Eating Slowly

[MajestyJo]

Eating Slowly

We compulsive over eaters are inclined to devour our meals in a great rush. Mealtime often finds us anxious and tense, and sometimes we are just plain greedy! While others at the table are interested in conversation and socializing, we may be narrowly focused on food and preoccupied with trying to satisfy a ravenous appetite.

- Food for Thought

Just reading the title, caused deep thought, at least for me.

I thought, "Take your time, don't try to injest everything at once. It is a one day at a time program. Give yourself time to digest what you have before taking more."

As most of you know, one of my favourite sayings and truths is, "When I get needy, I get greedy." When I get greedy, I know that I am not doing something right, because my God meets my needs, so either I am blocking Him out, not listening, not open to receiving, and I need to get back to basics.

This may be OA, but is applicable to all areas of my life. My disease tries to get at me in many ways, not just pills and alcohol, not just with food, relationships, busy, shopping etc. As the slogan says, "Easy Does It...but Do IT! That doesn't mean to stop eating, not eating makes me fatter and bloat up more than eating too much.

Sometimes it seems like the food goes to my head and inflates the ego, my butt and I get stubborn and unwilling to let go and dig my heals in, and when I get angry and resentful, it goes to my back, and I know that my feet are oft times insecurities and a message that says, "Don't even go there!"

Eat slowly, look at which direction you are taking. Are your choices healthy and good for you, or are you making excuses and/or using people, places and things, to not look at you. Are you nurturing yourself, are you eating and not tasting, are you eating just because you feel you have to, without thought or reason, are you eating things, just because you were told, "This is how it is done."

Eat slowly and savour every moment of recovery. If you are not enjoying yourself, what are you doing wrong?

[MajestyJo]

When I saw the title tonight, I thought of that old saying/song ?? that says, "Slow down, you are moving too fast."

When we use the two slogans, "THINK' and 'HESITATE AND MEDITATE," it helped me. I like the AA slogan THINK, THINK, THINK a little better. I was told it was give little thought to the past and little thought of the future, but focus and think on today.

Had to post pigs, especially when I talk about over eating. I use to call myself a pig and even had a night shirt with three pigs on it. If I didn't call myself a big, I was a fat cow or a beached whale. I try not to go there, but the thought can still come up, even though I have lost weight. An eating disorder isn't about fat or thin, it is about a change in attitude to bring about thoughts that will aid recovery.

[MajestyJo]

Love that saying, " DON'T PUT FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH IF THERE IS FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH ", never saw it before. I don't think I shovel one in after the other so much any more, but often think of the next bite while eating the one I got. We do have a thinking disease. I also tend to eat at the computer and the food sits there and gets forgotten, because the computer takes second place over the food.

For me, if I found myself reaching for the 3rd helping, I knew I was past hunger and feeding the emotions.

I was asking myself yesterday, why do we have to wait until something hurts us before we do something about it?

Yesterday I had good intentions. I had capsules recommended by the Holistic Center so I took them and I am suppose to eat 30-45 min. after taking them. I had good intentions, was going to walk down to A & W for a baby burger, a single burger with caramelized onions, nothing else (which isn't exactly a healthy choice), but because my hip had a few twinges I decided to make the bus), so went into the market, and bought a danish (Venetian Cream and cherry, another not so healthy choice, but didn't take time to eat it), went up to the mall after shopping, bought apples but never thought of them as a food for lunch, heaven forbid, bought my Freshly Squeezed juice (Acai Berry, Pomegranate, Cranberry, and Strawberry) and drank that while I talked to my Al-Anon friend ( a little healthier). I was so tired I went to the Nation's Food Buffet and got pork sausage, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, corn, and balsamic mushrooms which is more sugar. I was too tired and stressed by the time I got home, finished my juice and had my lunch my danish while I rested, had my dinner about 3 hours later and wondered why when I topped my dinner with brownies, my blood sugar was 9/10 when I went to bed.

I can see it, but can't see it some times, and then there are other times I don't seem to care, but that isn't really true either. Sometimes, that is all there is to eat, because my son will shop and he sees it as healthy food. It is food I like and love but that doesn't mean it is healthy and good for me.

Thanks for letting me share.