And breathe....

7^th April 2013

 

There is more to life than increasing it’s speed.  Ghandi.

 

I remember in my youth wishing there was a tablet you could take that would give you all the calories you needed to keep you alive and fit and healthy!  OMG that would be my ultimate nightmare now, I love to eat and cook and think about and talk about food, the thought of that part of my life being removed does not fill me with joy at all! 

 

These days we do everything fast don’t we, life is just such a rush.  Eating has become yet one more thing that we do quickly, from fast food restaurants, heck MacDonalds is designed to encourage you to eat fast, the restaurant is clinical looking, the lighting harsh, the chairs are uncomfortable, there’s no cutlery - they don’t want you to hang around! 

 

Processed food packed with sugar and fat has made the preparation of meals faster, microwaves have made the cooking of these meals faster!  And whilst all this fastness is going on the other thing that’s rising fast is the world’s obesity rate!

 

So many people with a weight problem spend all their time thinking about what to eat, when they can eat next, what they shouldn’t be eating, what will happen if they do eat and yet when they actually do eat – they rush it!  They cook something as quickly as possible, they may even not cook it just make a sandwich or open a packet for quickness, then they eat it that fast they don’t even taste it!  And so the pattern continues….

 

Food isn’t just fuel and it’s much harder to enjoy if you eat in front of the tv or at your desk, enjoying and really tasting food means you’ll appreciate it more, so -

SLOW DOWN – CHILL OUT – RELAX!

 

If someone was to ask me if I was obsessed with eating I’d probably say not obsessed no, but passionate yes.  I have turned a weight problem into a pleasure, instead of trying to eat everything constantly, I think about what I want to eat, I plan meals, I have a to-eat list, I enjoy shopping for the ingredients, I enjoy cooking the food, and then I sit down at my nice dining table and I enjoy eating the food whilst chatting with my mom. 

 

Okay, Okay!  I’m not perfect, I don’t behave that way all the time, I still ram down a big mac sometimes, there’s a need in my life for that experience occasionally.  There’s a certain satisfaction I get from getting a slice of bread and spread and mopping up the gravy in the pan with a sense of urgency after I’ve put the dinner out.  I get a certain satisfaction from that behaviour and an enjoyment that wouldn’t be the same as if I had a slice of bread and spread at the table to dip in my gravy on my plate – it isn’t the same, it doesn’t fill me with the same feelings and memories and emotions.  Same with a Big Mac, yes I can make a fabulous burger myself but it isn’t the same as sitting in the car park shovelling one down after going though the drive-thru, I get something from that behaviour too, I’m not quite sure what but it gives me a satisfaction at the time.    These behaviours are okay occasionally but not everyday, if done everyday it’s asking for trouble!

Slowing down when eating makes sense; it gives your stomach chance to tell your brain it’s had enough!  Takes 15-20 minutes for your brain to register the signal that you’ve eaten enough, if you’re eating quickly you can get a lot of food down your neck in twenty minutes!

 

Slowing down when eating means you’re going to be less stressed because stress is a big no-no when you’re eating, it really doesn’t do your body any good at all!  So if you’re stressed out when you sit down to eat, stop and take half a dozen deep breathes to help relax yourself a little.

SLOW DOWN – TASTE EVERYTHING YOU EAT!

When you rush whilst eating it creates problems in your body - so how fast do you eat?  If you eat fast, your body considers it as a stressor, the body then locks into a stress state which your digestive doesn’t like, this isn’t helping your weight loss – so SLOW DOWN!

 

If you’ve already got the weight problem, try to enjoy having it; if you turn your problems into passions, it makes weight loss much easier.  I Eat Gorgeous every day, that way I’m taking care of myself. 

 

I’m not talking about spending hours slaving over a hot stove, you don’t need to do that, I can cook a meal in the time it would take my local Indian to deliver a curry, I can cook something in the time it would take to walk over the fish and chip shop!  I will sometimes spend hours cooking but it’ll be because I’m in the mood to, and then I fill the freezer full of delicious home made ready meals for when I’m not in the mood.

 

This is the one I made yesterday,

Turkey mince & ciabatta

Served 2 (10pp)

250g turkey mince

1tbsp cranberry sauce

1 egg (wouldn’t bother to use next time)

2 spring onions sliced

1 grated carrot

Garlic salt & black pepper

 

I stir fried all ingredients in a tsp olive oil until cooked and served on the ciabatta squares which were from Asda "get fresh at home" 4pp each.

 

Whatever you're up to today, it looks like the sun may shine again - enjoy. x