JenKatja's Journal, 22 June 2012

Sometimes life seems really out of control; how do we control our automatic responses to it? A first possibility is to try taking a deep breath, in and out, then give yourself 5 minutes before grabbing whatever food is calling you. Think "do I really want that?" Forget it for those 5 minutes & then ask yourself again. Many times that works. If you still "need" it, take a small piece of it, take a small bite, focus only on that as you take the time to totally experience the texture, feel of it in your mouth, taste as you slowly chew that one bite. Can it really make you feel better? Can it really change anything? See if our truly want to eat more. One thing that really helped me was a meditation Cd I listened to at the beginning of this chapter of my life, "The Self-Compassion Diet, Guided Practices to Lose Weight With Loving-Kindness. I loaded it on my Ipod & would listen to it at bedtime with my noise-cancellation headphones, or a few minutes here and there. I started truly feeling, without conscious thought, drawn to delicious and nutritious foods. I actually bought a case of small cans of low-sodium V8 from Costco that I enjoy when I need a little something, and I really like it! I kept fresh fruit around all the time,and single-serve cups of natural no-sugar added applesauce for a gotta-have-something-now moment. I hope you find something that helps you through this time at work, and any other challenges that life throws at you. Take care of you.