Circuit Training

My brain is getting rewired. And I'm happy about it. My clinic is providing me with a wealth of information about how to identify my bad eating behaviors -- and how to implement new, healthy ones. Before Optifast, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, feeding my brain's pleasure zone. And we all know how that ended up. But now that I'm on the program, my "circuits" are going through a thorough training regimen. I'm ready for the data input.

A recent handout I received outlined four "eating styles" listed below:

Emotional Eater -- Overeat when stressed, anxious, angry or bored. Overeat when feeling good or celebrating.

Eating Skills Eater -- First to finish meal when eating with others; nibble when preparing or cleaning up; regularly have second helpings; eat in places other than the kitchen or dining room; clean plate even when full.

Social Influences Eater -- Eat more with certain people; friends and family members like to eat; attend social events where food is served; work requires eating out; hard time controlling eating at social events.

Restrained Eater -- Get urges to eat even when not hungry; hard time controlling urges; skip at least one meal a day to lower calories; afraid won't be able to stop eating voluntarily; fast, exercise excessively, vomit or use laxatives.

For the most part, I'm an Eating Skills Eater. I eat too much and too fast. (I do have some traits of the Emotional Eater, namely I eat when I am bored and I overeat when I am celebrating.) Here are some tips for managing my unskilled behavior:

On eating too fast:

• Put your fork or spoon down between bites.
• Divide or cut your food into small bites. Eat only one bite at a time.
• Increase the of times you chew something before swallowing.
• Pause in the middle of meals or between courses.
• (Another suggestion by my nutritionist was to eat with your opposite hand -- or use chopsticks!)

When you eat slowly, six important things happen:

• You taste and enjoy food more.
• You give yourself more time to feel full from the food you have eaten.
• You eat less because you feel full earlier.
• You lose weight because you eat less.
• You experience a greater sense of control.
• You have more time to think about how much food you want to eat, before you have eaten all of it.

On improper portion sizes/ "cleaning my plate":

• Eat your food on a plate. Putting food on a plate increases your awareness of it.
• Avoid eating out of bags and containers -- it's impossible to judge how much you've eaten.
• Take medium-sized portions of food. Taking too little will create a desire for seconds and increase your chances of overeating. Taking a big portion will also result in too many calories.
• Eating special foods is OK as long as they are planned, eaten in small amounts, and eaten infrequently.
• Return bags and containers back to their proper place after fixing food. It will be less likely to be eaten.
• You don't have to eat it all just because it's there!
• Learn to gradually reduce your eating in response to the sight of food.

Finally, make sure you follow the "5P's" of appropriate eating. 1.) Plan your food intake ahead of time. 2.) Implement portion control. 3.) Eat a well-proportioned, balanced diet by eating the right amount of foods from the different food groups. 4.) Eat your food sitting down, in a proper place. 5.) Eat peacefully. Savor your meal.

I like going back to school.