Mindful Eating

What comes to mind when you read the words below?

Thanksgiving -

Superbowl -

Football -

4th of July -

Valentines day -

Christmas -

State fair -

Birthdays -

Weddings -

If you are the average American you probably replied with a food item- Turkey, Wings, Hot dogs, Chocolate, Corn dogs, and Cake?

In our society everything seems to revolve around food including holidays, sporting events, family reunions, business deals, Birthdays, Graduations, and even funerals. Our society is obsessed with food. Fast food is on every corner, large pizzas "ready now" for $5, Kids are offered "Happy Meals", Big Gulps the size of a 5 gallon bucket, Value sized meals, Krispy Kreme Cheese Burgers, and processed food commercials are non-stop on TV. It's no wonder why Americans are dealing with an obesity epidemic.

What part of the chicken does the "Chicken Ring" come from? I can think of only 1 area. GROSS!

 

 

Turtle Burgers (hamburgers + hot dogs + bacon + cheese) = REALLY?!

When we moved to Charlotte I loved the fact that fast food is really hard to find, I have no idea where a Little Cesar's is located, and we ditched TV so no more commercials. These changes has helped us as a family transform the way we eat. Here are some tips that have helped me, maybe they will help you as well. (If you have other tips please share in the comments section below.)

ReThink Food - Food is NOT to give you pleasure. It's there to provide fuel/energy to your muscles to move. So....... MOVE........ and eat well to provide them good fuel. Your body is a high performance machine feed it what it needs, not grease, sugar, and fat. A lot of my races are out of town, and it would be very tempting and easy to grab a biscuit, bagel, or doughnut but I know that I would feel awful after eating that and I wouldn't perform at my best. Also DO NOT reward yourself with food - instead reward yourself with a new cycling kit, or running shoes, or a piece of fitness equipment.

Watch the carbs - As a cyclist I know I need carbs. But I try to stay away from sugar and processed carbs. That being said after a hard ride, I need carbs. But I also don't want to waste my ride by eating just anything. I just want to replace the glycogen to my muscles and keep hungry at bay. I like to instead refuel with a banana, Greek yogurt, or Chocolate Milk.

Watch when you eat - I don't eat after 8 pm. Do not eat when you are not hungry, food is energy/fuel. Eating Crap food is not going to make anymore social, in fact I bet their is another person you are with that's trying to eat well. You could become a good influence on them and both will be helping each other out of a hard situation.

Keep a eating journal - You will be surprised by how many calories you are actually eating. I recommend Training peaks and my fitness pal. Both of these are Apps for your phone that keep track of the food (even restaurants) you intake as well the calories burnt while exercising.

Don't drink your calories - This is a hard one for me - I love my morning coffee and a sweet tea or soda with my meal. Don't quit cold turkey otherwise you could get caffeine withdraw headaches - Not Fun! Just do your best to slowly taper off. Do your best but stay away from the "diet" sodas. A Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte has 450 calories. That's as much as a small meal. Things to watch out for are Beer, Soda, Coffee, even Gatorade.

 Eat at the table or snack standing up - DO NOT eat while watching TV.  Watching TV turns off your brain and distracts you from what you are doing. Have you ever sat down to watch a show with a bag of chips and by the end of the show the bag is empty? It happens! Either Snack standing up or pour what you want in a bowl and put the rest back in the pantry. Also turn off Wheel of Fortune and eat with your family AT THE TABLE.

Cheat well - When faced with eating something that's not falling into the diet ask you yourself "Is this worth the extra calories?" If it's not don't continue to eat it, throw it away. If I'm craving pizza, I'm not going to have a frozen pizza or Little Cesar's. I'm going to choose either a Mellow Mushroom, local NY pizza joint, or if I have time I'll make a homemade pizza. Why? Calories are calories so why not cheat with something that tastes great? Besides a good quality pizza will satisfy that craving which is the point right. Choose quality over quantity.

Final advice - We, you, me make mistakes! We let temptations, social pressure and circumstances influence what we know to be good and healthy. Don't beat yourself up over a bad choice. 1 bad meal is not going to undo all of the work that you have done thus far. When you a bad choice for a meal don't make it a bad choice for the day, week or month. Just because you eat something unhealthy doesn't mean the day is ruined. Get back at as soon as possible.