Weight reduction is a component to a healthy body, and today we will use our minds to help us lose weight.
The process to accomplish this is mindfulness. Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment without judgment.
The process of mindfulness is not complex. It is not an elaborate or magical technique.
What it entails is merely to hold in awareness whatever is happening in the present moment. Mindfulness reduces stress, anxiety, depression and promotes well being.
Today I will guide you through a simple process called mindful eating. What I would ask you to do is to eat a single raisin mindfully. Spend about five minutes on this exercise. Before we begin I would remind you to suspend your judgments.
Take a single raisin and begin by looking at it. Notice the color, grey tones and crevices. Take your time and focus on each element. See that at one end is a belly button where the stem attached. Now roll it around in your finger tips and feel its texture. Next, bring it up to your nose and smell the aroma. Have you ever smelled raisin? Roll it around under your nose and take a deep breath. After this take the raisin and roll it around by your ear. A little known fact of a raisin is that it makes crackle noises, like Rice Krispies.
Now for the big moment: take your raisin and bring it up to your mouth. Notice that as you insert the raisin into your mouth it is received by the lips and the tongue. Let it roll in your mouth and feel the texture. Next, begin to chew your raisin. Chew slowly at least 20 times. During your chewing, taste what raisin tastes like. After 20 chews, swallow slowly, feeling the raisin descend down your esophagus.
When I do this exercise with a group of people there is a recurring pattern. Someone will always say, “I never tasted a raisin before.” Another person will say, “When I first bit into my raisin, it was an explosion of flavor.” So it is interesting to examine an experience we all have had a hundred times, yet we discover that we have never been present for the experience.
I will now keep my promise to you by revealing the secret key to weight loss. What do you think would happen to your body weight if you gave this much attention to your eating? The pounds would melt off. If you eat mindfully, and chew 20 times with every bite, your brain will tell you that you are full before you eat too much. Instead of eating three pieces of pizza in five minutes, you mindfully eat one piece of pizza in 20 minutes.
The next time you take a plate of food, divide the portion in half and return one half back off of the plate. The half remaining on the plate is the portion you eat mindfully. You have just eliminated one half of your calories, yet you will be completely satisfied. This gives us the chance to savor food and loose weight at the same time. Weight loss and self liberation is one raisin away.
Matthew McQuaid, DPM is a board certified foot surgeon practicing in Lakeport. He is an award winning author who has a particular interest in Mind/Body medicine and its positive impact on health. For more information or for an appointment call 263-3727.
