7 Insights into stopping late afternoon snacking and grazing
by Fiona Robertson
Hello I am Fiona Robertson, and I am here with the sole purpose to help you to lose weight and keep it off. But there is not only one way to lose weight. Contrary to popular belief it is not enough to reduce your food and up your movement. If it were we would all be in the bodies we wanted a long time ago, and the diet industry would be long forgotten.
There are many, many ways to skin a cat, as they say and I know all too well that the late night snacking and afternoon grazing really sucks. But we are stuck in a time warp and the same routine is happening over and over again, like ground hog day.
When you find yourself unsatisfied after your lunch and your stomach is rumbling and you feel every part of your body is empty, then the 3 O’clock bell goes off in your head your ready to snack again. But there is nothing healthy you can get your hands on or that you fancy. This is when it is the carbohydrates, the chips, biscuits, cakes, crisps, breads, crackers and cheese that call you.
Conveniently they are easier to get hold of from vending machines, and every shop and petrol station you come across has a huge section that looks like a treat.
Then you find yourself later making the dinner and grazing while you cook, maybe with a glass of – be kind to me – reward wine. After dinner you find yourself called to do some more snacking and repeated visits to the kitchen and fridge. All of those tendencies can be avoided in some very cool and new ways.
When you have this handled the mornings will be more like ‘rise and shine’ than waking a heavy slug, that is stuck to the sheets and not wanting to move and face her day…
I struggled for years and could not identify why I was gaining weight when I had a healthy lifestyle and my eating was pretty much under control. I was aware that sometimes I fell off the wagon, but surely that was not enough for the expanding waist band.
So when I uncovered the element that was missing for me, this huge piece of the jigsaw puzzle that I needed to re-new and finally reconnect with my body. I began to see clearly my tendency to snack, and identified the reasons behind the empty craving feelings I had that seemed were never to be really fulfilled.
Then and only then could I begin to steadily lose the weight and keep it off, I felt euphoric, I felt invincible. Especially, as I was able to shed [2 Stone, 28 pounds in 2 months]. And, more importantly, I kept it all off!
And, because I’m tired of seeing very capable, switched on women battling with their weight, just like I did, I wanted to help out with these insights and 7 TIPS. I’m going to be sharing a crucial element with you, and helping you to consciously create the body that you’ve always wanted, from the inside out.
It is my aim that you will feel more vitality and feel truly ALIVE in your body as well as enjoy how good it feels to be in your body that you will love and appreciate again
7 Insights into stopping late afternoon snacking and grazing
° You will start by seeing that a change of mind set is required. Your evenings are of great importance to you and a way to set you up for the next day, so to make it a time to really nurture yourself see it as an essential part of your whole day.
What do you need to do to nurture your mind?
What do you need to do to nurture your body?
What do you need to do to nurture your spirit?
° Your level of stress and your ability to feel truly relaxed plays a huge part in our body being able to cope and function well.
Stress eats away any nutrients that we have, stress weakens our immune system and sends chemicals rushing around our sensitive bodies changing our hormones and making our adrenals exhausted.
Many of us don’t even know what our levels of stress are.
- Remember a situation when you were really relaxed, a safe place when your face muscles could even relax, the eyes in the sockets and the tongue in the mouth. Where was that and can you use that as a feeling of being relaxed on your gauge as your NO 1.
Can you sense how the body feels in this relaxed Place?
- Remember a situation that was really stressful, can you tell what happens in your body when you feel this amount of stress. Use this as a gauge of your stress to NO 10. How does your body differ from the relaxed level No1?
When you know how stressed you are its easier to change your routine and get away from habits that are killing your energy and making you store more fat.
° Take care of your long term emotions. One certain way that will have you diving for the crisps and chocolate every time, is if you feel over emotional, and that could be from angry at your boss, work collegues, disappointment, frustration, being rejected, ignored, etc etc
These situations fester and cause huge amounts of emotional stress in the body, just as much as if we were being chased by a lion in the wild.
We have to find a way around these situations so that we can cope rather than reach for the food as a compensation.
Write out every situation that is still fully charged before you get home or find yourself in that Danger Zone.
This is a spring clean on your feelings, Everything that pissed you off, every word you can remember, then find a way to reply to that person or situation in a way that you can be heard.
You may need to do this several times or even every day, until you have the ability to express what it is that needs to be said and heard. But it will come and you will be heard once all the anger is out of the situation.
° Find ways that you can connect with other like minded quality people. People who you love to spend time with who fill you up and make you feel at ease and excited to share conversation and thoughts. People who lift you up and support you. These may or may not be your own family, only you know who lifts you up and make you feel alive and not depleted and drained as a consequence of being with them.
Connecting with others you love not only fills any boredom or loneliness but is an easy way to come down from a challenging day.
° Movement is one of the best ways to release stress from the day and coping through the days challenges.
Do you have and exercise you do that you love or has any sort of movement escaped you as you became busier and busier with your career.
What movement did you do as a child that you loved the nature of the ambience the challenge the team spirit, the feeling of running and jumping, and see how you can develop that in any way back into your world. Many take up running but as you know when you see a runner who loves it it’s a-quite different from seeing a runner who is running because they need to lose weight.
So search for the feeling that has you excited to feel your body again. Maybe Yoga will get you to a point where you feel supple enough or strong enough to love in other ways, or swimming or dance. The important thing is to do something you love the movement of.
° Make these actions consistent like a ritual that nourishes you, and has you filling up your tanks of happy and nourished feelings in the days and weeks and months that pass, and the urge to snack because you are running on empty of self nourishment will disappear.
Other actions that I recommend is making a list of 50 things that make you feel Pampered. And see what you can weave into your day.
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I bet you know a lot of this information but never do it. Well that’s why you are running on empty and are starving on a soul level. Your body is screaming for attention and you are ignoring her and stuffing her full of foods that numb the pain.
° Make your meals really fulfilling. All too often we eat what is left over or in the fridge rather than choose what we would be excited to eat. We just grab anything, eat it quickly and then don’t even feel like we’ve eaten or that we had any pleasure from the experience. So we are left empty and starving. The messages come from the body to feed her and nourish her.
Know what you most want to eat. To discover that perfect nourishing meal that has the nutrition you need. Its best to get yourself quiet and feel at ease and ask yourself: What is it I most want to experience right now?
Is it warm, cold, salty, sweet, spicy, pungent, Do I want a dry crunchy texture or a soft smooth moist texture?
What images come to mind? What can I taste and smell that I really feel drawn to?
This is an excellent exercise to tune into you body and discover what she needs, wants and is missing the most. Your mind will want to feed you very differently to how your body needs to be fed. But if your body is empty (undernourished) she will still be empty even if you feed her all the healthy stuff you have.
Rather than giving her the food that your mind says is healthy, and has the levels of vitamins and minerals required for an average woman of your age. (boring) Know that your body is a living feeling being, and needs different levels of nourishment that your head will never understand.
My body cried out week after week for boiled eggs and toasty soldiers for her Saturday mornings. I was in a rough place and did not listen to her as I was off bread, and eggs and butter. Yet one week I relented and said to my body Ok I wont ignore you any longer what is it in this food you need. I ate it, I ate slowly and enjoyed the experience thoroughly. I was transported back to my family kitchen table as a teenager, and got the support in the feelings that I needed most. I felt heard and seen and loved. That was the nourishment I needed, not the food itself. I will always listen to my body from that day on. It was utter relief to capture that moment for what I needed and missed lost.
Your body is intelligent and is communicating with you all the time, from the illnesses you get to the foods you crave. What is she telling you?
I find it so wonderful when I see ladies who can get to know their bodies and listen to what she wants, rather than the quick fill and go habits she was used to, she becomes a wise woman who understands that there is no 1 diet for everybody, and she can fulfill her needs on the many levels needed and truly start to enjoy her food as nourishment, and fuel and leave the rest alone.
What is your story and attachments to food? I would LOVE to hear them.
The more I hear and get involved with these stories, the clearer the picture becomes for us all, and the more I am able to offer better and more precise solutions that will work for you and to the hundred and thousands of woman who are battling with food and their bodies.
I need to hear your story. Find out your triggers and guide you into a freedom with food.
For more individual support fire me off a message to Fiona@fionarobertson.co and join my face book group ‘The Ultimate Body Connection’.
I’m happy to offer you a 20 minute “Conscious Triggers to Weight Gain” as a makeover session, where I’m going to be sharing what actually triggers you and why you have that in place and it is stopping and blocking your weight loss possibilities.
In this 20 minute call you’ll get:
- To discover what is blocking and stopping your weight loss
- Uncover your NO 1 Trigger to overeating
- Realize what your key missing nutrient is that your body is screaming for.
Contact me on Fiona@fionarobertson.co and Ill set up a time and date for us to connect.
Your Healthier Danger Zone Snack Swap Ideas.
Okay we can first make a list, (see below ) but we also have to have these items prepared and know if they work for us.
Try taking a selection of items from the list and always have at hand. Also pack up a small box with a real meal a salad with quinoa with an avocado and a great dressing. Make sure the meal is not rushed and that you savoir it well, Eat slowly and purposefully, all meals taken and not noticed may as well not be eaten unless you want to over eat and store more fat.
Make sure you are in a relaxed place to start with a deep breath in and relax and bless your food with something like” Bless the food and may it bless my body”
Make sure your digestion is not blocked by anger, stress or any other emotion if you eat in stress you will not digest the food but store all the fat contents.
Remember all white foods with no fiber turn rapidly into sugars.
Healthy Danger Zone Snack Swap List:
Nuts,
Seeds,
Trail mix,
Dried fruit,
Cereal bars,
Fruit,
Granola,
Yogurt,
Vegetables like celery and carrots, Smoothy,
Protein shake,
Dried Flax Crackers,
Dehydrated fruits and veggies,
Raw Chocolates,
Nut Butters,
Avocado,
Dates.
Left Overs: ie. Quinoa and a salad,
This list is far from an exhausted list of possibilities, and certainly not all there is available, as everyone will have a different preference and that may change on a daily basis.
I wish you an easy journey into a healthy and balanced relationship with your food.
For more individual support fire me off a message to Fiona@fionarobertson.co and join my face book group ‘The Ultimate Body Connection’.
Warmest wishes from S W France
Fiona x
Fiona Robertson: Runs Detox and Healthy Eating Retreats in S W France and coaches her ladies online into having better and longer lasting, stronger relationship with food.
www.fionarobertson.co
