Mindful eating with a pinch of thanks on the side.

Next week's food frenzy holiday hits us hard and right in our waistlines. After reading a friend's blog this morning I took something important from it that I am going to try my darndest to take with me into this coming Thursday's Thanksgiving feast.

Mindful Eating.

Yes, the gravy is delicious and the pies delectable and the stuffing rich. They have always been and will always be. The first thought is to inhale. GORGE. Taste the tastes of the season like we've never tasted them before. Refill our plate round 2, 3, 4, because, "Hey. It's a holiday and that's what we do". This is also when our pant buttons will ping off at an alarming speed, taking out grandmas best china and anyone standing in it's path.

So, instead of over-stuffing with sausage stuffing, take a second and do the following ... First look at your plate (hopefully filled with the holiday flavors you adore but at smart portions and one round allotments only). Then take a deep breath ... smell the cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes, the garlic roasted brussel sprouts, the steaming, fresh cornbread, the just-carved turkey breast ... whatever it is that never fails to land before you on Thanksgiving. Smell it with the deepest of appreciative breaths. Then say thank you...maybe out loud, maybe not. Just be sure to say thank you. Here we are with so much available and at our greedy little fingertips. This is our time to give thanks. Before we indulge on the richness the season brings. Before bottle of red #3 is opened and we can't tell turkey from tofurkey. ]

Eat mindfully that day. Enjoy each bite -- the sites, the smells, the tastes, the textures. You'll develop a new appreciation for your foods this way.  It's a much more enjoyable experience and most times, you'll eat LESS because you're SATISFIED. Yep, I said it.

More details about Mindful Eating (thanks to the fabulous Megan Rogers! www.megan-rogers.com) are below for your reference and practice as we head into the most wonderful (& highest calorie) time of the year. Lets all try to NOT gain that standard 10 lbs 'they' say the average American packs on between Halloween and New Years (& between their butt and gut!). Shall we?

Gobble, Gobble, Ya'll!

XOXO
-ERSM


Sight: Look at your food and imagine you are a Martian scientist. You just arrived on Earth and have never seen this food before. Look at it carefully without naming it. Can you see the water, the rain and the sunlight within the food?

Smell: Bring the food up to your nose. Without naming the scent, experience smelling the food, and then describe what you smell.

Physiological reaction: Now focus on what is going on in your mouth. Begin to notice that saliva is produced, even though you haven't yet put the food in your mouth. Notice the mind/body phenomenon and how the senses respond to the anticipation of food being eaten.

Touch: Now explore how the food feels. Without naming the sensation, just experience touching your food.

Motion and movement: How is it that your hand knows how to move the food directly to the lips? As you bring the food up to your mouth, notice what happens next. The mouth receives the food. Nothing goes into the mouth without it being received. And who or what is doing the receiving? The tongue. Observe what the tongue does with it. How does it get the food between the teeth? It's amazing that the tongue is so skilled, and that such a remarkable muscle can actually receive food and then know what to do with it every time.

Taste: After becoming aware of the food in your mouth, start biting into it very slowly. Then begin to chew. Notice that the tongue decides which side of the mouth it's going to chew on. Give all your attention to your mouth and take a few bites. Then stop to experience what's happening. What is happening is invariably an explosion of taste. Express what's going on. Be really specific. What is the experience? Is it sweet or sour or juicy? There are hundreds of words to describe the experience of tasting.

Texture: As you continue to chew the tastes change, as does the consistency. At a certain point you will become aware of the texture of the food because the taste has mostly passed. If the texture causes aversion, you may want to swallow it, but try to keep it in your mouth.

Swallow: Don't swallow it yet. Stay with the impatience and the inborn impulse to swallow. Do not swallow until you detect the impulse to do so. And then observe what is involved in getting the food over to the place where it's going to be swallowed. When you detect the impulse to swallow, follow it down into the stomach, feel your whole body and acknowledge that your body is now exactly one bite heavier.

Breath: Next, pause for a moment or two, and see if you can taste your breath in a similar way. Bring the same quality of attention to the breath that you gave to seeing, feeling, smelling and tasting the food.

Silence: Be silent. By this point, you understand something of what meditation is. It is doing what we do all the time, except we're doing it with attention: directed, moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental attention.

Favorite Weekend Moments...

A Tuesday Picture Story.

Our NC visitors arrived this weekend and we had a very special time. Some of my favorite weekends of the year are when Dad & Patsy are in town. Low key, Carter House hangin'. That's what it's about. I am thankful to have a home that allows for these kind of memories to be made. So very thankful. 

Thursday counts as weekend right? Darts & Flying Dog Porter @ Liam Flynn's Ale House. 

Grandpa's post-bath feeding.

Cozy living room opens up the floor for good conversations.

OK not really a 'favorite weekend memory' at the ER circa 2:30am. But the Koalas in Space hospital gown was awesome.

Sick Buggy Needs Rest.

Uncle J took over. I had to pee.

Hours of focus. And a lot of wine.

First time in a swing. Didn't quite get the concept.

Breakfast w Grandpa.

BIG bite.

"What you lookin' at tiger??"

Go Dawgs! Watching the UGA game together in matching outfits. 

A nice fall walk @ Herring Run. It's no Burningtown but pretty good for Baltimore City!

No caption needed.

LOOONG kitty.

:)

A Shout-out.

Since June 2011 (the 14th to be exact). I've realized my potential as a strong, fit 28 year old woman (ROAR!). A feeling that was slowly fleeting over the last 3-4 years. Yes, coincidentally around the time I met my now husband. Hey - it happens! You get comfy and you get familiar and you get routine'd and you get?? Chubby. Ding, ding, ding we have a winner!! Or, you over indulge, as I also did, resulting in????? You got it... Double-chub!

Clothes might still 'fit' and pictures might still look 'ok', but you know deep down...well...shit's changing. You have a few options: 1) Get out in front of it. Get off your ass. Create a calorie deficit in order to drop. "Stay hungry". or B) Say screw it and abuse the Monday night Burger special, Taco Tuesday, Wingday Wednesday (mmmmm forever a weakness of mine) and Thirsty Thursday 2 for 1 pumpkin ales. We all know the latter's not REALLY an option though. At least not forever. And not for all of us.

MODERATION. BALANCE. Yup. Words we've all spoken and tried to live. Can be easier said than done. And until I met my influencer, they were words that I struggled to make daily realities.

This brief, later-than-usual post (we all know I need my sleep and a LOT of it) is meant to do whatever it can to thank a very special woman, trainer and now friend of mine. She inspires and energizes and positively influences hundreds of people - both men and women alike -  at the gym, online, in her own family, and I'd bet just in the everyday lives of strangers that randomly and thankfully cross her blazing path. She helps many, just like me, realize their own potential physically, mentally, emotionally,... life potential in general...and it's extremely powerful. So powerful its been tough to not blog about it on the daily to be honest (beyond FB, Twitter, etc.).

Thank you, Charlie. Thanks for effecting permanent change & for bringing it like you do every day.

-Em

Nov3.

Today I'm 28. 28 big ones. I am amazed at the outpouring of positivity this year around the day of my birth. It's truly humbling. And I'm not just talking about Facebook posts -- my own Mom, Sister, Husband, boss, coworkers, etc., seem to be placing quite the emphasis on this particular turned page. I think it's because the last year has been a FABULOUS one (or because normally I plan all of my own bday events and this year I haven't had to do that! Kidding. Kind of.). That's got to be it, though. A truly rockin' year just passed. It's not a monumental age or anything like that. 21 is long gone. 25...bye bye. Not quite to the 30 mark. Just 28. Guess I am in my 'late twenties' all of the sudden. But, that doesn't help explain this overwhelming feeling of.....well ... love. I fully plan on paying it back and forward a million times over throughout this next year that I've been blessed with. 

Something else I've noticed about this year is that sense of settledness that I've written of in blogs of late. That could very well be contributing to my peaceful heart and pep-in-my-step today (and most days).

Wedding -- CHECK. 

House -- CHECK. 

Happy husband -- CHECK. 

Great, stable, not miserable job -- CHECK.

Many good times with many great friends -- CHECK.

Hobbies that complete me -- CHECK.

NOT PREGNANT -- CHECK. 

Healthy self -- CHECK. (UPDATE: almost 20 lbs down from June and steadily entering maintenance mode now!)

Over our grilled filets and Fall salad NOMS tonight I plan on remembering and talking through the many wonderful things that have occurred between Nov 3, 2010 and Nov 3, 2011. Take that time to recall the ups and downs and laughs and cries. The trips to new places and the quiet evenings at home. The new, little lives and special old souls still gracing us with their presence. The first Christmas at Carter and the first anniversary celebrations. Old friends I cherish deeply and new friends I've gained. Special moment with my family. Hurricanes, earthquakes and tornados. A bountiful garden (!!!). The now official piece of important history "The Owl Take-Over of Carter Avenue". Goku & Geta continue to survive and thrive. the list could go on .... 

So, thanks to all who have made this year so special for me -- you know exactly who you are. It's at this reflection point that I hope I have consistently done the same for you. 

XOXOXO TIME A MILLION BAJILLION!

-ERSM

P.S. And now a not-so-brief photo recap of randoms from 11/3/10 - 11/3/11, in no particular order and many left out I'm sure. No offense to anyone! :)

Miss Chuck & Crew at A Very White Trash Xmas '10

Happy 60th Bday, Daddy! April 2011.

Husbot Anniversary Fanciness.

Anniversary Din Din @ The Charleston-Fancy Pants.

Luc & Luke.

A nice little brunch time. E & J & Martini #1.

Fully Thriving Goku Martin.

Terrifying, Geta.

Casey-Kasey Fabulous Duo.

Dear friends <3

Changed my life. June 2011.

Many a Friday night spent at Summer Sounds.

Maine 2011.

Brunch @ Carter. Dear, old friends.

J and his buddy Chuck.

The Owl Take-Over of Carter Avenue. Exhibit 1 of 102 & counting.

Aaahhh mountains. 

Bestie MOH got skillz.

Miss Ella turned 1 & Lynnie was a proud, smiling Mama.

Garden Tastes.

Fave gals.

Walking, talking Chuck.

Luke Marley afternoons at the Pool.

Ding becomes future Bungding.

Happy Anniversary, J! <3

Anniversary Celebration #2 - Oktoberfest @ Manor Tavern w Nick Markakis sighting. Mmmm.

Paulaner yummies at Anniversary Oktoberfest.

Old friends. Old, beaten and battered friends.