Not for newbies...knowing your body now

This advice in NOT for newbies, you need to follow doctor's orders. This is for us people further out who CAN eat more and are watching calories but always making sure we get our protein first. Yep, we have to have faith, we are not dieting any longer...just practice mindful eating. I don't feel deprived, I'm learning to stop and leave something on my plate. No guilt! Hugs- Debbie

your body knows what it is doing.... Posted: 24 May 2010 03:29 AM PDT Mindfulness is all about trust.  You are making a bargain that your body knows how many calories it needs to do what you ask it to do.  When you are physically hungry, your body is sending you the signal that it needs calories.  You eat a little food, the hunger goes away.  You eat a lot of food and your body will store, as fat, everything beyond what it needs right then. The purpose of mindful eating is to pay attention to how many bites it takes to go from that feeling of hunger to a feeling of satisfaction -- which is not the same thing as being full.  How soon can you stop eating while still being SATISFIED?  Satisfied is the important part -- if you feel deprived because you are eating soooooo little, you will not stick to being mindful just like most people don't stick to any particular diet for life. Your body knows the number of calories it needs on any given day -- much better than your conscious brain does.  Have a little faith and give it a try.  Make it a game to see how few bites it takes to go from hungry to satisfied.  If you are paying enough attention to count, you will be surprised at what you learn.

So true, so true!
I've been practicing eating till I feel satisfied, not full, for about a year now.  I feel so much better doing this.  I also always visualize the size of stomach (they say it's the size of a fist) so I try not to consume too much more than that at each meal/snack.  Years ago I would eat an entire serving of baked shells for lunch.....that was about 6 large shells stuffed with ricotta and topped with lots of mozzarella......now I'm comfortable after two and really feel nasty if I try to force in anymore than that.  There is only so much volume that can go in so I am mindful of it and visualize how much I can consume.

Wish I learned all this years ago.....  Better late than never.
TTFN
Ruth

Way to go Ruth, you are a mindful eater! I'm so proud of you and I look up to you!!
Enjoy your day.

Visualize your tummy and how what size it is...excellent!!!
Hope your swelling stays down and don't over exercise yet...betcha thought no one would ever tell you that right? ...giggles!! You are doing wonderful.