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 have created a series of articles on my experience with mindful eating tips for you.

How often do we take a lunch break and focus on something else while we are eating? This week’s focus is about staying present at the plate. I have been practicing living in the moment instead of allowing my mind to race ahead of me while I eat a meal.

My boys (ages 9 and 13) and I recently spent a lazy day perusing the store aisles for Christmas ideas (read: Legos and electronics).  We stopped at Qdoba for lunch and sat down just before the lunch crowd started. I really enjoyed focusing on our conversation while practicing everything I have learned about mindful eating. I took time to be grateful for our food, ate slowly and mindfully, noticing each individual taste of my lunch – especially the fresh lime I squeezed over it – YUM-O!

As the restaurant swelled with hungry patrons, I couldn’t help but notice people around us that were eating alone and numbly shoving food in their mouth or sucking on giant soda cups, while scrolling on their phone or reading a book. That would have been me a few months ago. It reminded me of the small, but consistent changes I’ve made as I’ve become more aware of my mindful eating habits.  

Take action this week by slowing down to focus only on your food. Use your senses to smell, taste, feel each bite of food, and savor a quiet moment. Take a single-pointed focus on YOU for better food choices and satisfaction.  Use the time to breathe deeply, be grateful and rest.  Your e-mail, Facebook status and tweets can wait. Enjoy!

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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 so I have created a series of articles on my experience with mindful eating tips for you.

Today’s mindful eating focus is on the importance of Stopping Yourself by using your mind and psychology to cool your cravings.  Just like firefighters that take time to stop and assess the situation before taking action, we can take a minute to assess our level of hunger and food choices as well as monitor our physical level of eating satisfaction before inhaling everything in front of us.

Last Tuesday was a very busy day for me so I didn’t spend any time thinking about my cravings but I did notice – for the first time ever – that it’s natural for me to automatically pair things together without pausing to consider whether I am hungry or not.  This was a new (exciting!) thought for me.  I realized I have always paired my salad with crackers. Yesterday, I finished my salad and made a mindful gut-check – and realized I didn’t need those crackers. I was satisfied for the moment.  I didn’t panic; I told myself they would be available later in the day if I got hungry. And I moved onto my next project. BAM! An Aha moment and learning experience indeed.

Then I began thinking about how many pairs I put together without stopping to consider my satiety (hunger/fullness) level.  Eggs and toast, sandwich and chips, a burger and fries, Diet Coke and pretzels (a FAVORITE snack back in the day), two poptarts (they are packaged together so they must go together right?), soup and a big hunk of homemade crusty bread (Mmmmmm!), sandwich + crackers + applesauce + cheesestick + yogurt. Wow.

So I feel like a new woman with a new tool in my tool purse. Remembering to Stop! Think! Feel! As I eat and know when I’m satisfied.  WOOT! WOOT!

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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.

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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.