Finally got in a run this afternoon. I am trying to decide what to do next with my training. The last few years I have been training for one race after another. Finally I was able to reach a long time goal of mine this past year by qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I promised my body I would take some time off post race and I did (about 6 weeks gasp!). I had a BIG test coming up and needed to spend the past couple weeks studying not running.
So the past few weeks have been rest weeks for me while I studied for the certification exam (I still don't know how I did as the results take 6-8 weeks to be sent back out). This seems like no big deal,just a couple weeks off. But for me, its pretty big. I had been training for the past year five to six days a week. And for the past couple years I've not really taken more than three weeks or so off from running. So it was a big deal (yes, I know I already said that).
In that time I went from eating healthy to eating "un-healthily" to back to eating mostly healthy. I discovered that when I am exercising and training I find it easier to follow a healthy eating plan and easier to practice (my personal favorite) "Intuitive Eating".
What is "Intuitive Eating"?
I remember while in school studying for my RD credential we had to take a course by the name of "Nutrition Counseling" in which we were taught some of the basics of counseling and how to ask questions in dietary interviews.
In that course we learned about "Intuitive Eating" in which people are taught how to listen to their bodies signals for what to eat and to listen to their senses for hunger and satiety, as well as taste acuity(sp?). We were taught ways to use "Intuitive Eating" to maintain a healthy relationship with food.
Our teacher (probably one of the best I've ever had) had us do the following exercise in class. She passed out 2 M&M's per person. We had to put one M&M in our mouth and eat it as we usually did (I ate mine without a thought). YUM! I love M&M's was all I could think about. Well, that and I couldn't remember if I had actually eaten anything at all as it had gone by so fast.
Then later in the class, with our eyes closed, she had us put the other M&M in our mouths and suck on it. Savor it. Think about it. Think about our idea of the candy, and what we liked about it. Was it really what we thought it was? Did it satisfy a craving? Was the chocolate in the candy even good?
Many people including myself were surprised at what they learned. I actually found that I don't really like M&M's. I like the idea of them, the thought of putting them in my mouth and satisfying not a nutritional need but an emotional one. I learned that M&M's represent more than just food to me, but memories from my childhood. It was a neat lesson (or experiment as I like to call these things...its more adventurous).
This is a great experiment to try at home or even with a group of people you run or workout with. You may be surprised at what you learn.
Allot of potential gain from a food exercise right? Try it if you dare...it only takes two M&M's.
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