Slow Down!

In the summer last year Christine Lynch (aka The Holisticguru) posted on Twitter a few things about the “Slow Down Diet” by Marc David.Now, for those of you who know me, you’ll know that I don’t do diets.  I have, however, experimented with eating.  I have experimented with cutting out carbs – it helped me to lose weight pre-wedding, but I couldn’t sustain that way of eating as I enjoy pasta too much.  I have done a detox or two – super hard, but very worth it, I just need to get the timing right and be in the right frame of mind.  I have completely altered my way of eating to only consume vegetables or things from the water or that fly – that didn’t last as I just like meat too much.  From each experiment I have taken away some new food awareness, but no real lasting changes.So I read the posts about the “Slow Down Diet” with some interest.Rather than a diet per se, Marc David offers readers a programme to build awareness about the manner in which we relate to food – how we eat, why we eat, and what impact this has on our ability to use food and metabolise properly.I bought his book in the summer, and have decided that I am going to start 2010 by reading and going through the 8 week programme.  A new year’s experiment.  An experiment, that, unlike my other experiments with how I eat, I hope will bring positive and lasting changes to my relationship with food.Week one is pretty simple: Take time and breathe…Yep.  That’s it.  Breathe during meals.  Deep breathing before hand to relax and prepare the body for digestion and food.  Double the amount of time you spend while eating.  Just eat at meals (no blackberry, no email).  Focus on breathing and slowing down.Simple?  Not really.  I already find myself struggling!  I’m so used to eating at my desk and reading blogs over my lunchtime salad…  It is only day one.  The breathing helped – it stopped me from inhaling my lunch.  So did going outside to get a breath of fresh air before lunchtime – it put me in the “lunch break” frame of mind.  And I made a point of sitting at my kitchen table for breakfast – no more counter perching, even for a cup of coffee…I plan to read the chapter each night this week before I go to bed, too.  Just to remind myself of what I should be doing.  And will take 8 weeks of only a chapter a week to ensure I stay true to the plan (and that I don’t lose interest by jumping ahead!)…I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.And thanks ‘guru for the tip!

4 responses to “Slow Down!”

  1. Hi Donna,You know, I find myself all too often rushing through meals.  Not because I have to, it’s just become habit.  So, I love this concept of focused breathing (not that I think it will be easy, though).  Okay, I’m trying this starting tonight!

  2. Hi Lance, thanks for joining me. I am not sure how successful I will be – I am so used to eating breakfast with my blackberry and lunch with my blogs.  But I think the point is to be me aware about how we are eating.  Also to realise that if we are not relaxed we don’t give our metabolism a chance to function as optimally as it could. Good luck and I will keep posted on Mondays (even if just an NB to a post) the weekly focal point!

  3. Christine knows her stuff. Listening to her tips has totally changed the way I shop for groceries and make all my meals. Hope it goes well!

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