learn how to eat

Some of the important points I’ve learned.

1. Plan the week’s meals and buy all ingredients.

I’m not naturally good at looking in the cupboard and making up something amazing. So spend a few minutes planning the meals. Particularly planning food for nights when you get in late or have little time. Quick, healthy no fuss food is essential to overcoming the call of the chippy. Having all the ingredients in the kitchen ready for me, makes it easy.

2. Keep building a repertoire of super quick healthy meals.

These have to be meals that are really, really, REALLY tasty – and at under 20mins that’s a tough ask. Especially if I want them to be really healthy too. But it’s not impossible. I’m learning that. Over the years to come I’ll have hundreds of recipes but for now I just have to build them up a few at a time.

3. Make it easy to acquire.

Some of the quick recipes – all the ingredients are available within 30 meters from the house. Don’t forget this – especially when the week’s planning hasn’t been possible. It’s easy to feel that a healthy meal is difficult.

4. Cook large portions

When you cook – cook BIG. Then you have tomorrow’s dinner and possibly food for the day after too. So simple but very effective.

5. Paul McKenna rules.

All good common sense rules for eating and maintaining a healthy diet. Particularly the rule “When you are hungry EAT” – ‘When you’re not DON’T”. Listening to your body is important.

These are some of the things that I’ve learned work for me. The goal was to learn how to eat. I’ve done this – now it’s up to me to put it into practice…

Combined with the PM eating system I’ve very nearly cracked it. It’s all part of this year’s motto – take responsibility.
I’ve started pursuing my 10 quick healthy meals again. cooking at least once per day and rather enjoying it. I’m finding ideas about pulses and fresh vegetable jumping into my head. That’s never happened before.
For snacks I’m beginning to automatically consider nuts or fruit – not crisps. I think it’s beginning to take root. I would like to be more mindful of the PM system when I eat each time – but the goal is to learn how. I think there will soon be a point where I have to admit I’ve done the learning and it’s up to me to put it into practice. I’m rather proud of myself for this.

I’m finally capabale of eating in front of people.

This goal was always going to be long term. It’s been on my list for over a year and a half and it’s intreting to look back and see the diffrent things I’ve tried.

Firstly the Abel & Cole box – great to begin with, but my cooking habits didn’t change enough to make that a good long term solution and too much of the box goes to waste each month now.

The detox was a good way of focusing on what goes into my body and proving that I could go without unhealthy habits for a month if I concentrated on it. However it was quite dull and as a daily eating plan not what I’d enjoy – although lots of good lessons and recipies learned during it that I’ve kept using long after the month of detox.

Now I’m learning an eating system from Paul Mckenna. There are 4 basic rules:

When you’re hungry – eat
Eat what you want – not what you think you should
Eat conciously – not in an endorphin trance like usual
When you’re full stop – leaving whatever is on the plate

They seem simple, and promote a very healthy attitude to food and why we eat. There are also lots of exersises that help you overcome cravings connected with emotional eating (when you eat for comfort or mood change instead of hunger).

Much trickier to do than I expected. I do feel it’s the biggest step forward that I’ve taken towards this goal so far. If I can begin to use these rules properly in daily life I think this goal will be complete – it may take a few months to realy make them habit however. Particularly when I eat around other people it’s hard to remember to concentrate on the food I’m eating.

I don’t eat in front of people.

and I can’t let someone pay for food for me.

...or order things in front of them.

Idk. It makes me feel fat.

...then I go home and eat ice cream.

I completed the 28 day detox and felt good for it. I certainly consider that I learned lots about how to eat. More than ever before. The real trouble is putting the new knowledge into practice.

This week has been a mixture of healthy eating and retox. If I can sustain a better balance between the two I’ll concider this goal acheived.

I’ll be most of the way to completing this goal. Of course it’s one thing to learn how to eat and another to put what I’ve learnt into practice, but I feel I’ve learnt so much in this past two weeks already. The change in my diet has been so radical on this detox diet that I’ve had to rethink every aspect of what I eat and how I prepare it. I’m really keen to keep what I’ve learnt going in every day life.

Today I’ll complete my first two weeks in detox. I’m begining to see little benifits to my skin and general body shape but I have to admit to a little disapointment. the changes have been so radical and taken such a lot of time that I’d hoped to be an unstoppable jumping bean of health and vitality by now.

Apparently that can happen in week 3 – we shall see.

Knowing that I’m giving both my body and brain all the help it can get is very satisfying though and I’m really keen to see what I’ll feel like at the end of the month.

On Friday I begin a month of pursuing this goal in earnest.
This week I’m already trying to spend time cooking and eating a little more sensibly – I’m excited but also a little nervous at the scale of the challenge.

My first step towards this goal has been to order from Abel and Cole an organic produce supplier that delivers in my area.
It’s ideal on several levels.

I) defeats my laziness as the heavy box of goodies gets delivered to my door

II) saves me time wandering around the shelves in a super market

III) everything is in season – and I have no clue about what is in season at different times of the year – this will teach me.

IV) All the produce is from as local a supplier as possible and not shipped from the other side of the planet

V) Having scoffed some of my first delivery I can say that the food tastes fabulous!

VI) Because I just get a mix of fruit and veg that is in season – I can’t fall into the habit of buying the same stuff over and over again – I’ll have to learn new recipies.

I may add more to this list as I think of it but so far it’s been highly successful.