As soon as the Christmas left-overs are consumed, we all begin to think about ways to shed those holiday pounds. Last week, 9 Secrets to Lasting Weight Loss by appeared on Yahoo’s home page. 
Always curious about the latest weight loss fad or diet, I clicked on the article with the intention of giving it a quick read. The crux of the idea is “mindful eating.” The idea is simply to pay attention! Pay attention to the food, how it tastes, the texture, the taste and smell. Also, pay attention to being full and stop eating. For the brain to register fullness from the tummy is 20-30 minutes. Imagine how much food can be consumed in 30 minutes. How many times have you felt uncomfortably full about 30 or 40 minutes after leaving your favorite restaurant? One of my regular comments is “geez, I wish I had passed on that peach cobbler.” Maybe if I had eaten slower, put the burger on a plate between bites, instead of holding it to keep food piling non-stop into my mouth, I could give my body time to calibrate my level of satiety. Watching TV and eating is a good way to pile on the pounds. The potato chips just keep going in and the pounds, on. Eating should be social. Talking to friends or family. Enjoying the food and the conversation.
One of the benefits mentioned in Ms.Promaulayko’s article is that people who become Mindful eaters can keep unwanted pounds off. This behavior would be easy to adopt and even easier to build into a lasting habit.
I decided to give Mindful eating a try. I’m a habitual, stand, “eat-on-the run,” hurry, hurry eater. Last week, I forced myself to sit down and devote a minimum of 30 minutes to eat meal. At first, I was frustrated, but determined to slow down. I thoroughly appreciated the chicken salad sandwich and found that by putting a specific number of chips on my plate, I didn’t keep going back to the bag and pulling out more. When the chips were gone, that was enough. Three days into my experiment, I had lunch at Jason’s Deli. Eating the entire sandwich combo has never been a problem in the past. However, this time…change happened. By the time I had eaten half the sandwich and 1/3 the soup, I was full. Instead of feeling obligated to finished food I really didn’t want, I got a Go-Box and carted the remaining food home for dinner. The scales tell me I’ve lost 2 pounds. Not bad since I’ve eaten any and everything I’ve wanted. Maybe just not as much.
If you’re looking for an easy, relaxing way to shed those holiday pounds, consider Ms. Promaulayko’s 9 Secrets to Lasting Weight Loss as a good way to keep that New Year’s resolution to lose some weight in 2015.
Happy New Year to everyone. Thank you for a great 2014 as Fab Placez transitioned to FAB Senior Travel. May your 2015 be one of good health, lots of happiness and prosperity.
