Being Mindful

Yesterday I listened to episode 74 of Reasonable Doubts Podcast. It was about Mindfulness as it relates to meditation and psychotherapy. Even though the podcast comes at things from a sceptical point of view, they generally try to present topics in a balanced, evidence-based way. They looked at a meta-study of meditation studies which found that basically, it's extremely difficult to prove that meditation and/or mindfulness have any benefit. To quote one of the presenters, meditation is "only slightly more effective than taking a nap." One of the main problems is that studies tend to be conducted by people who already believe in the benefits of meditation and just want to prove it. So often their methodology isn't that rigorous. (This is actually a problem in many fields. A recent episode of The Psych Files talked about a similar problem with studies done on the benefits of having pets.) Once all those studies are taken out, what's left doesn't hold up too well to scientific scrutiny. So the reputation of meditation/mindfulness relies on personal testimonials. One of the presenters had meditated regularly (both mindfulness meditation and other types), and was able to give a personal point of view on it. He said it had helped him see things more clearly and objectively, stay calmer in stressful situations, and feel generally more relaxed.
The other situation that was discussed in relation to mindfulness was as part of psychotherapy. It's the first step in cognitive behavioural therapy (being aware of and monitoring/observing thoughts and feelings), but it's also a therapy on its own. CBT not only employs mindfulness, but then the patient goes on to challenge and overcome unwanted thoughts and perceptions. CBT has been proven to be effective. The presenters compared mindfulness (as a standalone therapy) and CBT. They didn't say it outright, but I would have thought CBT would be superior to pure mindfulness during which the unwanted thoughts are not challenged, only monitored.
The presenters usually don't make a judgement or pronouncement on their topic (e.g. meditation is 'good' or 'bad'), they just present the facts and let the listener decide for themselves. I don't really have any conclusions myself and don't know why I decided to write about this today. I just thought it was interesting.

In Other News ...

Things are going along in a fairly standard way so far this week. I've managed to drink at least 1x 1 lt bottle of water each day; had a bit more trouble trying to increase it to x2 though. It takes me all day at work to get through 1 lt; if I drink too much at once, I feel too full and bloated. I thought about drinking another 1 lt after work when I get home, but I don't want to risk drinking too much water too close to bedtime, in case I have to get up in the middle of the night. It's a dilemma!
But anyway, these are First World Problems...

Really looking forward to my holiday, which is just over a week away now. I can't believe the time has gone so fast. I suppose at some point I should decide if I'm going to 'be good' during my holiday, or just 'let myself go' and not worry about what I eat. Surely there must be some happy medium? Boy has said a couple of times, "don't worry, we're going to be doing lots of walking!" But I wonder about that. Unlike all our previous holidays, we're hiring a car, and it might be too tempting to use it as much as possible and just drive everywhere. I guess we'll see!

Failure

Well, I'm a complete and utter failure. As mentioned in my last post - I didn't have time to get a frozen yoghurt this week, so instead I decided that, if I could get at least 80% on my tracker and stick to my exercise schedule for the rest of this week, I could buy myself a treat from Etsy. Well, I couldn't even stick to it for one day! I failed on the first day! There were tim tams at work, so I had a couple instead of fruit for morning tea, fail no. 1. Then for afternoon tea I had a couple more, fail no. 2. I'd been having terrible cravings for meat all day, so at the supermarket I bought a can of lite Spam and ended up eating most of it, fail no. 3. Then I was feeling tired and it was hot and muggy, so I didn't do my weights routine as per my schedule, fail no. 4. Then after dinner, when Boy handed me some chocolate, I just took it and ate it without thinking about it, fail no. 5.
Weighed myself this morning, and I'd actually put on weight. Complete and utter fail! I'm so disappointed in myself. Caught sight of myself in the mirror in the elevator this morning and nearly burst into tears. What can I do to fix this situation? In order to have any possible chance whatsoever of redeeming myself, I have to:

1. Have no dessert for the rest of the week.
2. No work biscuits at all.
3. Drink 2 litres water every day.
4. I feel like there should be more, but I can't think of anything.

I'm unwilling to make any blanket statements about exercise - even though I have tomorrow off work (so I'll be away from the biscuits!), I'll probably be busy all day. And busy most of Sunday, if not all day. So far this week, I've just felt so tired and lethargic. But on the way to work this morning, had to walk the long way round the building, and was just starting to enjoy the walk and enjoy the feeling of my legs moving ... and then I had to go into work and sit on my butt for the next 4 hours. Just as I was starting to feel good about myself and my body for the first time in weeks, I had to go straight inside and sit still in the stuffy office air until I feel all sleepy instead. So unbelievably frustrating. But what's the point complaining, really - millions of people around the world are in the same boat. You just have to find a way to solve the problem, that suits your situation.

For example: so many sources say: you have to exercise in the morning! Well, I can't. I start work too early. My body and brain don't start working until later in the morning. (Thankfully the first few tasks I have to do in the morning are pretty mindless, otherwise I'd be in trouble!) But I was listening to Motivation to Move podcast a little while back, and he had some advice on the matter - you should tailor your routines to fit your own life and situation. Otherwise it won't happen! It doesn't matter what time of day you exercise, as long as you do it. Then, once you have the healthy habits established and you're starting to see results, you can start to tweak things from there. I was quite relieved when I heard that. I get so disheartened when I hear sources saying, "you have to do this, and you have to do that", and it's literally impossible to fit it into my life (not even just making excuses, it's logistically impossible). So it's good to hear someone say, "it's OK". And I guess that's the thing really, isn't it. No matter how many mistakes you've made in the past, you can always try again. Try something different. As long as you're doing something.

Podcast Inspiration

Last night on the way home, I was listening to Inside-Out Weight Loss podcast. It was such a good episode, I listened to it again this morning. Renee talked about your 'Inner Mentor'. Imagine the you that you want to be: slim, confident, happy. This is the future you. Imagine having a conversation with her. She is there with you 24 hours a day. She's there to guide you, to understand you, to show you that it can be done. This image and the way she described it was so powerful to me, I had tears in my eyes.

She also talked about the very issue I've been confused about lately - accepting yourself the way you are, yet wanting to lose weight at the same time. When you're happy and content with yourself, only then will you do the things you need to do, to achieve your goals. If you're using food for comfort, replacing that with something else will be so much more effortless if you're already content.

Anyway, she says it so much better than me! I've been listening to the podcast on and off for the last couple of years. I've never looked at her website before, but apparently she has a course of downloadable workbooks for addressing the psychological barriers to weight loss. A part of me has always wanted to give it a go, but another part of me has held back. The part of me that's scared of change, that wants comfort, wants things the way they are, even if I'm not really happy. Lately though, that first part of me's been coming to the front more and more. The part that's bally-well fed up with everything and wants change! The part that wants to try Colour Blocking and new hairdos, and buys dresses on the internet even though they might not fit. The part that really believes I can do the Couch to 5km one day if I really persist. The part that wants to be skilled and competent and be able to fulfill expectations and have everything I really want and need. And deserve! That's why I subscribed to the job alerts email, I suppose, even though everything about applying for jobs terrifies me.

Anyway, the crux of it is - I want to give it a go. Starting now! Well, starting at lunchtime, anyway.

Friday Ramblings

I've been doing pretty well so far this week. Ate healthy or semi-healthy for almost every meal - even a couple of desserts! Exercised every day. Was very tired the first few days, but still managed it. The Motivation to Move podcast says, in answer to the question 'how often should I exercise?' - that 4 times a week is enough. More than that is a waste of time as your body will get too acclimatised to it and it won't be very effective. That's fine, really good. I've already exercised 4 times this week, but the problem is, I can't just leave it there. Too slack! I feel like I always need to be trying my best, and having 3 whole days off, with no exercise, well, that's just lazy!
I tell you what, though - I'm feeling it in my thighs. Just a little soreness. So perhaps I'll switch to doing something other than walking, my weights routine maybe. Haven't done that for a couple of weeks.

At Lunchtime ...

I'm so hungry today! I can't wait for lunch! A chicken and lettuce sandwich and a mandarine. Mmm! I'm finding that if I have a nice big mandarine at lunch, it's so sweet that my cravings in the afternoon aren't as bad. Gotta make sure I buy some more for next week.

This post was transferred from calorieking.com.au