Yesterday, I started a series on my Fitness Resolutions, a list of goals dedicated to living the fitness lifestyle. Before I start detailing the individual items on the list, I realized a better place to start would be the over-arching ideal behind the list, what I call the point of awareness.
Before joining Optifast, I ate a lot. Five months later, I have learned I didn’t gain weight because of the amount I ate, or what I ate – I gained weight because of how I ate. I ate for comfort, I ate because I was bored, I ate to escape depression, I ate to celebrate, I ate to accompany watching TV or a movie or hanging out with friends – I ate for any and all reasons except because I was hungry. Frankly, I ate so much and so often I never was hungry. I became so accustomed to emotional eating, I subconsciously confused emotional states for hunger – when I craved comfort food, I was “hungry.” When I was bored, I was “hungry.” When I watched TV, I was “hungry.” When I was tired, needed a boost of energy, stressed or overwhelmed, I was “hungry.” Eventually, I was “hungry” so often that I stopped choosing to eat – I merely ate in reaction to whatever emotion or craving drove my “hunger.” When I stopped choosing when to eat, I gave up choice and power over my eating – I became addicted.
Being on Optifast, which focuses on stimulus narrowing, gave me the opportunity to look at my eating habits more objectively and reclaim my power through choice. I now can choose what I eat, when I eat, how much I eat. I can choose breathing and relaxation techniques instead of eating to combat stress, cravings or feeling overwhelmed. I can choose to focus on the company of friends instead of the food I eat. I can choose to read a book or throw a ball for my labrador instead of eating for boredom. I can choose to exercise or walk outside instead of eating to escape depression. That moment, that split second in time where before I subconsciously became “hungry” and I now objectively evaluate what I actually want versus what I need - that is the point of awareness, and the key to reclaiming the power of choice.
So, here’s another item to add to the Fitness Resolutions:
- Practice exercising the Point of Awareness
