Weight Loss: Can't Stop Thinking About Food

My weight last week 90kg; this week 89.2kg.

Tonight's topic at our weight loss group is those times when you just can't stop thinking about food.

One of the things Dr Dorie McCubbrey writes about people who are overweight in her book "How Much Does Your Soul Weigh?" is that people who are overweight or obese tend to think about food much of the time. Her observation of people who are naturally thin was that they just didn't do this.

This, of course isn't helped by television, radio, magazines, all of the advertising that is constantly telling us about food we can buy at the supermarket, restaurants, coffee shops, fast food places, etc. There's food being constantly shoved in our faces. When we're trying not to think about food, it can seem like the whole world's against us.

So what can we do?

All of the things we looked about last Thursday with regards to stress eating, can be used to distract us from obsessive thinking about food. We can try to get our minds engaged in other things (or if desperate eat vegetable sticks.)

We can also try something I've taken from Dr George Blair-West's book "Weight Loss for Food Lovers."

(We're actually doing this experiment in weight loss group tonight - if you want to try it at home, you need a really good quality chocolate, at least 70% cocoa.)

I'm bringing several blocks of good quality chocolate to weight loss group. Everyone is allowed to eat as much as they like - providing they eat it mindfully.  Take just one piece at a time. Notice its smell, its colour and texture. Put it in your mouth and let it melt there slowly. Close your eyes if you like. Notice the silky feeling, the rich taste. Really savour this piece of chocolate. Take several minutes for this one piece of chocolate - get the absolute most you possibly can out of the experience of eating it.

If you want another piece - you're free to have it, but repeat the whole process of eating it mindfully again.

How much chocolate are you satisfied with, if you eat it this way?

How much would it have taken to satisfy the craving, if you'd just munched your way through the chocolate?

Dr Blair-West in his book says that we need to have our treats, so that we don't feel deprived and binge.  He recommends having the treat at morning tea time, because that's when we're least likely to lose control of our eating - but to eat our treat, and everything else we eat, mindfully.  His theory is that if we make a point of really enjoying everything we eat - we will be satisfied with eating far less food than if we just rush through our meals or eat while distracted.


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