Monthly Archives: November 2014

Sometimes food tastes so good you just want to keep eating, and eating, and eating…and you stop only when you’re too darn stuffed to take another bite!

Why is that?! It really doesn’t feel so good afterwards. Your pants are so tight you have to discreetly unbutton them and all you really want to do is sprawl out on the couch!

Does eating a large quantity of food actually make you feel more satisfied…or could you feel just as satisfied—or even more so-- just by approaching the whole thing a little differently?

Ok, are you ready for this?

What if you try eating until you “aren’t hungry” rather than until you’re “full”? I know…it sounds a little crazy, but stay with me for a minute. Have you ever had the experience of going out and eating a big lunch and when you get back to the office all you want to do is curl up and take a nap?

It takes a lot of energy to digest and process all of that food! And when you eat more than you need you just end up storing the excess as fat!

I know…sometimes the food tastes so amazing you don’t want to miss a single bite! But you can always put another serving away in the fridge and eat it later! You can double the pleasure and skip being stuffed. I think of it as…eat a little, burn it up…eat a little, burn it up…

It’s like eating to the point of giving your body energy rather than eating yourself into a coma!

Ok, so the holidays are officially here! You know what this means… holiday parties, all of your favorite dishes and desserts, cocktails, and more. So how in the heck do you get through the holidays without gaining a bunch of unwanted pounds? Tune in next week for my December Countdown and I’ll share all my best tricks with you!

If you’d like to explore how to have a healthy relationship with food and your body, sign up for a complimentary wellness strategy session by emailing me at: Debbie.lunnon@mindfulwellnessco.com or calling 303-905-5007.

I look forward to working with you!

Debbie Lunnon

Last week I invited you to try taking a couple of slow, deep breaths before taking your first bite of food. Did you try it? Breathing will help you relax and be present while eating rather than mindlessly eating too much because you don’t feel satisfied. Here’s the next step…

Have you ever inhaled your food? Or maybe you just know someone who has?  🙂  Part of the reason may be because you’ve waited too long to eat—but maybe it’s just a habit. Next time you eat try this: With your first bite of food notice how it looks and fully take in the aroma. As you chew pay attention to how it feels in your mouth. Is it warm, cold, smooth, crunchy, creamy, or crisp? Observe the flavors that are released as you chew. Is it salty, sweet, spicy, or savory?

Chew it well and really taste it. Don’t rush the experience! Now swallow it. Take another bite but don’t be in a hurry. Savor it. Enjoy it. Allow it to be a sensual experience. Put your fork down between bites. There’s no hurry—and no one is going to take away or eat your food. (If somebody attempts to take your food just jab them with your fork)!

If you’re eating a piece of chocolate try letting it melt in your mouth rather than chewing it. If you normally eat your lunch in 15 minutes, try stretching it to 20 minutes. When you finish eating you’ll know you just ate—or rather, that you just dined!  And guess what? You won’t be nearly as tempted to overeat. You’ll be satisfied and satiated with smaller portions. You can eat a smaller amount—knowing that if you’d like, you can eat more later. There’s no need to worry about a lack of food. Take a deep breath and know that you’ll always get what you need!

If you’d like to explore how to have a healthy relationship with food and your body, sign up for a complimentary wellness strategy session by emailing me at: Debbie.lunnon@mindfulwellnessco.com or calling 303-905-5007.

I look forward to working with you!

The holidays are right around the corner--which often includes parties, overindulging, weight gain and feeling guilty. You might decide “what the heck--it’s only once a year!” You eat and drink everything in sight and promise yourself you’ll start a diet the first of the year. You might as well eat all you want and get it out of your system because you’re going to be cut off soon! But January 2nd doesn’t really work to start your diet because you have all those leftovers, and January 3rd doesn’t work because you haven’t had time to shop for healthy foods, and, and... Ever been there?

What if you did it differently this year?

What if you could enjoy the festivities (and the food!) without feeling deprived, gaining weight or feeling out of control? Sound impossible? Nope! In the weeks to come I’ll show you how.

Let’s face it--life’s busy and we always seem to be in a hurry. We’re often so busy thinking about what we have to do next we don’t pay attention to what we’re doing in the present...and that includes eating.

Do you ever find yourself eating while you’re standing in front of the refrigerator looking for something to eat? Or have you ever been eating a plate of snacks as you work on your computer and when you reach to get more you discover the plate is empty?  What?! 

When you don’t slow down and pay attention to what you’re eating, you miss the whole tactile, enjoyable experience! This can leave you unsatisfied and wanting more. Your stomach may be full but your brain missed the whole darn thing!

Try this with me if you have a minute. Begin by taking a couple of deep, slow breaths. Bring the breath all the way down into your belly, and then let it fill your chest. If you breathe in to the count of five, breathe out to the count of five. Take two or three of these slow, relaxed, breaths. Can you feel the difference?  It's like instant relaxation!

You can do this even if you’re out eating with friends. No one will think you’re crazy! You’re just breathing!  Taking a couple of deep breaths will help you bring your attention out of your head and into your body.  It's just where you want to be to digest, assimilate, and enjoy your food!  

More to come next week! Stay with me and I’ll show you how to change your relationship with food--one step at a time! 

Believe me—you aren’t alone. Sometimes it feels like you have no control over what you put in your mouth. You try to eat well, try to stay away from sweets, and try really hard to be “good.”   But then you find yourself with a cookie in your mouth. Who knows how it snuck in there but it did—so what are you gonna do? Quickly eat it and grab two more and eat them before you can talk yourself out of it-- because at that moment you don’t want to talk yourself out of it!

You just want to eat the dang cookies. And somehow feeling like you “shouldn’t” have them just makes you want them all the more!

If it stopped at one or two small cookies it probably wouldn’t be a big deal, right? But the guilt that results from eating the cookies can take you down “that road.” You know the road, right? I blew it with the cookies so I’m going to have that piece of cake I’ve been resisting—and heck, I might as well have a scoop of ice cream on it. Yippee! It’s a free for all!!

It feels good at the moment but a little while later it hits you that you did it again and your pants feel even tighter. You feel miserable, ashamed, and out of control.

What if you never had to go down that road again? The holidays are right around the corner. Want to do it differently this year?

I’ll show you how. See you next Friday…same time, same place.

Tempted???

It’s the darn Halloween candy! It’s everywhere…at work, the doctor’s office, and the stash at home.

Those cute little candy bars don’t really count do they? After all—they’re so small—and you only ate a few right? Or maybe you conveniently lost count…?

A few little ones turn into a big one pretty quickly and they’re loaded with junk like corn syrup, preservatives, artificial flavors and colors and LOTS of sugar--sugar that will cause a sharp spike in blood sugar followed by a blood sugar crash…and an undeniable craving for more sugar. I’ll bet you’ve been there more times than you can count.

Eating sugar and processed carbs can lead you down a path of craving more and more sugar and feeling out of control. It’s not just psychological--it’s physiological too. When blood sugar is low the brain demands more because it needs sugar (glucose) to survive. Have you ever noticed you can’t think clearly and all you CAN think about is eating when your blood sugar is low? You know the symptoms…low energy, foggy thinking, headache, irritability, etc.

It’s not much fun. But eating something yummy IS fun. So what if you could eat something chocolate, sweet, delicious, and satisfying and still feel great? When you eat treats made with good fats and protein that are low in sugar your blood sugar stays stable AND you satisfy your sweet tooth and don’t feel deprived!

I just made these Paleo Brownies today and they’re scrumptious and super easy to make. Bake a batch of these and it’ll be much easier to walk away from the Halloween candy. Your kids will love them too!