Are You Talking Yourself Out Of Losing Weight?

How to you like to get your news?

What is your preferred style of news feed?  Do you prefer it to be like Chinese food (or Twitter), in bite-sized chunks? Or perhaps you prefer something meatier?  Some people like to learn new things by being be spoon fed the details.

I was surprised when it was pointed out to me how many of the phrases and sayings we use in everyday conversation were related to food, eating and digestion.

When it comes to taking in or new information and learning new things, the parallels between language and eating behavior are shocking - once you start to notice them!

How do you like to take in information?

You may perhaps skim over it as quickly as possible, or do you chew it over, and thoroughly digest the details for your greater understanding.

Are you particularly picky about the source of your information? And how does that relate to what you choose to eat?

Some things, of course, are hard to swallow and you may find certain details quite unpalatable. Most of us get very annoyed when people try to force their ideas down our throats.

You may even feel like you've got too much on your plate. Then, of course, you may also feel as if you've bitten off more than you can chew. You may have been better cherry picking from the smorgasbord of available weight loss programs.

What do you hunger for?

And it goes further. Some people are hungry for love. If no love is available, then they love chocolate, or cheese, or cake, so they'll eat that instead.  It fills a void.

Is this food for thought?

It was for me. I realized that I hunger for stimulation or entertainment.  I hate being bored.  I jump from one thing to the next consuming whatever web page, news story or magazine I find as quickly as possible. Often bookmarking it so I can read the details later and then quickly move on - as if I'm going to miss something if I slow down.

I was shocked to see that I eat in very much the same way.  I gobble my food down at breakneck speed.  I notice the flavor of the first couple of mouthfuls, but after that I hardly notice the flavors and textures of the different foods on the plate.  Even when the meal is fabulous, I still finish before everyone else at the table. As if it's a race - and yes I am competitive.

I watched the latest crime drama from the BBC last weekend.  All that violence left a rather nasty taste and didn't enjoy it. Regardless, I watched it to the bitter end.  I should have stopped and switched it off and done something more fun.

But I didn't. Just the same as when I eat a meal. Once I dig in, I almost always carry on eating until my plate is clean - and why wouldn't I, since I'm not properly paying attention to what I'm eating or how it's making me feel.

I can happily watch a 24-hour news channel looping over and over the stories, grazing on news like I  graze on cookies, eating them mindlessly and not actually noticing what I've eaten until the packet is empty.

What are your relationships like?

I may have fed myself the line that this is OK.  But it's not.  The news for me is that I need to slow down and pay attention to what I'm eating and how it makes me feel.  Appreciate the nuances of smell and flavor of each dish.  Enjoy some home cooking and allow my body to properly digest each meal before stuffing more food down.  I need to take Sarah Hallberg's advice and stop eating food I don't like or eating when I'm not hungry.

I'm curious to see if that'll change my choice of words too...

How does this relate to you?  How do you take in, process and digest information?  And how does this relate to your relationship with food and eating?  Let me know in the comments below.


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