I am the type of person who makes the same mistakes over and over and doesn’t learn the lesson. I’ve done it with food. I’ve done it with people. I’ve done it with anger. And even though I’m intelligent and regularly practice meditation, I have one big thing in my life I have not been willing to let go of: I’m a liar.
I am a creature of my passions, and food is one of my greatest romances. Hungry or not, I can’t watch a Jane Austen movie without longing for an elegant cup of tea and biscuits. Likewise, a Danish movie (even Babette’s Feast) makes me crave sturdy Danish sourdough rye with a smear of butter and pickled herring.
This is the story of how I became a passionate facilitator for Suppers and started leading the Suppers Breakfast Challenge.
I went to Suppers thinking I was eating pretty well. I shared at my early meetings that I ate Cheerios and coffee for breakfast. Nobody said a word – we're not allowed to judge each other at Suppers meetings – but I could just tell some of the other members inwardly had an opinion about my breakfast.
As an Indian American, I came to the United States over 34 years ago as a graduate student and later settled down as a financial services executive. I semi-retired in 2013 hoping to do all the things I couldn’t do before -- exercise regularly, eat better, meditate and be an engaged parent. For the most part, I was doing all of these things, but years of careless eating habits (carb rich and processed foods) reared their ugly head. Despite all my resistance, I had to learn to accept my fate and make conscious changes to control what I possibly could.
This is my conference report on binge eating.
I have been eating what I call “clean” for exactly one year and five days. By clean, I mean that I found the way of eating that is not triggering and have avoided all foods that are treacherous, seductive, too delicious or in any way placing me at risk to devolve into binge eating. My idea of a treat now is a box of berries.
Ten days ago I was in a high social- and performance-stress situation: away from home, presenting at a conference, and surrounded by hotel food and people who expected me to be the expert.
As an Indian American, I came to the United States over 34 years ago as a graduate student and later settled down as a financial services executive. I semi-retired in 2013 hoping to do all the things I couldn’t do before –exercise regularly, eat better, meditate and be an engaged parent. For the most part, I was doing all of these things, but years of careless eating habits (carb rich and processed foods) reared their ugly head. Despite all my resistance, I had to learn to accept my fate and make conscious changes to control what I possibly could.
Let me invite you into my process. I started attending Suppers two years ago because the health coach provided by our insurance company said the program offered exactly the kind of social support I needed to stop prediabetes from moving into diabetes. I already knew how to cook and I already had a good idea of what to eat, but I wasn't disciplined or mindful. After two years of on-again off-again intentional eating and encouraging but not spectacular changes in my lab work, something clicked.
This is the story of how I became a passionate facilitator for Suppers and started leading the Suppers Breakfast Challenge.
I went to Suppers thinking I was eating pretty well. I shared at my early meetings that I ate Cheerios and coffee for breakfast. Nobody said a word -- we're not allowed to judge each other at Suppers meetings – but I could just tell some of the other members inwardly had an opinion about my breakfast.
The activity at today’s Suppers meeting was called “Give Yourself Credit.” I thought to myself: Why on earth would I come to a Suppers meeting to do that? I am more accustomed to thinking about how hard it is to lead a healthy lifestyle. Through my Suppers experience I have trained myself to spot problem areas and then get the tools and support I need to fix them.
The meeting facilitator asked, “What are you good at?”
When I was growing up the relationship between parents and children was very different from what I’m experiencing now with my own children. For one thing, I grew up in Europe in a close-knit family. We respected our parents. We learned from them and knew we needed them. Homework was meant to be done, and we ate the food that was given to us.
