What Does Mindful Living Have to Do With Emotional Eating?

In past posts, I have talked about how mindful eating can help with weight loss, but today’s post is a little different. Today I wanted to talk about Mindful Living. Mindful living even when you are NOT currently eating, can benefit multiple areas of your life including emotional eating?

In other words, mindful living can help with weight loss even when food is not directly involved. Let me explain…

You are probably not surprised when I say weight struggles are usually more about our emotional struggles that anything else. Life is HARD. Sometimes we have more stress than we can bare. We need a way to cope, and overeating can feel like a quick fix. Bottom line, stress and other emotions are a major player in weight gain. But what does this have to do with mindful living?

What Does Mindful Living Have to Do with Emotional Eating?

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First, What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is about being in the present moment. The past is gone and the future has not happened, but the present is HERE and NOW. Think about it. What do we spend most of our time stressing and worrying about?…The past and the future. Think about how much less stress we would have if we learned to focus on the present moment. Mindful eating is about focusing on eating and enjoying every bite. Mindful living is about focusing and enjoying whatever you are doing in that moment. Mindfulness is also about having a grateful approach to life. When we are mindflully living, we focus on the positive and what we are thankful for in the present moment. For me, mindfulness is about focusing on God’s presence in our lives at every moment and focusing on the beauty in God’s world. Sounds simple right? Yeah, I know. It is a lot easier said than done. Sometimes we will still worry about the past and future, but fortunately mindfuless exercises can help us live in the present a little more often.

Does the Bible Have Anything to Say About Mindfulness?

The characteristics of mindfulness are making space for quiet time and rest, living in the moment, having a gratitude attitude, and (for me) pausing to focusing on God’s presence in our every day lives. Turns out the Bible has a lot to say about these characteristics. I listed a few of my favorite Bible verses about Mindfulness in the infograph below.

The characteristics of mindfulness are focusing on the present (and for me, the presence of God in each moment), being thankful, makng space for quiet time, and pausing during the day. That pause helps with self control and relieves stress. My favorite verse is “Be still and know that I am God.” When I hear this verse, I hear, “be still, stop frantically running around, relax, and stay calm, because don’t you realize that I AM GOD…I got this!”

So How Does Mindful Living Help with Emotional Eating?

Our emotions usually come from either worrying about the past or future. Mindfulness helps us cope with the stresses of life. By living mindfully, we can focus on the present instead of worrying about the past and future. So if you find that you often emotionally eat ( and many of us do including me), perhaps adapting some, if not all, of these six daily mindfulness techniques will be just what your soul has been longing. Perhaps these techniques can take the place of emotional eating as a way to cope with the stresses of life.

Daily Mindfulness Exercises: What does a Mindful Day Look Like?

Hopefully we have established the characteristics of mindfulness, but how do we incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives?

For me, a mindful day would look like this:

1. Pause, Breath, and Pray Before Entering a New Place

Pause…take a moment to breath and mindfully pray before entering a new environment. When I pray, I ask God to help me remember to show love and kindness in this current environment. I then thank God for being with me, and I pray that I hear and mindfully listen for God’s guidance while I am in this place. So pausing and praying before entering a new environment means, I pray on the way to my kids school, before entering the grocery store, or my friends house. I pray before a family reunion or a meeting at work. By doing this, I remember God is with me everywhere. By pausing, breathing, and praying, I better focus on the moment and on God everywhere. This act keeps me calm and comforted and helps me react in a more loving way in different situations. I actually have a cool story about this here.

2. Use Your Senses to Focus on the People and the Place

Once you have entered each new environment, place, or building, focus on the people and the place you are in. In other words, use your senses to be present in the moment instead of thinking about all the things you have to do later. This is particularly important to me when I am with my children. Worrying about all that I have to do, doesn’t help me, and I miss out on beautiful moments with my kids when I worry about things I can’ do anything about in that moment.

You know, I recently caught myself worrying instead of being present. I was late for a meeting, and I was waiting on my daughter’s teacher to arrive so that I could leave for the meeting. While I was impatiently waiting, my 4 year old daughter was twirling and giggling. I suddenly realized that I was missing out on what was right in front of me. I couldn’t do anything about being late so why should I worry? At that moment, I stopped worrying and started twirling and giggling with my daughter. This moment of waiting ended up being a beautiful, special moment, all because I chose to live in the moment.

3. Practice Gratitude (There are Actual Exercises that Help!)

When we approach life with a grateful attitude and look for the good in life, the benefits are endless. According to “Time Special Edition Mindfulness: The New Science of Health and Happiness,” gratitude practices have been associated with improved kidney function, reduction in blood pressure, decreased stress hormones, increased energy levels, and increased reports of happiness. When we focus on the positive aspects of life, we tend to have more compassion and kindness for others; thus, the the circle of positivity continues. Now the person you showed kindness to may leave feeling more grateful and positive. Now they will be more likly to pass it on.

Gratitude Techniques:

Keep a gratitude journal is a helpful gratitude technique. Every night, write down what you were thankful for that day. If that is too much, simply writing down one thing you are grateful for every day. Again, according to “Time Special Edition Mindfulness: The New Science of Health and Happiness,” even this small exercise is also helpful.

Don’t want to even write? Try this… You remember that moment you pause and pray before entering a new place? While you are praying, remember to thank God for something as well.

4. Making Time for Quiet Time

We all need to rest. We need time to clear our thoughts and feel the weight of responsibility lifted for a little while. When I take time to just relax in God’s presence, it feels like a chance to completely be myself with the only One who loves me unconditionally. The problems of the world are gone for a moment. I am safe, free, and at peace. My favorite ways to experience quiet time with God is through prayer, reading: either the Bible or uplifting faith books, and through journaling, which brings me to mindfulness technique number five…

5. Mindful Living: Journaling

You can do three of these five techniques in one with journaling. You can practice gratitude, focus on God’s presence, and have quiet time all through mindful journaling. Keeping a journal has been a part of my life for years, but I truly saw the dfference in my outlook on life when I focused on God and gratitude as I wrote.

In my mindful journal I now include:

All the positve things about the day (what I am grateful for)
Written prayers or letters to God
Any lessons I learned through either my experiences, reading, or Bible studies
Any questions I have about life
God moment stories: These are stories about when I notice God working in my life. One cool thing about taking the time to mindfully notice God’s presence every day is that…you notice God’s presence regularly. Since I started mindfully taking the time to notice God in the present moment, I have had so many “goose-bump” God moments. These are those moments that I think, ‘oh I will rememner this,’ but as time passes, I find I can’t remember the details. Before including these God moment stories in my journal, I would remember something pretty cool happened, but I couldn’t bring the vague memory to the surface in my mind. By including these God moment stories in my journal, I solidify these events to my memory, and if I do forget, I can look at my journal and experience the awe and wonder all over again.

6. Mindful Eating

Okay, I know I have been talking about non-eating mindfulness techniques that help with emotional eating and weight loss, but mindful eating techniques are a part of living a mindful day, and mindful eating can definitely help with emotional eating and weight loss. Mindful eating does more than help with weight loss though. Mindful eating is also a time to pause from the day and focus on God, feel grateful, and enjoy a peaceful experience. When I mindfully focus on God’s presence while eating, I do much less overeating. In fact, I like to say a little prayer before I eat. As I pray, I think about 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says, “ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

My prayer before I eat goes something like this, “God, thank you so much for this food. Thank you for this time that I have to sit and enjoy the food you have given me. I want to eat for the glory of You, God.” After saying this prayer, I enjoy my food, and I enjoy my time eating in God’s presence. You can find more details about how to mindfully eat in my post, “How to Lose Weight Through Mindful Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide.”

And there you have it; six mindfulness exercises you can incorporate into your day. Adding these techniques to your daily life may just be what you were needed to reduce your emotional eating.

If you Liked these Mindfulness techniques then you may also like…

18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life

18 weeks to a healthier, happier, more purposeful life cover

18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life takes you on an inspiring and uplifting journey with dietitian, Lacy Ngo. Thanks to faith-based mindfulness and nutrition, Ngo went from being weight obsessed to feeling healthy and happy in her own body. Ironically, during the process, Ngo ended up, not only losing weight but also strengthening her walk with God. Now she feels healthier than ever AND she truly enjoys eating! She is able to feed her mind, body, and soul nourishing foods and feel good in her own body without weight obsessing. Get ready to get goose-bumps as you read this amazing true story.

*A Bonus Mindful Wellness Journal is Included!!!

what does mindful eating AND mindful LIVNG have to do with emotional eating, health, weight loss, and wellness

The Nourishing Meal Builder

The Nourishing Meal Builder and the included Nourishing Meal Builder Cards take the stress out of cooking nourishing, healing meals! Motivated by her son’s illnesses and her own symptoms, Lacy Ngo became passionate about providing an easy strategy that busy families could use to implement research-based nutrition into their daily lives.
After incorporating these strategies into her own life, Ngo was even more convinced that nutrition can change lives:
-Her mood improved
-Her seasonal allergies stopped showing up in the fall and spring
-Her energy improved
-Her acne went away
-Her family got sick less often
-Her son’s behavior and anxiety improved

What’s included in The Nourishing Meal Builder?
-Lists of nutrients and foods that boost mood; promote cognitive function, focus, attention, alertness, and memory; support the immune system; aid in weight loss; and reduce the risk of chronic diseases, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, joint pain, and even seasonal allergy symptoms
-A simple Meal Plan Checklist
-A faith-based mindfulness and mindful eating guide
-Printable Meal Builder cards

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook

The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook not only includes more mindful eating strategies and techniques, but this ebook also includes a detailed freezer meal plan and weight loss guide!

Meal planning, weight loss, freezer meals ebook — Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook

The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook has 22 Chapters full of helpful information and tips including:

The “What is Preventing You From Living a Healthier Life?” interactive quiz
Mindful Eating Guide
The Importance of Faith
A Complete Healthy Freezer Meal Plan: You will learn how to cook all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a whole month in ONE day. Don’t worry, I don’t just give you a bunch of recipes and tell you to cook them in one day. The ebook includes strategies and “Pro Tips” on HOW to efficiently cook your meals in one day.

The goals of cooking all of your meals in ONE Day are:

More daily free time,
A decreased grocery bill,
Healthier meals for the whole family,
Less daily stress, and
Weight Loss/Weight Maintenance

Learn more about the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook here.

How I Lost 55 Pounds Through Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating For Weight Loss: A Step-by-Step Guide

*If you would like to evaluate your own diet and determine which tips work best for you, please take the free DIY Diet self assessment and evaluation developed by a registered dieititian.

Healthy Eating Hacks for Vacations and Frequent Travelers

How Do I Still Lose Weight Even on Vacation?

Vacations are meant to be fun, but they also can feel hard. You want to indulge, but you also want cease the day without feeling too full to move . Fortunately, I have some tips for you that can help you enjoy your food and your vacation.

Healthy Eating Hacks for Vacations and Frequent Travelers

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

1. 1. Enjoy your food while on vacation! Focus on Mindfully and slowly savoring each bite. You tend to eat less when you slow down.
  2. Walk the beach instead of sunbathing.
  3. When traveling, bring healthy snacks instead of stopping at fast food places.
  4. Do the eating out tricks found in the “Eating Out post during your vacation.
  5. Find a balance. If you are eating at a restaurant you have been looking forward to all year, then go for it; get what you want even if it is a little less nourishing. At other times, choose foods that will help your body thrive while on vacation. Check out The Nourishing Meal Builder for a list of foods that help with mood, bloating, energy, and brain focus.
  6. Eat nourishing foods for breakfast and lunch and splurge a little at dinner.
  7. Take a walk around the terminal while you are waiting for your flight.
  8. Do crunches, push-ups, and stretches everyday in your hotel room.
  9. Plan fun physical activities for your vacation like hiking, swimming, canoeing, skiing, and walking while sightseeing.
  10. Stay at a hotel with a fitness room or purchase a travel gym like the BodyBoss Home Gym 2.0 – Full Portable Gym Home Workout Package + Set Of Resistance Bands – Collapsible Resistance Bar, Handles – Full Body Workouts For Home, Travel or Outside
  11. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

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How to Trick Your Body into Eating Less

Over 40 Snacking for Weight Loss Tips

How to Eat Out and Still Lose Weight: 30 Clever Hacks

Why I am Loving MealEnders For Help with Weight Loss

How to Mindfully Eat to Lose Weight: A Step by Step Guide

26 Clever Hacks for Eating Healthy While Eating Out

You do great at home, but when you go out to eat you seem to always overeat. Or maybe you eat out more than you eat at home so you need a plan that will work for your eating out lifestyle. If either of these scenarios sounds like you, then you may want to incorporate some of these tips. Pick and choose the tips that you think will work best for you.

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

When you order your food, ask for the waiter to bring a box WITH your meal. Before you begin to eat, put food into your box until your plate looks like a sensible amount of food.

When at a restaurant, ask the server to hold the bread, snack mix, or chips and salsa that might come before the meal.
After you eat out, have you ever said to yourself, “Whew, I’m stuffed. I’m not going to eat another bite,” but then you keep nibbling on your food because the waiter hasn’t taken the plate away? If this is sometimes you (it is totally sometimes me), then try popping in a MealEnders ender as soon as you feel full. MealEnders Signaling Lozenges–Conquer Cravings, Curb Snacking, Beat Overeating, and Master Portion Control–Helps You Stick to Any Diet Weight Loss Program, 25-count Pouch (Chocolate Mint) works in three ways. When you eat a Mealender, you first taste something sweet. Sweetness signals the end of a meal for many, so your mind will think that the meal is…well…ending. Second, sucking on a MealEnder takes longer than chewing so you will give your brain time to get the signal that you have eaten. Finally, the center of the MealEnder has a strong and refreshing mint flavor. The MealEnder’s strong refreshing mint taste cleanses your palette and stops those desires eat. Have you ever noticed that you don’t usually feel like eating after you brushed your teeth? Yeah, it’s just like that except tastier!
If you have a few favorite restaurants, research the menu BEFORE you go out to eat. Pick the best choices before you enter the restaurant.
Choose grilled or baked foods on the menu instead of fried.
Ask for the plate to be removed as soon as possible.
Choose turkey, chicken, or a plant-based protein as your source of protein.
Do you go out to eat because you don’t have time to cook? You could try another non-cooking approach. Perhaps try this. Stop spending money going out to eat or eating fast food and take out. Instead put the money towards nourishing pre-packaged healthy meals or frozen foods. You still don’t have to cook! Find the healthiest frozen dinners here.
Or perhaps you would like to cook at home, if you could learn how to create quick meals on the spot with the food you have in your house (no meal planning or prepping required). The Nourishing Meal Builder is perfect for you, if this is something you would love to learn how to do.
Share an entrée with a friend or family member.
Stop eating when you are full and focus on other pleasures like the setting, your family, and your friends.
Okay this is actually my #1 favorite tip (my #2 favorite is the “ask for the box with your meal” tip). Favorite tip: Mindful eating! Mindful eating techniques work well in almost any situation and with almost any weight loss barriers. You can use mindful eating techniques while snacking, eating out, at parties, and to help with portion control and emotional eating. To learn more about mindful eating check out the Mindful Eating Step-by-Step guide.
Ask for water. Refills on drinks can be a HUGE amount of sugar.
Choose the vegetable option as your side. I mean, antioxidants and fiber!!! Talk about foods that help your body thrive!

When eating fast food, choose options like smaller burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, salads, cups or bags of fresh fruit, and bottled water.
Try a main dish salad for lunch. Go light on the salad dressing or use light dressing. Do this when you eat out often.
Try a green salad or vegetable sides instead of fries.
Limit eating out to only once or twice a week.
At fast food restaurants, ask for the nutrition facts and look for the healthiest choice.
Ask the server to recommend the tastiest nourishing meals. You could do this without even looking at the menu.
Ask the waiter for appetizer or lunch portions (even at night) with extra side of veggies.
Ask the waiter to wrap half the meal before bringing it to the table or ask the waiter to bring a box when he brings the meal, and you wrap up half the meal before you start eating. (Okay, I kind of said this twice, but it’s so helpful!)
When eating out, ask your server to point out the low calorie options. Only look at those foods on the menu.
Ask for the kids menu or a child’s size portion. An example would be a child’s drink or child’s popcorn at the movie theater, or a child’s chicken plate.
Don’t feel like you have to clean your plate; Take the time to enjoy your meal. Slowly eat and notice when you are full. If you don’t finish your food, you get to eat yummy leftovers for the next day!
Make sure you have vegetables on your plate even when you eat out.
Lastly, when you eat out, get tomato-based foods instead of cream based foods.

Photo by freddie boy

If you would like to evaluate your own diet and determine which tips work best for you, please take the free Christian Wellness Self assessment and evaluation developed by a registered dietitian.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

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“So What Does a Dietitian’s Diet Look Like?”

Ahh lazy summer days…. Summer is the time for relaxing in the sun, exploring magical and exciting places and dining on delicious cuisine while on vacation. This summer has been full of all kinds of wonderful deliciousness. Yet half way through the summer I began to notice a few little changes. I was getting a little softer and my stomach was beginning to hang over my shorts a little more. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think we should stress over every imperfection, and we shouldn’t panick over every little weight fluctuation. But we should practice awareness and notice when we need to tweak our lifestyle a little before we go down an unhealthy hill. If we get to the bottom of that hill, the climb is going to be much harder than if we make the changes quickly.

I have often told my clients that when they notice they are begining to have unhealthy habits then it might be time to re-take the diet assessment and come up with solutions to our weight control weight loss barriers. And I have found re-assessing my own diet helpful as well. So I decided it was time to do just that. People often ask me “as a dietitian, what does your diet actually look like, and can you please explain in detail?” So here it is, my plan as well as how I developed my plan. I took my own assessment to develop my plan.

This is what this dietitian’s diet looks like.

So Step-by-Step here is what I did:

Step 1:

I took the “DIY Diet Assessment” located here. In other words, I answered the questions.

Step 2:

After taking the assessment, I discovered my major barriers.

(Below is a picure of a portion of my own assessment. I went through the assessment and circled all my issues. I jotted down my answer with a pencil. Excuse my sloppy handwriting.)

I noticed that my meals and routine varies from day to day. For some meals, I eat by myself. For some meals, I cook for others. Also, we have been known to frequent restaurants on busy nights. With such a varying routine, I needed some tips that would work in every scenario. Eating too much can be an issue in all of these situations so I looked at the “Portion Control” post, the “Calorie Counting” post, and the “Mindful Eating: Step by Step Guide” for possible solutions.

I also noticed that I nibble on my children’s uneaten food, especially in the evening. According to the assessment, if this is an issue, I should look at the “Snacking for Weight Loss” post.

Since I do cook at home, I wanted to find a few ideas on the “Grocery Shopping for Weight Loss,” the “Reducing Calories in the Foods I Already Eat” and the “Reducing the Calories AND FAT in the Foods I Already Eat” posts.

I also eat out regularly, so I clicked on the “Eating Out” link as well as the already selected “Portion Control,” “Calorie Counting,” and “Mindful Eating” posts.

I go to social events often so I needed to check out the “Social Gatherings Weight Loss Tips” post.

Finally, I noticed that emotional eating is not so much of an issue (except for being tired) BUT I could use a little motivation. So I planned on picking up a few tips from the “Motivating Weight Loss” post.

Step 3:

After I picked which articles would work best for my issues, I needed to narrow down the tips I was going to implement from each blog. This blog contains over 400 tips, tricks, or diets so I should be able to develop a detailed plan that specifically works for me.

(Below is a picture of the printed Portion Control post. After printing the posts which were most benficial for me according to the assessment, I circled the specific tips I wanted to implement).

And here it is…

Disclosure: This site may provide affiliate links. Since this is a post about my actual diet, the affiliate links I share are for products I actually use. (See full disclosure)

My Final Detailed Plan:

First and formost, focus on mindful eating. If I use the Mindful eating techniques, I can easily be satisfied without seconds even if I eat on a smaller plate. When I use Mindful Eating techniques, my 1600-1800 calorie range (which is my individual recommended calorie range) will feel like plenty of food. When I am eating out, mindful eating will also help me feel satisfied and full even after putting much of my food in a box (another tip I decided to implement). When I mindfully eat, I pause before eating to notice my food. I pray and thank God before taking my first sip and bite. When I pause I remind myself to be mindful of God’s presence. Eating becomes an act of worship for me. I remind myself I am taking care of God’s creation (me). I want to glorify God by eating slowly and nourishing the body God made. I remind myself of 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says, “so whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Wow! What a great reminder! 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 reminds me that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and that I should glorify God in my body. When I mindLESSly eat, I miss the opportunity to be in awareness of God’s presence. Finally, I take my first sip of drink and only then begin eating. I eat slowly and notice each bite. I put my fork down and completely chew BEFORE even reaching for my drink. I take a sip of drink, then pick up my fork and prepare my next bite. *Note that when you are use to larger portions, eating a healthier portion may seem small to you; however, take the time to pause before eating and look at your food. As you look, think about how long you are able to enjoy your food when you mindfully eat.When you do this, suddenly the portion looks plentiful.
I keep up with my calorie intake using my Fitbit app. My goal is 1600-1800 calories per day. I use the Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband, Teal, Small (US Version).
I eat breakfast AFTER getting my kids off to school. So first thing in the morning, I drink a shake to give me the energy to get the kids ready for school. I sit down and mindfully eat a healthy breakfast after taking the kids to school. Several healthy nutritious shakes are currently on the market. I am currently drinking Beachbody shakes called “Shakeology”. I get my shakes through the the official Beachbody coaching site of Heather Wilson. If you want more information click here. I am so tired in the morning that I just want to grab something nutritous and energizing before I can start my day. These shakes do this for me. They have even helped me cut down on my little vice, diet cokes. I usually don’t use shakes as a meal replacement. Many feel that they need to chew to feel satisfied; therefore, shakes as a replacement meal may not be ideal. This is true for me as well. I mostly drink a shake to get added nutrients and to hold me over until I can sit down and eat breakfast after my children are in school. The only time I drink a shake for a meal is when I have zero time eat. Drinking a nutrient-filled shake is better than skipping a meal.
Like many families, we tend to stick with around 20 of the of the same recipes and only occasionally eat something new. I made a list of these recipes as well as a list of the lunch and snack foods we tend to eat. Then, I made a master grocery list based on this. Following this grocery list when grocery shopping helps me avoid impulse buys.
When grocery shopping and cooking at home, I look for the lower calorie and whole-wheat version of foods.
I also try to purchase mostly healthy snack foods and avoid keeping unhealthy snacks in the house, especially our most tempting unhealthy snacks.
When cooking, I prepare no more than four food items. If you cook too many options, you often eat too much.
I keep gum in front of the snack foods in my pantry. When I feel the urge to mindlessy snack, I grab a low calorie piece of gum instead. This is such a small thing that has had a big impact for me.
I also often spend one day a month cooking and freezing dinners for the whole month. This helps prevent impulse eating out.
I try to drink water before my first bite at every meal. In fact, I will grab a glass of water before I put anything in my mouth to make sure I’m not thirsty instead of hungry. Pausing to drink water before eating also helps us eat mindfully.
I portion control at home by eating on a small plate. I avoid filling my plate with seconds unless I am physically (VS. emotionally) hungry. However, when I mindfully eat, I usually am satisfied without seconds.
When dining out, I usually ask for a box before I finish eating, and put enough food in the box to make the portions left on my plate appropriate. If we pause and truly look at our meals, we can usually tell if our plate looks overfilled or appropriate.
When eating a sandwich at home or out, I will remove one piece of bread, and eat an open face sandwich. This is just one way to reduce calories.
I do a 25-30 minute “Beachbody on Demand” exercise every morning, 6 days a week. Sometimes I will do extra classes at the gym when I can. This was a solution to one of my newer barriers. I love taking classes at my gyms, LA Fitness and B-Fit Studio; however, consistency was becoming an issue. With fitness classes, you have to be available at the exact time the class is scheduled. If I have a doctors appointment, kids camp, a meeting, or anything at the time of the class, then I can’t go. Or if the instructor occasionally has to cancel because, you know, life happens, then I miss my scheduled workout. To combat with this problem, I knew I needed something I could do anytime, but I also knew I am the type of person who needed someone to motivate me and push me. The instructors on beachbody do this for me. I still workout at the gym, but I don’t worry if I can’t get to the class. I count my beachbody video as my workout. The group classes at the gym is just extra and for fun. As I mentioned earlier, I order my Beachbody products through an official Beachbody coach, Heather Wilson. With Beachbody on Demand, I have access to all of those amazing Beachbody exercise programs that you see advertised on TV like P90X, Insanity, 21 Day Fix, Hip Hop Abs, Cize, and more. I have always wanted everyone of them! With Beachbody on Demand, I can get all of them for a year.
Group boards, forums, or challenge groups, are great sources of motivation. In groups, you can support and encourage each other. Health and Fitness Groups give you a place to cheer each other on, share your success stories and weaknesses. We also discuss ideas and recipes. For motivation, I regularly share my successes and challenges with a Beachbody coach and team. A Beachbody coach is really someone who facilitates the conversations and starts the challenge groups. You can also purchase Beachbody products through an official Beachbody coach. Click here for more information.
Remember I also get motivation and insiration by pausing before I eat to remember those awesome Bible verses from 1 Corinthians that I discussed earlier
Social gatherings, I drink a glass of water before eating or drinking anything else and I try to eat mindfully.

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Dietitian Confessions: How to Decrease Your Calories by 500 a Day!

How I ate decreased my Calories by 500 a Day and Still Ate the Same Amount of Food!

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The Confession

I have a gigantic confession to make. This is an embarrassing confession considering, you know, I went to 7 years of school to obtain a bachelors of science and masters in human nutrition. My confession is (drum roll please) I was eating close to 500 calories a day in condiments! My favorites are ranch and any restaurant’s signature sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I knew too many condiments could increase your calorie intake. I’m pretty sure I have included the tip, “limit or avoid condiments” on another post. Hold on let me check…

Yep, I included that particular tip right here aaaand here.

Did I realize what a difference my condiment affections were making in my life? Not even close!

The Ephiphany

My epiphany came one day after eating at Chick-Fil-A. I was trying to make “mostly” healthy choices by mindfully selecting the grilled chicken sandwich and small fries. (I love a little taste of Chick-fil-A waffle fries. Everything in moderation, right?) I even took off one half of the bun because an open face sandwich was plenty of bread to satisfy me. For added measure, I only ate half of my small fries.

I’m thinking I did pretty well until I started adding my food into my Fitbit Charge 2 (Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband, Plum, Large (US Version) . My calorie intake from actual food was fine. Then I started adding in my beloved “Chick-Fil-A sauce.” One packet of “Chick-Fil-A Sauce” is 140 calories, according to their website. If I had eating just one packet, my calorie range for lunch would have STILL been just fine… But I had (whisper voice here) three. That is 420 calories in condiments!!!

You may have heard people say I like ranch with my food. I am one of those people who likes food with my ranch. Notice the difference?

The Impact of Hidden Calories

When I learned this about myself, I was reminded of a client who drank sweet tea all day long. That client lost substantial weight by only switching from sweet tea to unsweet.

My condiment obsession produces similar math to the sweet tea reduction. To lose a pound, a person needs to decrease their calories by 3500 or burn an excess of 3500 calories. In other words, 3500 calories equals one pound. The best strategy is to increase your calorie burn through exercise AND decrease your calorie intake to equal about a 3500 calorie deficit a week. So to lose one pound a week, a person would need a calorie deficit of about 500 calories a day. Ummm… I basically could get that by omitting condiments from my diet! Heck, I could almost hit that deficit by omitting condiments from just one meal a day!

Making the Changes

So what did I learn from this epiphany?

I need to back off of those condiments! But you know we dietitians want you to get more specific with your goals. So I’m going to say, “My goal is to reduce my condiments to one serving per meal.”
Using an easy and accurate calorie tracking method has helped me see my big issues, especially the more hidden calories. I use the Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband, Plum, Large (US Version) to track my calorie intake and calorie burn, but others have found success with apps like Myfitnesspal.

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Tag: weight loss

What Does Mindful Living Have to Do With Emotional Eating?

First, What is Mindfulness?

Does the Bible Have Anything to Say About Mindfulness?

So How Does Mindful Living Help with Emotional Eating?

Daily Mindfulness Exercises: What does a Mindful Day Look Like?

1. Pause, Breath, and Pray Before Entering a New Place

2. Use Your Senses to Focus on the People and the Place

3. Practice Gratitude (There are Actual Exercises that Help!)

Gratitude Techniques:

4. Making Time for Quiet Time

5. Mindful Living: Journaling

In my mindful journal I now include:

6. Mindful Eating

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18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life

The Nourishing Meal Builder

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook

The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook has 22 Chapters full of helpful information and tips including:

The goals of cooking all of your meals in ONE Day are:

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“So What Does a Dietitian’s Diet Look Like?”

So Step-by-Step here is what I did:

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

My Final Detailed Plan:

Dietitian Confessions: How to Decrease Your Calories by 500 a Day!

How I ate decreased my Calories by 500 a Day and Still Ate the Same Amount of Food!

The Confession

The Ephiphany

The Impact of Hidden Calories

Making the Changes