For the last several months I’ve been studying the concept of mindful eating. Recently, I was a guest blogger for a mindful eating website (www.eatq.com) so I thought I would share my experience with mindful eating and offer tips for you too.

My mother taught me to be honest, so…..one day this week was a total ZONK.  I’ve learned over the years to be transparent when leading Weight Watchers meetings and coaching – and not pretend or presume that when one gets to weight goal, life is peachy.  Last Wednesday, life for me was the pits.  Here’s why:

Contrary to what I have believed in the past, having PMS is not a ticket to eat endlessly. (Sorry men, but this is an important mood to acknowledge – everyone gets crabby once in awhile). Wednesday was a crabby day for me. The good news is I have recently become aware of these girl-cravings (chocolate, grease, Diet Coke) and have made valiant efforts to ignore these cravings only to raid the refrigerator and all cupboards and cabinets in search of a suitable substitute. The unfortunate lesson has been that all efforts to substitute still left me searching for THE craving. Needless to say that over the years, I have prowled all kitchen surfaces and eaten a whole lot of things that didn’t meet the need, then ended up overindulging (read: borderline abusing) the craved item anyway. I seem to make progress little by little each month since I’ve been practicing mindful eating. So today I ate the craving but made a few small changes and am satisfied with the compromise.  It was meeting night for my husband and I so (because I didn’t plan ahead) we ordered pizza and breadstix from our favorite local pizza hot spot. But here are a few changes I made:

• I enjoyed cream and sugar in my morning coffee (instead of my typical black) to indulge my sweet tooth.
  
• I ordered a medium pizza to go (instead of the all-you-can-eat buffet) which limits the consumption by sharing between four of us (and saves us $$$).
  
• I had half-glass of soda (instead of 2-3 glasses) and finished the meal with water.
  
• I cut my pizza slices in half (instead of mindlessly gulping down two big slices and reaching for more).
  
• I took the time to TASTE and SAVOR each bite of pizza, breadstix and soda.
  
• I listened to the excited chatter from my kids about their day at school and my hubby’s work day (instead of being focused on shoveling in the carbs and missing the conversation).

I’ve also learned to acknowledge that days like this aren’t ideal, but are also far-and-fewer between. I have already forgiven myself for the slip ups, and acknowledged the lessons and adjustments I’ve made.

I started the day with Yoga (a new thing for me), and plan to end my day with a few minutes of peaceful prayer and meditation. I’m learning to be kind and patient with myself, even when the day didn’t go as planned. After all, a little kindness goes a long way in learning to love oneself again.

Kindness, forgiveness, encouragement. Three things I practice each day for better health. You should too.

Learn more about mindful eating strategies when you attend my free Inner Peace and Wellness Series on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at Vera’s House in Newaygo.  Visit my website for registration details and other upcoming events.

****

Sara Wolfsen is a Certified Health Coach who specializes in helping people make their own healthy changes by providing private health coaching, nutrition education and wellness classes, and gentle weight-loss guidance and support.  Schedule your complimentary coaching session and learn more online at www.sarawolfsen.com.

For the last several months I’ve been studying the concept of mindful eating. Recently, I was a guest blogger for a mindful eating website (www.eatq.com) so I thought I would create a blog series on my experience with mindful eating and offer tips for you too.

Do you truly focus on every bite you eat?  Our fast-forward culture emphasizes multi-tasking and efficiency. So becoming aware of eating and the process seems very counter-cultural to me. A useful mindful eating strategy encourages us to GET SLOW and stay slow. It’s intriguing to me to look at the way America eats – through fast food windows, convenience products – frozen, chopped, sliced or heat-n-eat – and now ‘speed dating meals’, to name a few. Did you know there is a movement to bring the joy back into preparing and cooking meals and bringing families back together around a table for good, nutritious food and healthy conversation? On our busy days, we do rely on some convenience foods and drive-thru windows, but I’ve made a much bigger emphasis on home-cooked meals for my husband and boys (ages 9 and thirteen) in the last few months. We’ve noticed a difference in our wallets and in joyful conversation.

I recently challenged myself to intentionally slow down to eat my lunch and see what I would notice. Before I started, I said a prayer of gratitude for the farmer who grew my salad fixins, then took a moment to take in the color and the beauty of the deep leafy greens, cucumber, green bell pepper, shiny grape tomatoes. I sought out different flavors with each bite – pinto beans, turkey pepperoni, Italian dressing, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I tried chewing each bite at least 20 times and to identify the texture, flavor, temperature of each bite. I even tried to use my right hand to feed myself, but that didn’t last too long! I must be very south-pawed.

Take action this week by intentionally slowing down, savoring, and enjoying a meal with intent and purpose. What do you notice? Consider making it a unique dining experience and eat by candlelight, with quiet, soothing background music. Try eating with chopsticks or make a Forkless Friday meal and choose items you can eat with your fingers only! Until next week….happy chewing!

If you live in West Michigan, learn more about mindful eating strategies when you attend my free Inner Peace and Wellness Series on Tuesday evening, September 30, 2014 at Vera’s House in Newaygo.  Visit my website for registration details and other upcoming events.

 

 



Sara Wolfsen is a Certified Health Coach who specializes in helping people make their own healthy changes by providing private health coaching, nutrition education and wellness classes, and gentle weight-loss guidance and support.  Schedule your complimentary coaching session and learn more online at www.sarawolfsen.com.

Have you ever wished for a few more hours in the day? Why is it that some people seem to get everything done effortlessly and others feel that time constantly eludes them?  The secret to managing your time well isn’t working more hours. It is about prioritizing the important things and learning to use the time you have more efficiently and effectively. The secret is working smarter, not harder.

Some of us, by nature, organize and get tasks out of the way before we relax, while others of us play first and work later. It is important to first recognize which type you are and whether your style is allowing you to have the life you really want.  Maybe you are super-organized at work, but burned out because you don’t know how to make time for yourself. Maybe you are naturally a less organized person who knows how to relax, but you are dissatisfied because you aren't fulfilling your goals and dreams.

Rather than labeling yourself or beating yourself up, realize that time management is an area of your life that you can strengthen. Like a new muscle, it takes practice and repetition to make it stronger. To help you get started, here are some steps to streamline your days at work and at home. Try the first one or two that jump out at you:

• Allocate time for planning and organizing.
  
• Create to-do lists that are realistic, not intimidating. Use only one to-do list.
  
• Under-schedule your time: leave time for the unexpected and for interruptions. When you estimate how long something will take, add on a third of that time.
  
• Schedule your time in a way that reduces interruptions that lower your productivity.
  
• Practice the art of intelligent neglect: eliminate trivial tasks.
  
• Prioritize what is most important and do that first.
  
• Consider your biological prime time: at what time of day do you work best? Plan to do your most important work at that time.
  
• If you say yes to everything that comes your way, learn to say no.
  
• Ask for help and delegate.
  
• In the evening make your to-do list for the next day, so it will be out of your brain and on a piece of paper. Leave work with a clear head and a clean desk.
  
• Acknowledge yourself daily for all that you have accomplished.
  

Also take a look at the two biggest hindrances to using time effectively: procrastinating and lacking purpose.  We usually procrastinate when a task seems to daunting, too large or too complex, or when we feel we won’t be able to handle it.  When you get that “deer in the headlights” feeling, try “chunking”: break the large task into smaller, manageable action steps and start with the first one.  We also often drag our heels or use our time inefficiently because we are bored, unengaged and uninspired.  The most effective people will tell you that they love what they do and are aligned with a greater purpose.  When it comes to managing your time, you may need to ask the larger questions, “Am I doing what I love to do? Am I doing something meaningful to me?”

As you strengthen your new time management muscle, keep your focus on getting organized so that you can live the life designed by you.  Instead of being a chore, good time management can be your ticket to more fun, greater satisfaction and a vibrant, exciting life.

If you live in West Michigan you can learn more about time management when you attend my free Inner Peace and Wellness Series on Tuesday evenings, September 23 and 30, 2014 at Vera’s House in Newaygo.  Visit the events page on my website for registration details and other upcoming events.

***

Sara Wolfsen is a Certified Health Coach who specializes in helping people make their own healthy changes by providing private health coaching, nutrition education and wellness classes, and gentle weight-loss guidance and support.  Schedule your complimentary coaching session and learn more online at www.sarawolfsen.com.

The body is an amazing source of intelligence. It is always there for you, pumping blood, never skipping a heartbeat, digesting whatever food you put in it and maintaining homeostasis (natural balance). Is this reliable, intelligent bio-computer making a mistake by craving ice cream or a hamburger or chocolate? Are cravings due to lack of willpower or discipline? I’d like to suggest that cravings are not a problem. They are critical pieces of information that tell you what your body needs.

The important thing is to understand why you crave what you crave. Perhaps your diet is too restrictive or devoid of essential nutrients. Perhaps you are living a lifestyle that is too boring or stressful.  Your body tries to correct the imbalance by sending you a message: a craving.  A craving for something sweet could mean you need more protein, more exercise, more water or more love in your life.  The key to stopping the sugar craving is to understand and deliver what your body really needs.

No book or theory can tell you what to eat. Only awareness of your body and its needs can tell you. Of all the relationships in our lives, the one with our body is the most essential. It takes communication, love and time to cultivate a relationship with your body. As you learn to decipher and respond to your body’s cravings, you will create a deep and lasting level of health and balance.

The next time you have a craving, treat it as a loving message from your body instead of weakness. Try these tips to respond to your body:

• Have a glass of water and wait 10 minutes.
  
• Eat a healthier version of what you crave. For example, if you crave sweets, try eating more fruit and sweet or root vegetables.
  
• What is out of balance in your life? Is there something you need to express, or is something being repressed? What happened in your life just before you had this craving?
  
• When you eat the food you are craving, enjoy it, taste it, savor it; notice its effect.  Then you will become more aware and free to decide if you really want it next time.
  

If you live in West Michigan, you can learn more about cravings when you attend my free Inner Peace and Wellness Series on Tuesday evenings, September 23 and 30, 2014 at Vera’s House in Newaygo.  Visit the events page on my website for registration details and other upcoming events.

***
Sara Wolfsen is a Certified Health Coach who specializes in helping people make their own healthy changes by providing private health coaching, nutrition education and wellness classes, and gentle weight-loss guidance and support.  Schedule your complimentary coaching session and learn more online at www.sarawolfsen.com.