Author: Amanda Hassall

There is so much buzz about mindfulness and mindful eating lately… and most of it for good reasons! Eating mindfully requires attention but is so very rewarding both in terms of weight loss, and appreciation of your food. As you connect with yourself you can completely transform how you relate to food, binge eating drops away and you are left with a clearer, happier mind and body.

When it comes to mindful eating here are 5 easy to follow and practical guidelines to make it super simple. I have worked with these guidelines for years and initially I just used the first four (created by Paul McKenna). However number five really makes it all come together in a beautiful way.

Ready to get mindful?

1) Eat when you are hungry

This sounds simple but often is a difficult one for people to grasp. I often see clients who will never let themselves be hungry. The uncomfortable feeling of even slight hunger is not tolerable and so they never let themselves get there.

When you are following this mindful guideline you are cultivating awareness of your body. “Am I really hungry?” “Am I mistaking thirst for hunger?” are great questions to ask as you grow your awareness. If your answer is “I am hungry” then EAT!

2) Eat whatever you want

Whhaaaaat? I hear you say! There are no forbidden foods when it comes to mindful eating, you can eat whatever makes you happy. This is because we are seeking satisfaction and a greater understanding of what that means to you. When you eat for your pleasure you change the dynamics of your relationship with food for the better.

SO, you can eat whatever you want, as long as you follow the other mindful eating guidelines.

3) Eat with awareness, slowly and ENJOY every mouthful

This rule seems easy…. eat SLOWLY and really taste and enjoy your food. The textures, flavours, juices, where it hits your tongue, the crunch, take a note of all of those aspects of your food.

When you eat slowly, your stomach has enough time to send a signal to the brain and the rest of your body that you are “full” and to stop eating. Slow eating allows you to appreciate all of the flavours and textures of the food, helping you decide what foods you really enjoy and which you can pass up. Putting down your utensils between bites is a practical way of slowing how you eat down.

4) STOP when you are full

Knowing when you are truly “full” may be difficult for many people. We often grow up as card carrying members of the ‘clean your plate club’. Perhaps you remember being cajoled (or forced) into eating the whole plate of food? Or being told ‘three more mouthfuls’ when you pushed that plate away feeling full. Maybe it is “saving room for dessert” that gets you in trouble! When you listen to your body’s messages we can give up this mindset and only eat until that full feeling occurs. Then regardless of what is left on your plate, push it away.

The more you cultivate awareness and connection with your body the more it will reward you. So start listening!

5) Cultivate gratitude towards your food

When you have an attitude of gratitude towards food you very quickly transform what food means to you. Sometimes we use food as a way of pushing down or away uncomfortable feelings and thoughts. Sometimes food is a guilty pleasure or a temptation we cannot escape. Gratitude transforms these emotional connections and clears it up in ways I never thought possible….

One of the ways I cultivate gratitude is simply saying thank you in my head as I take each bite.

Another way is to affirm your gratitude by saying before a meal “This is the most loving thing I can do for myself right now and I am thankful.”

The practice of gratitude add so much… it’s like an extra spice.

Enjoy our mindful eating.

Until next time!

X Amanda

P.S. Coaching sessions for weight loss and mindful eating include hypnotherapy, NLP, mindfulness, trauma release, breath-work and more. For more details or to make a booking please send me a message here.

 

 

 

 

This is a diary entry of mine from a little while back. It’s raw and vulnerable but I felt the need to share it today.

Emotional eating happens, not because we don’t know the right way to eat or exercise…but because we are protecting ourselves from the pain underneath. Part of why I love to work with emotional eating is rooted in my own journey from eating to stuff down emotions  to a healthier approach that is still evolving to this day. If you want to chat about what is happening with you and your eating, please reach out. <3

To the part of me that wants to eat.

I know you are protecting me from being seen. The fat that lines my face and body sends the real me into anonymity. You keep me safe.

To the part of me that wants to eat.

I wish that you could see the pain you are causing me. That there is little difference between the judgement of others because I am fat to their judgement of the actual me. BECAUSE NEITHER OF THOSE JUDGEMENTS MATTER. I am me whether you pile me with weight or whether you let me be healthy.

To the part of me that wants to eat.

In the protecting of me you are the continuation of the trauma that created you. You keep me there endlessly. And it is time you stepped back.

To the part of me that wants to eat.

I am ready to find something different, something that includes the good experiences that we have both dreamed of.

To the part of me that wants to eat.
Step back now. I love you, it’s time to rest. This is the best thing you can do for me. There are better ways to protect me and I will show you how.

To the part of me that was behind the eater.

Thank you.

Welcome. I love you, you are safe.

It’s ok, you survived. We are alright.

Let’s go together to watch the sunrise, feel the cool breeze and learn about life.

To all the parts of me. Thank you.

<3

Until next time!

X Amanda

P.S. Coaching sessions for weight loss and mindful eating include hypnotherapy, NLP, mindfulness, trauma release, breath-work and more. For more details or to make a booking please send me a message here.

Have you ever noticed how time seems to speed up as you get older? Where the weeks or months go in a blink and all of a sudden you are asking ‘How did I get here so quickly?’

I recently completed a wonderful live set of meditations and after 11 days I really noticed that even though I had already established a meditation practice in the mornings, the evening meditations really slowed life down. I am so much more aware of where I am at any point of the day, physically, mentally and emotionally.

During 11 Days of Meditation I was experiencing a slowing down of time, a greater awareness of myself and a presence, that I am used to experiencing sometimes, occurring more and more.

It wasn’t that these meditations were particularly amazing, (although there were some lovely ones in there!) it was instead, the action of making that time for myself. The intention to slow myself down for 20 minutes and leaving ‘successful’ meditation expectations out of it. It was the very act of being present in what ever I was feeling and thinking that slowed everything else down. Allowing it instead of judging it.

The ripple effect was noticeable. I can honestly say that the last 11 days have been so much more fun because I have been present. Nothing spectacular happened. I worked, did the usual things with my family. I still cleaned and cooked and folded endless piles of washing. But I had a ton more fun doing it.

Now in the evenings I am happy to use that 20 minutes to slow everything else down. It is a strange sensation of spending time to receive more time elsewhere but I’ll go with it!

If you would like to explore meditation with me you can sign up for my weekly meditations…click the heart to go to the signup page!

If you are curious about 11 Days of Meditation you can join the event and start at Day 1 by clicking here.

Much love and presence to you all. <3

Often a new meditator will get frustrated with the busy mind and with so many different types of meditation around, it can be hard to know what to ‘do’. The thing is, as frustrating as that mind can be. Jumping on every noise and distraction, listing all the things you could be doing right now instead of seeking inner peace and even rehashing the things said or left unsaid, it is in actual fact doing the EXACT thing you are seeking for it…. even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.

Yes, sometimes in meditation you reach a wonderful, thoughtless and peaceful state. But sometimes your mind needs to bring up all that s#@*^ in order for it to relax, and eventually release those wonderfully calming happy hormones (like serotonin).

So my advice?

Stick with it.

In fact embrace that busy mind.

Go so far as to thank it.

I often have a wonderful ‘conversation’ with my mind as it throws up things during meditation and I have gotten really good at redirecting it. So the next time you find yourself sitting in a puddle of your own thought give this a go… Say to it “Thank you mind. I’m glad you showed me that, now show me something wonderful.” You might have to redirect the mind a few times but it will soon get the hang of it. 🙂

In January, you can join me for 11 Days of Meditation. A free series for you to practice your practice of meditation in the comfort of your own home. You can meditate with me each night or save the video for a more convenient time. Join in here…

and happy meditating! <3

Yesterday I found myself taking part in an old habit. You know those kinds of habits that you know aren’t good for you but for a long time you did them? Over and over you repeated the cycle of emotions building then the bad habit just rolls on out…it’s almost inevitable. Then, with some effort you change that habit to something else…and life changes.

You continue on with your life happily in that new habit…until one day your brain throws this old habit back up to you. That’s what happened to me.

A couple of things set up an emotional trigger for this old habit so here’s the story. Yesterday I went to the local supermarket to pick up some food for our dog. You see, she had an operation recently and has been a particular eater ever since. I was preoccupied on my bike ride to the shops thinking about how I wished for our pup to have a quick recovery. Then as I was walking in, I ran into an old friend who I haven’t seen in over ten years. We talked briefly, then parted.

Alone, very quickly I felt emotions began to bubble.

I see this a lot with clients who used to be smokers and with clients who have emotional connections to food. And food is where this past habit of mine reared its head. And of course I was at the supermarket, so the old habit of buying something sweet ‘just for me’ popped up. I even walked up and down the aisles aware that the old habit was coming up but watching it play out. I caught myself thinking how I could hide a sweet purchase from my family. I caught myself thinking of ways to eat it before I got home. (pretty difficult riding a bike with bags of shopping I’d say!) I watched these thoughts and more flit around my head, bringing with them the emotions attached to them.

And then I found myself in the bakery section.

I’d like to say I didn’t buy anything sweet but, in full transparency, I did. But not perhaps for the reasons you might think.

I didn’t buy them to eat, to smother emotions, to fill temporarily the hole inside. Those biscuits sit unopened still. I bought them to prove to myself I could buy them… and not eat them. I bought them to remind myself that I have a choice. Every day and every way I choose how I behave. I bought them to say to that past habit “stay in the past”. Finally I bought them to let my emotions know that I can face and feel them without eating. That feeling uncomfortable is OK.

And as I sit here today typing, those biscuits are there, unopened and watching me type, a symbol of choices. And I feel proud.

So I would encourage you when you feel an old habit arising to let yourself feel. To let yourself step in at the right moment (you know when that is!) and to create your own symbol of how you can change. Of how your choices reflect in your body. And most of all of how you are an amazingly, wonderful person who isn’t perfect but knows and does better every day and in every way.

Hugs <3

There are so many different ways out there to lose weight. It seems everyone has a different answer. Eat this, don’t eat that. Do this exercise, don’t do that one. And yes there are some fabulous programs out there that help you. So what does the F.R.E.E. program offer that is different from the usual diet and exercise programs? What is different is this…most ‘diets’ fail not because they are bad diets but because the limiting self beliefs and the resulting emotions we hold about ourselves haven’t changed. Clinical hypnotherapy focuses on changing those limiting beliefs to ones that support health inside and out.

Perhaps you feel you aren’t worth being the size you want to be. Perhaps you’re stuck in the “I’ll be happy when” rut. Perhaps you eat to feel safe. Perhaps you don’t exactly know why you are stuffing your face when no one is around. Or even why you can be ‘good’ for a week then come crashing down. You might have lost weight before and, like this Toothpaste cartoon, discovered that nope it actually wasn’t the weight that made you hate yourself.                                                                                                                                                                                                          When you let go of the limiting beliefs around how much you deserve to be the weight you want to be. And you let go of the need to have weight as a protection. And all of the other limiting beliefs we hold around things like our capacity to exercise, whether our weight is “genetic” and so on…Weight loss becomes SO much easier. When you add supporting beliefs that motivate and encourage your efforts…the results can be amazing.

Ready to tackle weight in a different way? F.R.E.E. Finding Release from Emotional Eating can change your life. Find out more about the online course here.

“Amanda facilitated a safe and compassionate group for women to explore roadblocks in their weight loss journey and N.L.P. techniques on how to overcome them. A gentle approach gave real support to participants and the techniques work and continue to “come back to you” in moments of crisis back home. I’ve walked away with a high level of awareness of what I need to change and with some activities to continue that change.” R.H. Dunsborough