Are you mindful?
Mindfulness has been the buzz all year. I have studied it as it relates to my work as a Time Management Coach. Mindfulness will help you keep focus and understand where your time is going. Combining these allows you to accomplish more each day. Mindfulness in other aspects of one’s life wasn’t as clear to me, especially when they talk about how it can help you sleep. Really?! I recently bought a whole magazine devoted to mindfulness. There is an article on stress management, one on sleep, work environments, and even one on food/eating. Back in January, I started a weight loss journey. Actually, I started my journey in earnest. My previous attempts to lose weight, like a few years ago when I set out to lose 25 lbs. for my 25th high school reunion was a bust. And like every dieter on the planet, this time would be different and this time would work. “But how?” I asked myself. I studied all my information on the latest and greatest diets (I had done the research for the HS reunion goal). They all seemed to prescribe a “for the rest of my life food plan” or a “never eat this again” food plan or a “count your calories” food plan or my favorite, eat specific foods at specific meals (i.e. the Scarsdale diet which lists one lunch as pineapple and cottage cheese). None of these would do simply because I live for white chocolate, love my Caffix (coffee substitute) and eat Peanut Butter straight from the jar. I needed a plan that looked at the whole body— the physical, the spiritual, and the emotional. Golly geez, I found one. NOOM. Noom stressed eating right with their red, yellow, and green light, oops food, system. They give you articles to read on the psychological side of your eating (Hello, emotional eaters!) and talk about being mindful when you eat so you fully experience the meal— the smell, taste, and how it makes you feel. In reading the articles, logging my food and exercise in the app, I am keeping track of my progress and learning a lot. With Noom, I get a personal coach and a support group. Wow, all this for the low price of feeling better in my clothes. This brings me back to mindfulness. Being mindful around eating lead me to say a prayer before most meals (I have to remember to say it) and to focus on the food. No more reading while I eat lunch or dong a crossword during my afternoon snack. The result, I reached my 25 lbs. goal a few years later than I wanted. Oh well! And I shaved a few inches off my waste. Yes, Ma’am! Now for the creme de la creme, I wore a strapless bra for the first time ever, since my thinner body (and medically necessary breast reduction a few years back) could look good in it and the top I had one warranted it. Well, if being mindful about food can do this, and mindful about time can help you be more productive, I wonder what mindful about sleep will do for me? Considering the sleep issues I have had of late, I’m willing to give it a go. I’ll keep you posted.