Take Two Minutes to Lose Weight

Healthy eating can please both your palate and your eyeTake two minutes toward losing weight?  Ridiculous you may say, but taking small steps consistently can lead to bigger changes.  Any one of these tips will start you down the path to becoming slim.  Combining them on an ongoing consistent basis becomes a more powerful catalyst toward change.  Most of the following steps only take a few minutes. Each focus is on one aspect of preparing food, analyzing our emotions, or serving and eating our food.  You can try just one and see how it makes a difference in your life or try several depending on the amount of time and energy your schedule allows.  Experiment and discover what works best for you and your lifestyle.  Feedback is welcome so we can all learn from each other's experience.

1. Switch to a smaller plate.  We used to eat of 9 inch plates and now some plates measure up to 12 inches.  If you do math, you will find that just increasing the plate radius by 3 inches, almost doubles the space on your place from  63.6 square inches to 113 square inches.  (Can you tell I used to be an engineer?)  Smaller plates make a huge difference when it comes to portion control.
2.  When tempted to eat between meals, take two minutes to think about what caused you to want to eat.  I noticed that when I was reading a novel and I could see the main character getting into a stressful spot, it would affect me too and I would want to take a break from the book to eat a snack.  I started to apply that insight to other instances in my life and noticed when I was in conflict with a coworker, bored or frustrated or dealing with my finances, I would have more cravings.  Paying attention is the first step in curbing emotional eating.
3. Keep a food and emotional diary.  When having a craving, take a snapshot of the snack and label the photo with the emotion that inspired the craving.  Review the foods and emotions you've eaten at the end of the day.  Studies have found that tracking our food leads to greater awareness of what we actually eat.
4.  Drink a non-sweetened (natural or artificial) beverage before eating a snack or meal.  Sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger so have a drink first and see if the hunger goes away.  As we age, we have a more difficult time distinguishing between the two.  The acupuncture points for thirst and hunger are right next to each other on the ear where it attaches to the front of the head.  Their proximity is another indication of how closely they are related.  If you have difficulty processing your food or a weak digestive system, wait a while before eating as the liquid will dilute your stomach acids.
5.  This tip takes longer than two minutes.  The remembering part is quick but the execution is 7 minutes long.  Cravings generally last 7 minutes so if you can sweat out the 7 minutes without caving in, the craving will usually pass.
6. My friend, Donna Stellhorn, passed this tip along to me.  Take two minutes to change your password to a positive affirmation like, IwillenjoyHealthyf00d, or Iamhappytoeatf00dsthataregood4me, or achievingthinness1biteatatime.  Every time you type your password in, you will be accentuating the positive energy creating positive change.
7. Show gratitude for the plants and animals that have died so that we might have the wonderful food on our plate.  This slows us down and allows us to appreciate the bounty before us.  It also puts us in a good mood so we are not filling emotionally empty spaces with food because when we are emotionally full, we need less food.
8. Enjoy your food while you are eating it.  Put the book down, turn the computer or television off and just concentrate solely on the food.  Notice the taste, texture and sensation you have while eating your food.  Chew each bite thoroughly.  Study after study shows that eating slower allows our brain to catch up with our stomach and recognize when we are full.

The great part of blogging about all these tips is reminding myself of them so I can practice what I preach.  If you'd like more information, click here.

Two Minutes Toward Change

In the time that it takes to brush your teeth, you can take steps to a new way of living.  Try actually timing yourself while brushing your teeth (which by the way, dentists recommend doing for two minutes) or doing any of these suggestions to find out how long two minutes actually is.  It is amazing how different two minutes can  feel depending upon the activity - when doing Pilates and holding the plank position, two minutes feels unending but when meditating or composing the next day’s menu, it can feel like no time at all has passed.

The idea behind these suggestions is to take baby steps toward changing your lifestyle.  Two minutes is such a small increment of time to try something that can have a resounding effect upon your life.  Breaking a large task or goal or change into something very small is infinitely more manageable and less daunting than continually looking at a very large goal.  I personally avoided losing my extra 30 pounds because it was such an overwhelming task that I couldn’t get started.  It wasn’t until I made 2 two minute changes - 1)in the amount of exercise I was getting then gradually increased that time and 2) planning my menu for the next day that I was able to start my ball rolling.

A two minute trial period for something new is easy. If the change you make works for you, try another or try the change for a longer period of time.  If your schedule becomes ‘too busy’, don’t just cut the new changes out, consider doing them for a shorter time as a place holder or instead cut down on the amount of television watched or novels read by that same amount of time you need.  If you do watch television, some changes can be done during commercial breaks.  Meditation changes can be tough while the television is on but holding a plank or doing core exercise work can easily be accomplished.

We are continually changing and this is one way to initiate positive conscious change rather than simply always reacting to your environment.  Take charge and make the changes you desire rather than take a victim mentality that life is out of my control.  Yes, somethings happen that we do not desire and we cannot always control what life serves up, but we can control how we react to what happens to us.  You can start regaining your control utilizing manageable bits of time - just two minutes.

Some of my suggestions are designed to heighten your awareness of your environment thru your senses.  Some of the changes deal with spirituality and an increase in your connection to the present here and now moment. Some are practical organizational suggestions and some are health related improvements.  Glance over the thru the blog to see which suggestion(s) resonate with you and start there.  Or leave the starting place to chance by asking the question of the universe “Which would benefit me most to start first?” and just open a page and start with that one.

Consider keeping a journal so you can jot down a few word about the activity and how it made you feel or what you thought of it.  Feel free to journal at length but if you keep it short, you may be more likely to keep the practice up. The idea here is to keep track of what you've activity you've tried for how long and what changes occur from repeating it without adding alot of time to your already overburdened schedule.

Remember that it takes 28 days to make a new habit.  Some of these suggestions will be something that you’ll only need to try once while others will be helpful to repeat. Repetition is the key to building a new habit or way of life you’d like to keep.  Someone once told me, “Perfect practice makes perfect permanence”. Have patience with yourself.  Forgive yourself when you screw up and get back to your new habit as soon as possible.  Persistence is the key in making changes to your life.   

From living in today’s fast food society, we often want instant results.  Occasionally, you’ll get those breakthroughs but mostly you’ll need time to work your changes. The list of things you want to accomplish may be daunting at first and you may feel the need to make lots of changes in your life really fast.  Just remember that life is a process to be enjoyed.  Take time to savor and celebrate the slow and steady progress of improvement.  Most of all, have fun with these suggestions.

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