Monday, June 23, 2008

No graze days of summer

May - what a great month! It was, well, less hot; I made my very first bagels ever; and "Mindfulness in May" was keeping my fingers out of the proverbial cookie jar. Then came June. I can't walk to the mailbox without breaking a sweat; I still love my bagels; but I can't keep my grubby little fingers out of anything! What happened?

Let's see. I had some rules there somewhere. They were:
  1. Meditate
  2. Enjoy one meal in the company of someone else
  3. Slow down while eating
  4. No multi-tasking while eating
  5. Sit down while eating
So "meditation" - check. I don't meditate every day, but almost. "Enjoy one meal in the company of someone else" - check. Actually it's more like 2 meals a day now and I'm loving it! "Slow down" - check. No stuffing my face on the run. "No multi-tasking" - check. Not perfect, but for the most part, it's just me and the food. If I'm eating by myself, I might grab my laptop for a little blog reading. "Sit down when I eat" - ch - Ahh! that's it! I totally slipped back into my old habit of grazing my way through the afternoon (or morning, or evening). Ugh! 

I've had a lot of success in the last year as I focus on mindfulness in my daily life, but this whole grazing thing has really latched on. There are a lot of years of habit ingrained in these nibble-grabbing little fingers. What makes things worse is that 1) all this grazing makes my digestive disorder worse - I mean, I'm supposed to be allowing my system to heal, not overloading it; and 2) after a day of grazing (and subsequent tummy aches), I'm upset with myself for jeopardizing my recovery! Geez, Heather, get with the program already! 

But something about May kept me accountable, and I'm betting it's the fact that I had to fess up each Friday. So, enough is enough. We're taking this show back on the road! I'm calling it the "No Graze Days of Summer." There's only one rule and it's pretty straight forward:
Rule: Sit down when I eat.
That's it. Of course that means, no nibbles while I'm cooking, no nibbles while standing in front of the fridge trying to figure out what to really eat for dinner, and no nibbles as I'm scraping leftovers into tupperware. Yep! No nibbles if I'm not sitting down. I suppose I could take my chair to the fridge and sit down while doing these things, but I'm guessing that somewhere in the effort of getting the chair, I've broken the grazing hypnosis and no longer want that nibble. Please tell me I'm not the only one that eats like this...

Of course, the point here is not to be perfect (I'm not going to wig out if I lick a spoon), but rather to establish new, sustainable, healthy habits of eating (and reinforce my healing tummy in the process). I proved I could do it before and, dang it, I can do it again - for good!

If you'd like to join me, I'd love the company. If you're all challenged out, the moral support would be awesome. Let's do this - the No Graze Days of Summer begins!

P.S. To use the graphic on your webpage, paste the following code: 

<a href="http://simple-green-frugal.blogspot.com/2008/06/no-graze-days-of-summer.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclMycs3jvammPFQjxHUD0J8794DyGEvfC54b_o50oR5E5flsTzlvzUeqjShv3pMXo45gmkbn5SO20HoMUdEbCvJTQks7JbvDNEhvoHzfc2GPfgNbTeAzE-tBaID5ssWb1It5Zr9bNHUkI/s200/no+graze+days.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214307548103685122/></a>

26 comments:

hmd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hmd said...

burbanmom - That's awesome. Welcome aboard!

EcoBurban said...

What?!? No organic corn chips by the sneaky handful in the middle of the night. No one's looking...

Allright, FINE. I'm in too. My butt says "thank you". Maybe I will add walking the dog daily to my personal goals. He needs the walk and so do my thighs. :o)

hmd said...

eco 'burban mom - I wish walking my dog did anything for my exercise routine. Rather than walk, she spends all her time marking every square inch. By the end of the "walk" she's dry squatting - nothing comes out, but the motion is there for show. It takes us forever to get anywhere so we usually don't make it very far. What kind of dog do you have?

EcoBurban said...

Two doggies, actually. Though, Ginger - our lab mix - is 11 so isn't much for walking. However... our Dalmatian puppy is 10 months old and literally freaks out at the sight of his leash. Squeaking and whining and pacing if it's even on the counter. So, I can get quite a workout if I acutally get out there! From what I understand the breed was bred to run alongside carriages. We are not exactly sure of his lineage - we found him at a shelter at 7 weeks old. We are thinking it's due to his poor spots and funky fur. Certainly NOT a show dog!! But, the most tolerate, friendly and happy family dog. Though, his behavior is much, much better with a walk! :o)

hmd said...

Oh, we had a Ginger too! She was a golden retriever. We lost her last summer, but she was 16 so she had a long and happy life. I bet yours are both adorable. We treat ours like kids of course.

EcoBurban said...

Update! Tahoe - the Dalmatian - got a walk today! Hooray for day one of the challenge!

Ginger is sleeping on the floor next to my feet as I write this - thankful she didn't get a walk today! :o)

Oh, and only one pasta nibble during dinner prep. It fell onto the counter - totally fair game.

EcoBurban said...

Oh, I just read your response! So sorry to hear about your Ginger. Though, 16 years is a very long time for a retriever, she must have been loved much to have lived so well!

hmd said...

eco 'burban mom- Good for you!

I did a ton of cooking today and did indulge in a few nibbles. No grazing, but I couldn't seem to run to the dining room chair in time before I shoved those couple of bites in my face. Overall it was better, though, and tomorrow is another day...

Theresa said...

I am such a bad grazer. I love to feed our guinea pigs basically because I get to nibble on all the veggies I'm slicing up for them. I do really want to be more mindful. So, I will join you when the calendar clicks over to July, since I promised myself a challenge-free June. And your graphic is adorable! How can I resist it!

hmd said...

Theresa - July sounds great! I'm just excited that I'll have company. This is a tough one for me.

Sam said...

I am joining and adding "sit down at dining table" when eating at home. I love the cow!

hmd said...

Wonderful, Beany! Having a better day today?

Sam said...

A bit better. I am adopting pain as part of my lifestyle.

hmd said...

Oh, Beany. That's no good. I know all too well what that's like. How long is it supposed to last?

Sam said...

I was told it would last a week. But can come back anytime I get stressed in the future. I guess its high time I make meditation and mindfulness part of my daily routine huh?

hmd said...

Beany - lifestyle shift coming up! I totally understand. The doctor I found that was finally able to help me (after 16 years of feeling mostly crummy and 1-1/2 years of being almost completely incapacitated) told me I was a sucky breather and that on top of the physical things he was going to recommend, I need to read some books on stress (he recommended "Why Zebras Don't Have Ulcers) as well as do either yoga or start to meditate. Rather than focusing on just my physical ailments, he looked at my whole person. I still have a lot of healing to go, but my illness has forced to to slow down and concentrate on what will make me healthy again. Obviously I still struggle immensely, or we wouldn't need a "No Graze Days Of Summer" challenge, but it has made a real difference in my life.

I know some great meditations thru iTunes if you are interested. There is also a good yoga program free on iTunes. I hope that you start finding some relief. I'm with you in spirit.

Unknown said...

Hi! I'm new to your blog, but so far I love it. Keep up the good work!

hmd said...

Thanks, BBN! Glad you are enjoying the site!

Michele said...

I'd love to join in! I'm far from eating mindfully; at this point I am eating *emotionally* and my tight clothes are proof of that. :-(

hmd said...

Rapunzel - Yeah! Welcome aboard! It's so much better to do this with friends! A little love and support, sometimes is all we need.

Kim Campbell said...

Ooo! I'm in! I'm trying to lose some weight and I have a Farmers Market each week I can go to.

Howdy! From one Texan (new) to another!

hmd said...

Kim - Hi! Welcome to the group! I just posted your name on the side bar. Was there a specific blog you wanted me to link your name to? I noticed you had three.

Can't wait to hear all about your farmers market!

Kim Campbell said...

Please use the Midwest Musings one.

I tried to copy the link but I kept getting an error when I tried to post it. :(

Tammi said...

Oh my, I'm so in.

Just thinking about the grazing I did today... ack! I really need to bake the last of the cookie dough so I stop sticking my finger in it every time I open the fridge.

hmd said...

Mama Bear - I'm bad about cookie dough too. I swear it calls to me from the fridge...

We'll have our next check in on the 10th. Happy (and mindful) eating!