One of the TV shows that I quite like watching is Secret Eaters.
Most weight loss TV shows are bloody awful. I used to be a fan of the Biggest Loser until I read some behind the scenes interviews with ex-participants. Other shows just annoy the hell out of me…marginalising the fat, shaming people, or asking fat people to try and achieve the impossible – perpetuating the myth of extreme weight loss…it’s not real-life nor realistic!
Secret Eaters, for me, balances the interesting fly on the wall compulsive viewing with the science stuff. So I like it.
Last season was great – I managed to catch all of the episodes and I particularly liked the weight loss psychology pieces. One of which related to mindful eating – or attentive eating. It highlighted the fact that distraction whilst eating can be a nightmare.
Now, I have a lovely dining table – in fact I have two lovely dining tables…both of which are in pieces! One is under my stairs cupboard and the other was taken down recently to accommodate a sofa…as I am a nightmare and haven’t managed to get rid of my old one yet. So my lounge is a little chaotic to say the least.
Yet I cannot use this as an excuse for my TV dinner habit. I make my dinner and I eat in front of the TV. I used to binge in front of the TV too. I would eat whilst watching TV and I would then look at the aftermath…the empty crisp wrappers, empty ice cream tub, empty biscuit wrappers…there was a large pile of empty wrappers whilst I dealt with a large pile of fat.
So I love the Secret Eater psychology pieces. The mindful eating episode demonstrated that people who were distracted whilst eating ate 126 calories more…they were watching TV. If you did this every evening, it equates to 45,990 calories per year…or nearly a stone of weight if you were consuming these calories in addition to your daily requirement.
Quite simply, not paying attention to what you eat can add unwanted pounds…slowly, but surely!
One of my challenges during this journey has been to become more mindful and attentive when it comes to my food. I have previously described the ‘pause’ that I used to help overcome my binging. Part of this pause was learning to become more mindful of my food. If I still wanted a certain type of food – chocolate for example – after having paused, I would take that chocolate and bloody well enjoy. There would be no hiding in the kitchen, or sitting in front of the TV stuffing down a family bar. I would take my chocolate, unwrap it slowly, notice how good it looked, maybe even having a sniff!, break it into small pieces, and then I would slowly savour each piece.
The result of this eating ceremony and concentration?
I enjoyed the chocolate – it didn’t feel ‘bad’ to be eating it, and I didn’t feel the usual binge guilt. I found that my binging not only lessened in frequency, but also in intensity…the volume of food became less and the spread of food became less. If I wanted chocolate then I would eat chocolate. I would not eat chocolate, a tub of ice cream, and a giant packet of crisps washed down with sausage rolls after thinking ‘sod it!’
Choosing to eat rather than feeling compelled to eat is a wonderful feeling. It’s freeing. It removes the guilt. It makes eating a pleasure again.
I am not for one moment suggesting that becoming more mindful and attentive to your eating will solve your problem overnight…but it was certainly a contributing factor to me quitting my binging. I cannot remember the exact date that I gave up binging…but I know it’s been over eighteen months now – and it feels good!
That’s me finished for the night now I think…mindful and attentive eating…it’s worth a try! 
I have had a great day – spoken to a wonderful lady, managed to get some fresh air on a beautiful day, caught up with my niece and nephew…it’s been lovely. Oh – I watched a great film last night, ‘Dallas Buyers Club’. It’s fab…a great film, but I got a bit sad in places about how homophobic people can be and how much stigma was attached to the aids virus back in the early 80s. I am sure that responses to this virus are still not what they should be…but as I have little experience in this field I cannot really comment…I just felt sad at the way in which people were treated. It really got me thinking. I hope that you have had a great weekend…I am going to try and get a good sleep tonight for a busy week ahead!
Breakfast: Bananas.
Lunch: Late cooked breakfast (2 x HEB).
Dinner: Cheese and apple-topped cumin and chipotle pork loin with roasted beetroot and Mediterranean veggies (2 x HEA).
Snacks: Cherries, 0% Total Greek yogurt, and cocoa Nakd bars (13 syns).
A lovely food day! I quickly grabbed a couple of bananas before heading to see the horses and head to the shops. Then I cooked Mr WLB and I a nice brunch – smoked bacon, Linda Mc sausages, wilted spinach, eggs, mushrooms, red onion, and cherry tomatoes. Dinner was lovely – a bit of a creation. I had some pork loins and decided to add some cumin and crushed chipotle chillies to it before cooking. Then I added my HEA cheese and some fresh sliced apple…so I didn’t have to syn it as I hadn’t cooked it! I roasted some fresh beetroot, and some courgette, red onion, and peppers too. And my snack was my cheats Black Forest gateaux.
Exercise: Nothing much…a nice relaxed day!
Thank you for reading,
Weight Loss Bitch xxx
WeightLossBitch
On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!
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