The best part of awakening up... is borsch in my soup cup!

Mindful eating trackers: I have another book on mindful eating coming out in Sept 2012, "Reinventing the Meal." I am looking for early Amazon reviews for this book. If you are interested in receiving a free advanced copy of the book for a review, send me an email with your address (through the "contact me" page on this site).

Slow-food at a fast-food place, that's the idea, Rachel!

Mindfulness at McDonalds. Small fries are enough. They always have been. Salt, grease, hot, not too many. Perfect.

Deep, I think you are describing not a punishment, but a form of self-care, a kind of mood-congruent episode of emotional eating, with food serving as a kind of illustration to what's going on deep within. Very creative. I wish you well.

Thank you, Dr. Somov, for your encouraging remarks and for this resource.

Today: the absurdity of an unnecessary post-workout smoothie! Sat down to really taste it and realized it wasn't sweet enough because I had diluted it with too much milk. How long have I been doing this? How long have I been adding extra banana chunks or pomegranate juice to too much milk, trying to get the flavor right, and ending up with twice as much as I need? Much too long, surely. I'm not hungry anyway, so my bland concoction is sitting in the fridge until it can be more relevant.

Viewing a given food or opportunity to eat as absurd or irrelevant is quite new to me.

feeling depressed and heavy in the dark night hours, i seem to punish myself with heavy, thick, dense food: solid, large meatballs--no identifable end (like my problem), sitting in my stomach like rocks. Meatball surrounded by a thick bun like the daily shield i must erect to the outside world, problems buried deep within, never emerging from my safe, protective shield.

tri-umphant salad! Dark green baby spinach like velvet on the tongue, crumbly cubes of creamy white feta, tingling and sharp, bold bright beetroot couscous tricks with it's mellow flavour. over too soon, but really, just right!

Wow, Rachel! Huge congrats! What a precedent: self-care in moderation!
Thank you for sharing!.

Mindful emotional eating last night, for the first time ever. 2 frozen balls of chocolate chip cookie dough. Cold, to counteract my hot tears. Vanilla, the bitterness of dark chocolate, the simple sweetness of milk chocolate, the crunch of sugar granules between my teeth. Eyes closed, my tongue spreading the flour and butter across the roof of my mouth intently. 2 unbaked cookies lasted longer than I thought possible, and no regret the morning after.

After a decade or more of binge eating, I almost can't believe this.

As much as I think the mindful eating tracker is a fabulous opportunity to share the journey with other pelegrinos (pilgrims) I am going to sign off for awhile to focus on the lessons before me instead of the lessons in my rear view mirror. I'll be back though. I've really enjoyed the opportunity tremendously. This site is great especially because we live in a world where people really don't spend much time connecting.

ME having nice side effect on other facets of my life. Am starting a whole new trend of ML (mindful living). Now I seem to have a hunger to slow my life down a bit (am always going at Mach 2) and really absorb everything around me and break this information down into it's individual parts...whether it be all the parts that make up a beautiful song or the simple auditory, visual, and other cues before me as I walk from my car to the worksite...

my head hungers more than my stomach so I'm feeding it what it needs - knowledge and challenge instead of food.
(it's not easy yet, but I have hopes it will get easier)

Interesting thing about this ME thing - now I stop just to notice what I am doing regarding eating. This morning I was eating a banana while driving to work. Stopped for just a second before my first bite and marveled at what a perfectly packaged fruit this is - totally convenient...small package of goodness from thousands of miles away...

A breakfast of sunshine: water with lemon. The surprising lemon on the tongue with the cold water brings pure awareness.

Breakfast today of smooth, creamy, sweet, cold, flavorful yogurt along with the contrast of bold, strong, almost bitter, very hot coffee.

A coffee moment well caught!

having my first coffee of the day, caught it at the optimum temperature, hot enough to feel hot, but not so much that I can't taste it. so many days I miss that moment, but this morning was a good coffee morning!

Great precedent, Sof!

Today, after a mindless eating episode that made me realize I have to change the way I live, I took a little step towards mindful eating. And I started by drinking plain water mindfully. Water has never tasted so good after my daily exercises at the gym!

Welcome, Sof. I look forward to reading your "mindfuls."
be well.

I've just read the book "Eating the Moment". Loved it. I hope it'll lead me to finally live my relationship with food in a more philosophical and relaxed way. Reading your comments makes me want to learn how to truly savour food, and enjoy it without guilt. Thanks!

white tea tastes green, synesthesia of taste

carrots and hummus: a crispy, creamy match made in heaven!

a plate of soycutash: united colors of benetton, no less

Yesterday watched a fight and an ice hockey game broke out - that the big joke about ice hockey. My team, the Pittsburgh Penguins won! Yeah! Another great opportunity for mindless eating but I didn't participate!

Shout-out to Manchester: "my tongue shouted to me to pay attention!"
Great line, manchestergirl!

eating a slice of pizza mindlessly, my tongue shouted to me to pay attention! Can still remember the piquant chillis, sweet tomatoes and the dough forming a soft and comforting backdrop to the whole performance.

Today, after 3 years of instruction, I soloed. I didn't eat all day, stIressed because I knew my instructor would insist that I was ready to solo. He did. I soloed - it was a sweet victory, especially after my mother's death 3 years ago and the loss of 3 brothers and a sister. I went out this evening and had a celebratory victory dinner. Had a wonderful vegetable curry with a fabulous apple/pineapple chutney. Interesting how eating, and not eating, is part of so many facets of life. Eating to celebrate life, victory, death...anyhow, it was a terrific day.

Interesting - the mechanics of soloing did not bother me...it was the fear of flying, and possibly dying, that scared me and kept me from soloing.

Wow, KS. Pure presence. Thanks for sharing.

Outside: snow, cloudy, cold. Inside: warm, cinnamin tea, quiet. Between the two: a pane of glass. Two moments? Nope one.

Welcome, Deep. Wonderfully captured "mindful," thanks for sharing.

Cold Coffee: surprising on the lips like the morning cold shower, stubbornly sits in the mouth invading taste buds and seeping through teeth, leaving one last splash before almost numbing the throat; uncomfortable and strangely enjoyable

brushing off the toast crumbs with my palm off the edge of the table, i ask myself: what "mindful" can i share about this breakfast?
this one

Hi Susan S, thanks so much for the empathy. It does help to know that this experience is not unique to me! I especially appreciated your "self care" comment, it is a very timely reminder that I am worth looking after.
I have let my awareness drift around this issue since writing my comment and have realised that my desire to care for others often gets out of balance and I suffer for this. Caring for others fulfills a basic element of my nature and I thoroughly enjoy doing it, however I am learning that I need to keep adjusting the focus of care in order to not let it get out of balance and find myself running round in ragged circles again.
I will spend some time meditating on what's causing the imbalance and if I get any major breakthroughs I will share.
in the meantime I wish you and all readers here a blessed and peaceful day.
xx

manchestergirl - I was reading your comments about the frustration of finding time to invest in yourself - to be alone, to meditate, to study - I call all of that self care. I surely do relate to those comments. It seems like a struggle every day because it seems that I end up spending so much time taking care of others in my work and in my private life so there is little time left for me. Sometimes being mindful just seems to add to the struggle and the frustration - because now I am so much more aware of things. But in the end - I feel it is better to be mindful than not - even with the added frustration, etc.

Congrats on your progress. Those old habits do have a good bit of historical momentum. Consider reviewing "mindful social eating" section of the Eating the Moment book.

It is easier for me at the moment, to be mindful when I am not eating. I am aware of thoughts, cravings, habits etc and I can work with them to ensure that I'm not eating out of head or heart hunger. However, as I rarely eat alone I am struggling to focus on my food.
Finding time to be alone, to meditate, to study, to simply invest in myself however I want is proving difficult.
The ability to effect change is within me, yet so is the resistance to change.
I hoped this process would be a gentle drift forward and instead it feels like I've stirred up muddy waters and I'm not really going anywhere.
Having said that, I am still doing better now that I am aware of the struggles than I was when I denied their existence.

my satisfaction (from this coconut water) is "born in brazil"
you don't have to be in brazil to be in brazil: mindfulness is the cheapest form of travel

sure, sk, email me directly (through contact feature of this site).

Mindless to mindful with a splash... of coffee that is. One spill and suddenly I am completely focused.

Pavel,
On my journey to mindful living, I am trying to meditate more. Can you give any suggestions on meditations or techniques you prefer? I really would be interested what you think.

a glass of water starts a day of mindful eating flow

Morning all!
I'm beginning to realise that the world around me is not geared up for mindful eating. Whilst I am trying to be still and quiet and have a new relationship with my self and my food I am surrounded by speed and noise and hustle. The norm seems to be "throw a sandwish down as quick as you can and get back to work!" People laugh when they see me looking at and smelling my food and then really savouring the sensation of eating it.
No matter, mindfulness is for life, not just for Christmas!
GB to all!

It's 1:30 in the morning. I am tired, upset and very frustrated from working on a case that is perfectly thankless and for which I am not getting renumeration, validation or anything else! Good opportunity to eat a good portion of the box of gourmet chocolates I was given over the holidays! But I won't do that. I will find an alternative way to distract myself/comfort myself, etc. Instead - I will do some meditation, then curl up in bed with a favorite book. Those chocolates are calling my name though - like the Sirens of Greek mythology!

Try This: Fill Up on Your Body to Empty Your Mind (from Reinventing the Meal, Somov, Fall 2012)

To relax, de-stress, and prime yourself for a mindful eating moment, first empty your mind. Make room for presence. Prime your hunger for an experience, and then fill up on the moment. Let your mind be as empty as a bowl before you fill it with soup. Mindful, relaxed eating is eating with an empty mind, so empty your mind before you fill your stomach. But how?
The best way to empty your mind is to fill up on your body. What does that mean? It means focusing on whatever currently is. What does that mean? It means using your senses; that is, sensing, not thinking. That’s why I encourage you to start every meal with a first course of body-focused relaxation. And because breath is body, breath-focused relaxation is body-focused relaxation. Focus on the body of your breath to empty your mind. Understand that mindfulness is not fullness of mind, but emptiness of mind, a state of mind that’s equal to a state of body. As you notice your breath, recognize that there is nothing but this moment. There is no past; there is no future. There is only this moment, and that’s enough. Whatever was no longer is. Whatever might be isn’t yet. But here you are, your living, breathing body. This body is the very ground of your existence from which your mind flowers. Notice your breath to center yourself. There is no better reality check than the sensation of air passing in and out of your nose.

(from Reinventing the Meal, Somov, New Harbinger Publications, Fall 2012)

Welcome, KellyW!

Began mindful eating last year. Looking forward to gaining additional knowledge and practice.

Welcome manchester girl! I think you will enjoy having company for the journey of mindful eating. I have found the ME tracker to be immensely entertaining, informative and helpful. It fascinates me to no end what a difference it can make to have like minded folks on the journey. Keep writing - sometimes it doesn't seek like it makes a difference - but it does - for you and for others!