. I’m trying to break up the cycles creating the cravings with more awareness.
@Lori – good for you, you’ve taken it even a step further to link the food craving to the emotional need! I’ll start paying attention to that now. Thanks!
I’m a bit late to this post, but I found it interesting and thought I’d add in my own “two cents”.
Last year, my doctor put her foot down and said, “lose weight – exercise isn’t working for your blood pressure”.
(It is hereditary – thanks mom, err, grandpa!)
Keep in mind, I had been exercising already – probably 1.5 to 2 hours walking a day, plus weights 3 times a week – but my weight had slowly been creeping up, to dangerous levels.
Now, to put this into perspective, I had always been a “listen to my body” kind of eater, and sadly, my body was telling me to eat the wrong things.
Yes, I know that I was eating too much of the bad stuff (potato chips – my weakness), but also some things that – for me – were not good, that I thought were healthy (hey, the Canada Food Guide says they are!), and that I ate regularly.
Bread. Cereal. Pasta. Juice.
On the advice of a friend and mentor, I changed my whole approach to nutrition and started treating what I ate as fuel for a machine – my body – rather than something to pleasure my taste buds and satisfy cravings.
(Interesting – I learned how to cook, *really* learned – not as good as Mr. Very Right, perhaps! – but in so doing, I can now provide both high-test fuel for the machine, and something that is tasty.)
Another thing, I began paying attention to and tracking what I was eating.
So, I had changed two things – I was controlling what, and how much, I was eating.
The result?
No cravings at all. I get hungry, don’t get me wrong – but it is different. It isn’t a “craving” for (say) a chocolate bar or potato chips or orange juice or milk. It’s just more of a feeling of, “gee, I haven’t eaten in 24 hours, maybe I should go get something”, and then I am able to control myself until I cook something nutritious and delicious.
The result of the result?
I lost 65 pounds and my blood pressure normalized.
I weigh less now than I did when I finished high school, and I’ve almost got a full 6-pack whereas before I had a “keg”.
I didn’t really change my exercise, either – though my energy level is through the roof, so I can do more if I choose.
(My “secret” – and it may not work for everyone – is a Paleo diet.)
So to answer your question:
I am now a proactive eater. I used to be a reactive eater. The difference is night and day – for me.
@Brett – 65 pounds! That’s awesome! I looked up the Paleo diet and did a quit scan of the concepts. Certainly seems rather common sense. Eat ‘real’ food, not processed foods. Can I ask how long it took you to loose that weight? Given 1.5 lbs per week being a healthy weight loss, that would mean 10 months. Is that how long it actually took?
It works really well, as you can see. I am following a “tweaked” version called Primal Blueprint, which also works in advice for other parts of your lifestyle (exercise, sleeping etc.) – I will say that my experience was atypical, most likely because I was extremely strict in terms of following the rules, and a little bit just “because of me” i.e. my own physiology.
Right off the bat, I lost about 7 pounds in the first week (water retention – this is not unusual). Also, I was already exercising a *lot* (1.5-2 hours of walking a day with the dog and at work, plus intensive weight training three times a week) – my main problem was eating the wrong kinds of foods, plus eating too much.
So changing to the right kinds of foods, and tracking caloric intake vs. expenditure meant that I ended up on the high side of things, perhaps closer to 3 pounds a week. I made sure to keep my carbohydrates between 50-75 g a day, and only from vegetables, fruits and natural sources.
I have not had a scrap of bread, a bowl of cereal, pasta or juice for months. Though most people would not move as rapidly as I did, sometimes that’s because of “treats” once in a while. I’ve not had chips or ice cream or chocolate either, since then. Or pizza. And so on.
Very disciplined, I have become – but I have to, for my health. My blood pressure was very high before Christmas, and it was affecting my vision. My vision has since returned to a clear state.
At this time, I have stabilized around 150 pounds and continue to exchange fat for muscle i.e. I am slowly leaning, but perhaps now gaining weight. I’ve upped my carbs and protein as well, to compensate for the fact that I don’t have as much body fat to burn anymore.
I also fast twice a week for 24 hours, and I have no issues with hunger at all when I do that – I fasted this week on Monday, and today.
I’m sure my doctor would probably think I am crazy, but I’ve never felt better – I believe in listening to my body – and in all the years she was trying to help me, she could never give me any useful advice, and the very last thing she had tried was putting me on pills.
Which made me vomit violently, so I stopped taking them shortly thereafter. No thanks, I’ll fix myself, myself.
I’m not sure I would recommend to anyone to go this fast, though I know other people have and were okay, just as I was – it requires discipline, and you must make sure to listen to your body – if you don’t feel good doing it, don’t do it.