Mindful Eating Meets Mindful Self-Compassion
By Theresa Nygren, LCSW and Angela Mazur, LCSW, LLC
soar each January with the well intentioned New Year resolutions. Millions of Americans make these vows yearly. It is a vicious cycle though; diet leads to slower metabolism and ultimately a higher weight after the last piece of celery is sworn off. Can you imagine a way off this merry go round?
A Mindful Eating coupled with a Mindful Self-Compassion
practice is the antidote for lasting change. So your interest may be piqued. Could it actually be possible to stop the self-loathing, the endless struggle with trying to control your input and output? So much wasted energy and effort.
The good news is YES there is another way. It involves becom-
ing aware of your present reality, bringing curiosity to your ongoing thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. Instead of overriding your true bodily needs, mindful eating teaches you how to tune in to your true hunger signals and choose foods that nourish and sustain. It involves a process of relearning what our body truly hungers for in- stead of trying to feed it what we think will get us the body we long for. Mindful Self-Compassion is essential in this process.
Everyone who has struggled with diet and weight probably can easily identify with their self-loathing thoughts that are constantly battering away inside their heads. You know that voice that says, “I can’t believe how fat I am, I look like a cow in this outfi t”, or “I
nother new year dawns and with it comes the barrage of weight loss plans, some balanced, others not and most promising a ‘quick fi x”. The diet industries’ profi t margins
can’t go to that party, everyone will see how heavy I got”. There are more scripts out there but you get the general picture. Mindful Self-Compassion, an evidence-based program developed by Kristin Neff, PhD. and Chris Germer, PhD., helps establish a kinder, gentler inner voice that validates the reality of the present moment and with it interrupts that vicious cycle of feeling bad about oneself and then diving back into the food. It also reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles.
Instead of that old diet mentality of starting again on Mon-
day morning after eating your way through the weekend, can you imagine starting at your very next meal after reading this article and seeing food for what it is which is nourishment for your body? If you were to actually drop into the hunger signals in your body and get a sense of what it really craves for, you might be surprised how it really can be trusted. For sure this will be a process of relearning to honor our bodies’ inner wisdom. The bombardment of messages from our culture has taken a toll. We have tried to force ourselves into the “ideal image” often overriding what is best for our health and sanity.
Learning a Mindful Self-Compassion practice to bring to your eating and body image struggles is just one example of how this program can be helpful. Mindful Self-Compassion can also be very benefi cial to those dealing with stress, anxiety and depression.
Did you know that research shows that 70% of people are kinder to their friends than to themselves? No wonder so many people are struggling emotionally. The good news is that any time the negative inner dialogue that perpetuates struggling is identifi ed and replaced with mindfulness and self-compassion is an opportu- nity for personal growth and happiness. You can develop the Mindful Self-Compassion habit and feel more happiness and peace in your life.
We invite you to come join us at our upcoming Mindful Eating
workshop and our 9-week Mindful Self-Compassion groups. The best way to make a change is to join a group of like minded people who are also looking for a new way to claim their life. Please see our community events listed in this edition and visit our website, www.
mindfulselfcompassionateway.com and Facebook page for upcoming groups/events. May this New Year be one where you can unleash the inner gremlins and step out into the goodness of your precious life.
Theresa Nygren, LCSW and Angela Mazur, LCSW, LLC are psycho- therapists in private practice in Farmington each with 30 years of experience. They are trained to lead Mindful Self-Compassion groups and have experience teaching people how to eat mindfully. Both integrate mindfulness into their practices and into their lives. See ad on page 33.
12 Natural Nutmeg - January 2016
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