Create a Habit of Awareness

I have discussed many times the need for all of us to be ‘mindful' of our eating. Mindful eating is what we would all like to achieve. Another way of looking at this is by learning the ‘habit of awareness.' We must learn to pause and question our ‘need' to snack, our ‘need' for dessert, or our ‘need' for that second helping. It is a commitment to predict the likely consequences, both short term and long term, of any significant act or decision. Examples of questions you might ask are:

- Have I ever experienced this situation before? (E.g. grabbing an evening snack in front of the T.V.)

- What negative consequences came or might be expected to come from the decision I plan to make? (Will you feel out of control afterwards, will you feel you have let yourself down, will you feel heavy in the morning and wish you hadn't eaten that unnecessary food?)

- Are the consequences worth it, given what I expect to gain? (Did the temporary oral gratification outweigh your desire to become healthier, to look leaner, or to improve your diabetes or blood pressure?)

- Do I know any alternative with less negative consequences? (Would a cup of tea been enough, could I have gone for a 10 minute walk to rid myself of thoughts of food, could I have picked up a book and read a couple of chapters instead of mindlessly eating?)

The main requirement for developing the habit of awareness is to make a promise to yourself. You commit to examining the probable consequences of every significant thing that you do. This shouldn't take the form of chronic worry. Rather, it is the stance of the questioning mind; you use your experience to develop likely outcome scenarios from each decision. If you are able to make this commitment to awareness, you will make fewer major mistakes.

I see so many people simply stop questioning their actions, and wonder why they are "not on track.” They have stopped asking themselves: "What are the negative consequences to my body and mind if I eat this unnecessary food?"

A lot of us will stop this questioning out of denial. Denial is either fear or need. Sometimes we are afraid to change, of doing things differently, so we deny or minimize the negative consequences of our mistakes. ("I always fail to lose weight, so what does it matter?” or: "Who cares anyway?”) The feeling of ‘need' also causes denial. Food has always been a comfort. Even if we change our habits, change becomes uncomfortable so we return to what we know, even if logic tells us it's not enhancing our life.

I want everyone to pause long enough to force the mind to question the short- and long-term consequences of eating unnecessarily. For a few minutes of gratification you might realize you are going to suffer emotionally (with guilt) or physically (with weight gain). Distract yourself from the food; the mental ‘hunger' will disappear.

There will be many food temptations in the weeks ahead. Be alert. Be aware. Know how much you are going to eat, and when you are going to stop. This is your body. This is your life. Take control.

You can do it. Keep on trying, and never give up!

Dr. Doug