Mindful Eating – Day 4

I continued this mindful eating process for a total of 10 days – taking photos of my food and then mindfully eating eat bite. After 10 days I experienced a lightness and increase in energy. I lost a couple pounds, and became aware of how I interact with food. I became aware of how much sugar affects me – how my energy peaks after eating foods containing high levels of sugar or carbohydrates and then quickly drops off to the point where I just want to sleep. Most importantly I noticed how much I don’t like preparing food. For me, my bad eating habits are in part due to my lack of interest in spending time preparing food. I am very driven in many areas of my life, but when it comes to food preparation I am fairly lazy. When I’m hungry, I want to eat right then and there. As a habit, I don’t pay very much attention to my body’s hunger signals either and I don’t plan well in advance for responding to these signals.  I usually wait until I”m light headed or my stomach is growling before I start looking for something to eat – then I eat whatever is convenient. For me, I need to make sure I have easy to prepare, quickly available, healthy food to eat on hand.  This was a wonderful practice for me and I hope you will give it a try yourself.

Mindful Eating – Day 3

Went to Snuffy’s today with Danny. Danny shared a bit of his malt with me and the first few bites were like delicious little explosions of flavor. I completely enjoyed those first three bites and then the pleasure diminished. I was glad I didn’t have my own malt because the first few bites were so good that I would have eaten/drank the entire malt – but I wouldn’t have enjoyed the last half of the malt and I would have felt sick.

Mindful Eating – Day 2

Lisa’s Mindful Eating Blog

Inspired by one of my students, Michelle Hovey Swerin, who wrote her master’s project on mindful eating, and my friend Selene Vega, PhD, who has created a beautiful healthy eating food blog, I’ve decided to create a mindful eating blog of my own. My initial intention is to simply notice what I am eating, when I am eating and why I am eating without trying to change my eating habits. My goal is to mindfully create healthy and satisfying eating habits, and to slowly and naturally return to a healthy weight. To accomplish this goal, each day I will photograph my food before eating it. I will slowly and mindfully eat my food, and I will also notice how I feel after I eat and how my mind, body and spirit respond to different foods. Below are the photos from my first day of mindful eating. My primary insight from day one is that the chocolate chip cookie was not very tasty and I felt sick after eating it – a slight head ache and stomach ache. I also felt a bit foggy. It was definitely not a satisfying food. It felt more like a drug. Why would I want that in my body? Interesting question.

Good News!

With all the negative news bombarding us daily it’s no wonder that many of us are feeling a collective sense of unease and for some even despair. Both spiritual wisdom and scientific research confirm the fact that what we think about on a consistent basis creates our reality. If we look to traditional American media for a realistic gauge of the state of the world and her people we would certainly have many reasons to be discouraged, but the fact is that more good is happening in this world than bad right now. Yes, our economy is struggling, but people are overcoming adversity, reaching out to help each other, and continuing to do the good work they have always done. I was just introduced to a wonderful website by a good friend of mine that i want to share with you. This site is called the Good News Network. All the news stories on this site are inspiring, encouraging and reflective of the resiliency, altruism, intelligence, wisdom and social awareness of humankind. I encourage you to take a look at the site, and even to subscribe to their newsletter if you feel inspired to do so. We all need a solid dose of good news on a regular basis and this is a great place to start. The web link is: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

It’s Time for an Energy Boost!

We live in a highly driven, overscheduled, acheivement oriented culture that expects great productivity from us but provides very little support for us to recharge our energy banks. You simply won’t hear your boss say, “Hey, you have been working so hard this morning, why don’t you go take a 20 minute nap, or go ahead and spend 30 minutes in meditation, I’ll see you when you are done.” And yet, studies have shown that when we are overworked and low on energy our problem solving skills diminish, our mood drops and our immune system becomes compromised. Every one of you are working hard to accomplish important life goals. These goals take a great deal of your energy and compete with all the other responsibilities you have. In order to have the stamina to complete these intentions, while at the same time to move through life with more ease, vitality and clarity, you need to manage your energy effectively. Energy can be derived from many different sources including: exercise, rest, proper nutrition, meditation, relationships and connection to nature. The key is to find the source(s) of energy that will provide you with the most stress relief and energetic renewal. For me, the practice of yoga has infused my life with more physical vitality as well as spiritual energy. I practice yoga 4 times per week, and I find that on the day’s I go to my yoga class I have increased mental clarity and actually accomplish more than I do on the days I don’t go to yoga–even though I supposedly have more time to work. Many of us feel we don’t have time to exercise, to cook nutritious meals, or to meditate, but the truth is if we don’t take regular breaks we won’t have enough energy to accomplish our greater callings. So, my inquiry for you today is to take a few moments to reflect on the following question: What can I do on a regular basis that will help refill my energy tanks? Then I encourage you to start right now by taking the first step toward engaging in one regular energy renewing activity! Let me know how it goes.

Yoga in St. John’s

Hello Everyone,
I am currently attending a yoga retreat on St. John’s (in the U.S. Virgin Islands). This is truly a magnificant place! The beaches here are breathtaking! I am practicing living in the present moment, and opening to grace. This is an opportunity for me to slow down, to reflect and to listen. Already, being here surrounded by such amazing natural beauty, and being supported and guided by my wise and masterful yoga instructor, Amber, and by the friendship and joyful spirits of my fellow yogins, I feel my heart swell with gratitude for the gifts of life, love, friendship and family. I encourage you to take your own inner retreat – to step away from the noise and demands of your life – and to breath deeply and to open to the love that always surrounds you and supports you.

Welcome to Dr. Lisa’s Blog

Welcome to the Authentic Life blog! This is an open forum where I will be posting coaching tips, insights and advice and where you are invited to share your thoughts, challenges, wisdom and accomplishments with each other (and with me). Please feel free to participate in the ongoing dialogue. I look forward to many fascinating, mutually supportive and enlightening conversations. Warmly, Dr. Lisa