Stuck in a diet cycle? Bring on the new!

If you are stuck in the diet cycle but afraid to try mindful eating, perhaps it is time to let go of your old habits and commit to trying something new! After all, the old way isn’t working, is it?

Let me share a story about the difficulties and rewards of giving up the old and discovering a new way…

A number of years ago, I injured my right shoulder and eventually had a rotator cuff repair. The knew the recovery after this surgery would be rough, so I tried everything I could for a year, hoping to avoid it. (This was my dog Rookie and me in “down dog” with my shoulder taped up six months before surgery.)

After the surgery, my right arm was completely immobilized for 6 weeks. I even had to switch my computer mouse to my left hand!

Before reading on, take a few moments to switch your mouse to your non-dominant hand. Try typing an email, starting a new document, and surfing the internet. What did you notice?

Mindless habits are difficult to break

At first, I was frustrated by my awkward attempts to right click when a left click was needed and vice versa. I had to look up what the right and left mouse buttons do; using them with my right hand had become so habitual that I no longer had awareness. I even wrote a note about which button was which to refer to when I became frustrated.

My confused brain craved the familiar mindless habits that previously made mousing effortless. My techy son suggested I reverse the buttons, but I resisted at first, believing it would be too difficult.

Rediscovering beginner’s mind

Finally, realizing the futility and cost of sticking with the old way, I chose to let go of the familiar and approach this task with openness. I was immediately rewarded with a gentle reminder about the power of beginner’s mind. At once, I become more aware, curious, and connected to what I was doing. As a result, my focus was sharper and my energy level higher.

I playfully experimented with my two options: simply switch hands, or switch hands and which button does what. I eventually decided that the shortest path to competence was to switch hands and reverse the mouse buttons (thanks techy son). (If you’re interested, on a PC it is Control Panel > Hardware > Mouse > Switch primary and secondary buttons).

My brain amazed me with its ability to convert right vs. left clicking to index vs. third finger clicking. It quickly began to feel less awkward and more natural.

Mindful eating: Your new beginning

The lovely lessons I relearned through that process are relevant to those who are ready to give up yo-yo dieting and learn to manage their eating mindfully.

Mindful eating requires us to let go of old restrictive eating rules and approach each eating experience with curiosity and openness. By allowing yourself to let go of what you know or think you know about managing your eating, you infuse your entire body, mind, and spirit with awareness and energy.

Just as I encountered a lot of resistance in the beginning, understandably some people cling to their familiar, mindless, habitual eat-repent-repeat cycle despite the inevitable pain they know it causes.

How mindfulness brings a fresh approach to eating

Mindfulness brings a freshness, a newness to eating, physical activity, and self-care.

• Rather than approaching each meal as a caloric math problem to be solved, allow yourself to be curious about what you want and need to eat.
• Instead of dutifully and mindlessly eating fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, mindfully savor fruits, vegetables, lean proteins… and whatever else you love – without the predictable guilt and penance required of restrictive dieting.
• Rather than punishing exercise, rediscover the simple joy of moving your body.
• As opposed to measuring your progress on a scale and postponing your life until you achieve some arbitrary goal, tune into the growing vitality and vibrancy of truly living in the body you have right now.
• Instead of using food to soothe and distract yourself from life’s inevitable challenges, recognize your cravings as a sign that there is a need that you can meet with your expanding repertoire of self-care skills.

Often people discover that  hope you’ll approach both your mundane tasks and your major life decisions with beginner’s mind!

If you are ready for a fresh approach to live the vibrant life you crave, take a look at how you can learn to eat mindfully!

Updated from a previously published version.

Enjoyed this article? Here are three more to help you:

Diet culture: An outdated paradigm whose time is up!

How to Rewire Your Brain to Change Your Habits

Deprivation: A Hidden Trigger for Eating