Week 1The Strength to Realize Where You are Starting

and The Courage to Start Again

week 4:

Harnessing the Power of Mindfulness and Awareness

Mindfulness may feel elusive but it simply means paying attention to the present and accepting what is

without judgement. This week you will learn how to be fully present and engaged during the meal experience

and how complete presence not only will cultivate a better relationship to food, it also influences metabolic

function and nutrient absorption.

This week’s audio file will review these lessons:

• LESSON 11: What is Mindfulness? The power of the pause

• LESSON 12: Discovering the Moment Energy Floods Your Body

• LESSON 13: Meal Time Meditation

• LESSON 14: Navigating Portion Control

• LESSON 15: Tap into your Enteric Nervous System by Learning to Breathe into Your Belly

Harnessing the Power of Mindfulness and Awareness

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness Defined:

“Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”

PAYING ATTENTION!

Pause and feel appreciation before eating

Breathe between bites

Chew their food well before swallowing

Savor every bite and truly enjoy the act of eating.

Look up from their plate and enjoy dinner conversation

Put down their utensils occasionally and check in with themselves

Check-in with themselves periodically while eating to decide if they have eaten enough

Pay attention to that moment where they feel their energy pick up and stop eating

Conscious, Mindful Eaters behaviors Unconscious Eaters behaviors

Shovel, gobble, inhale food or rush through the meal experience

Negative self talk: guilt trip, shaming, blaming, hating yourself for whatever you are eating

Competing: Eating as much or as little as the person next to you

Struggle not to eat anything

Feel self-conscious about eating

Eat to please someone else

Tell yourself you do or don’t deserve to eat

Forget to breathe or taste the food

Bonus: The Learning Spectrum

Unaware Aware Master Concept

Integration into your Nourishment

Blueprint

The Science: Mindfulness and Your Relationship To Food

Cephalic Phase Digestive Response

Taste

Aroma

Satisfaction

Visual stimulation

MindfulnessUnconsciousness

40% less metabolic efficiency

Less oxygen

Lowers metabolic rate

Decreased Blood flow

Fewer enzymes

Digestive upset, lower immunity, fatigue

FULL metabolic efficiency

MORE oxygen

HIGHER metabolic rate

INCREASED Blood flow

FULL RANGE of enzymes

Happier belly, satiety, stronger immune system, & ENERGY!

The Pause

SOMETHING HAPPENS (LIFE!!)

EXPERIENCE A THOUGHT OR FEELING

CHOOSE

PAUSE

A moment of awareness Take a break Stop Step back Breathe

REACT

Keep driving Act on your feeling Step on the gas No intention No direction

Daily Practice of the Pause

Set an alarm on your phone for once every hour just for a day. Each time the alarm goes off… PAUSE! Step back from what you are doing. Slow your breathing. Take 3 deep breaths. And check in with yourself.

Discovering the Moment Energy Floods the Body

“The opposite of hungry is not full. The opposite of hungry is not hungry.”

Science of Full or Stuffed Eating

More Oxygen and blood flow to digestion

Less oxygen and blood flow to rest of the body

Energy

Fatigue

Digestive upset

Negative thought gremlins

Uncomfortableness in own skin

Satisfied Eating: The Moment

Shoulders have relaxed

Body feels light in your seat (yes you need to be sitting in a chair at a table!!)

Soft surge of energy will be experienced

You feel filled up but not filled with food

You may even feel “hungry” still or like “I could have eaten more”

SIGNS:

Crossing over to full

Your body will start feeling heavy- even with one bite too many

Pants will tighten around the belly

SIGNS:

Meal Time Meditation

SCHEDULE IT

First things first—schedule it. Actually write down in your calendar when you are going to “take the time” to eat mindfully.

CREATE SPACE

Think about a time in the day where you could enjoy a quiet meal alone without any distractions. No reading, working, watching or driving. Just eating. And set your intention to eat to the point of energy.

CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF

Before eating, check in with yourself. What are you feeling? Are you feeling tense, stressed, overwhelmed, bored, frustrated, angry, sad or are you feeling joy, peace, gratitude, happiness, contentment, playfulness? Write it down.

APPRECIATE

Consider pausing before your meal to express gratitude and appreciation for the foods that you are about to receive. Consider their origins. The effort that went into growing, harvesting and preparing each ingredient. Consider the sacrifice. If you are eating animal protein, that animal gave it's life for you to nourish yourself. And if you are a religious, faithful or spiritual person, consider the power of prayer.

THINK BUT DON'T THINK

When practicing meal time mindfulness and awareness, you need to "clear the mechanism". Throughout your meal, your thoughts will inevitably wonder to your to do list, your kids' soccer practice, the toilets that need cleaned, your long over due pedicure, etc. With much grace for yourself, "clear the mechanism" and gently bring the thoughts back to your meal.

BE CURIOUS

Be curious and approach your meal with child-like wonder and amazement.

THE HOW

Choose healthy, nutrient-dense nourishing foods from phase 1 or 2 for these. Take a deeeeep breath. In fact, take 5 deep breaths. Let the smells fill you up. Consider the visual presentation. Notice the colors of each food. Any feelings

bubble up? Take small bites. Taste each bite. Savor each bite—the taste, the texture. Pause between bites and consider the taste and texture of the foods you are

experiencing. Set your utensils down throughout the pause. Describe the mouth-feel to yourself. Texture: is it creamy, crumbly, crunch,

greasy, gooey, moist, and/or mushy? Taste: Is it earthy, sweet, floral, salty, spicy, oak-y, citrus-y, grassy, herbal, mossy, tangy, smoky, and/or bitter?

Notice your body sensations. How do you feel as you are eating? Feeling stressed, sad, happy, hurt, afraid, confused, lonely, bored, and/or impatient?

Meal Time Meditation

STOP WHEN YOU ARE NO LONGER HUNGRYNotice.... I did not write, "Stop when you are full." I wrote stop when you are no longer hungry. Save the rest of your food for later. It takes time for the "full signals" to travel from your stomach to your brain.

PRACTICEPractice makes perfect, right? The goal for mindful eating is to practice this as often as you can so that it becomes automatic. With time, you will be able to practice mindfully eating even when eating at a restaurant and having conversations with friends.

SUGGESTIONS AND TIPS:

1. Choose a meal with lots of colorful produce and dynamic flavors. Lots to practice with!

2. Choose meals in phase 1 to start practicing this, then move on to phase 2 and then to phase 3 foods.

3. No multi-tasking!! No driving, working, etc.

4. Choose a place where you feel comfortable and have no interruptions. When practicing mindfulness in the beginning, don’t try this at lunch while chatting with a friend or at breakfast when your kids are interrupting you for the 5th

thing they need or the milk cup has spilled for the 3rd time!!

5. This doesn’t require as much time as you think. It simply requires you to stop multi-tasking and turning your complete attention to eating. So don’t let “I don’t have time” to be an excuse.

Navigating Portion Control

READ FOOD LABELSRecommended sizing is so much less than you probably think. So get out your measuring cups and dish up what a true serving looks like. For example: ½ cup cooked brown rice

USE REAL PLATES; SMALLER PLATESUse real plates and real utensils. Plastic containers are deceptive and you are more likely to shovel when eating on plastic plates and using plastic utensils. Use a smaller plate to help give you the sense of fullness and abundance.

USE WHITE PLATES AND BOWLSResearch suggests that when there is high contrast between the colors of food on your plate and the color of the plate, people eat less.

SERVE YOURSELFAlways serve yourself the right amount for you on to a plate or bowl rather than eating out of the container.

SKIP FAMILY STYLESometimes it’s best to control the environment. Until you have a good understanding of how much is right for you, skip family style eating where all of the food is sitting on the table. Not only will that help you serve yourself less but you won’t be tempted for seconds you don’t need.

At home On the go

DON’T GO STARVING!If you are hungry before heading out to eat, then eat a few fresh veggies before you go. That way the larger portions won’t be calling your name!

CHECK OUT THE APPETIZERSThis is one of my favorite ways to enjoy yummy foods at restaurants. Consider getting an appetizer and salad for your dinner. They are often much smaller portions and a smaller check!

SPLIT ENTRÉE WITH A FRIEND Restaurants are notorious for serving 2 or 3 portions in one dish. Split an entrée with a friend or family member so you aren’t tempted to eat more than is right for you.

PACKAGE UP HALF BEFORE YOU EATAsk the wait staff for a "to-go" box and wrap up half your meal as soon as it's brought to the table that way you can package half up for the next day.

GET RID OF THE BREAD BOWLS AND CHIPSA lot of restaurants will serve complimentary bread and chips. If this is too tempting, just ask to remove the baskets. If you are eating in a large group, allow everyone to be served 1 serving and then ask that it not be refilled.

Serving Sizes Cheat Sheet

VEGETABLES (1/2 cup raw or cooked = serving)

• You can have UNLIMITED non-starchy vegetables. • Starchy vegetables = ½ cup servings• ½ cup mashed sweet potatoes• ½ cup corn• ½ cup butternut or acorn squash

FRUITS (1/2 cup = serving)

Up to 3 servings a day 4 large strawberries 1 small banana or orange ½ large banana, orange or grapefruit 16 grapes 1 large plum 1 small peach

DAIRY (1 cup or 1.5 ounces) 1 cup = serving size (milk, yogurt, etc.) Cheese = 1 ½ ounces (size of pointer finger)

Grains (1/2 cup cooked = serving) Phase 1- none; Phase 2- ½ cup; Phase 3-

1 slice of bread ½ cup of homemade granola ½ cup pasta

MEAT, FISH, NUTS 3 oz meat = deck of cards or palm of your hand I’m not too concerned with you overindulging on meat Fish = 3 ounces 2 Tb peanut butter 2 tb hummus ¼ cup nuts

FATS AND OILS 1 TB butter 1 TB salad dressing 1 TB oils (coconut or olive oil)

Tap into your Enteric Nervous System by Learning to Breathe into Your Belly

Enteric Nervous System: Gut brain Central Nervous System: Head Brain

Breathing into Your Belly:

Research shows that breathing into the belly increases its oxygen uptake- activating ENS

Let the breath flow in and out naturally and generously- never holding or forcing.

Feel what a fully oxygenated gut feels like.

Then ask your gut what foods you need. Check out the questions on the right.

Let the answers bubble up without censorship.

Follow the direction of your gut.

DEEP DIVE QUESTIONS:

1. Which foods have made me feel great over the past few weeks?

2. Which foods have worked fine in the past but are not working for me?

3. What foods feel forbidden to me?

4. What foods can I not live without?

5. Which combination of foods upset my digestion?

6. Which foods do you know your body wants more of?

ASKING YOUR GUT WHAT FOODS YOU NEED:

1. Is this food good for me to eat right now?

2. What type of meal would be best for me at this time?

3. What amount of food is best in THIS moment?

Daily Practice

3 Minute Body Scan to Cultivate Mindfulness

Tuning in to the body allows us to notice where we need to make changes- it’s an opportunity to turn your awareness inward.

You will notice that your mind might wander… that’s completely normal!! Return your attention to you breath, how it feels, etc. WITHOUT judging yourself or giving yourself a hard time. Show yourself grace. YOU ARE PRACTICING A NEW SKILL SET!!

The body scan can be performed while lying down, sitting or in whatever posture feels most comfortable to you.

The BONUS audio will walk you through the scan. It ONLY takes 3 minutes so you can do this several times a week to several times a day.

Action Steps

Continue journaling in your Daily Food Journal.

Note any patterns that emerge as you eliminate, reset your metabolic rate and elevate the quality of the foods you eat.

Deep Dives Questions- Food Journal Review

Meal time mediation- practice at least once a day, each day this week!!

Try Daily Practice- 3 Minute Body Scan to Cultivate Mindfulness

And try a few new recipes!! I’ve included them for you!!

ACTION STEPS- WEEK 4

All phases

BONUS: Recipes

Almond Flour Pancakes (

Ingredients• 1 cup almond flour• ½ tsp baking soda• 1 pinch salt• 2 eggs• 1 TB honey• 1 Tb melted butter or coconut oil• 2 tsp vanilla extract• ¼ cup milk

Directions• Preheat pan or griddle to low,

medium heat• Combine dry ingredients in bowl.• Combine wet ingredients in separate

bowl. • Whisk wet ingredients into dry

ingredients. • Drop batter by spoonful (size you

would like). • Cook until golden brown. (3-4

minutes)• Flip and cook for an additional 2 to 3

minutes.• Repeat with remaining batter.

Serving Idea:

This recipe makes 4 good size pancakes. They are filling though! Serve with fruit and sausage.

Phase 1- no maple syrup and no honey in batter- top with peanut butter!!Phase 2 & 3- a drizzle of maple syrup

Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients• 3 eggs• 3 TB melted butter or coconut oil• 3 TB milk• 1 TB honey• ½ tsp salt• 3 TB coconut flour• ½ tsp baking powder

Directions• Preheat pan or griddle to low,

medium heat.• Combine wet ingredients in bowl. • Whisk dry ingredients into wet

ingredients.• Drop batter by spoonful (size you

would like). • Cook until golden brown. (3-4

minutes)• Flip and cook for an additional 2 to 3

minutes.• Repeat with remaining batter.

Serving Idea:

This recipe makes 6 good size pancakes. Serve with fruit and sausage.

Meal Prep Idea:Make a double batch on the weekend. Let pancakes cool completely. Store in large ziplockbag in freezer. Warm in microwave for 30 seconds or pop in toaster for a quick mid-week breakfast!

All phases

BONUS: Recipes

Breakfast: Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk • 1 cup steel cut oats• Pinch salt• Dash of cinnamon (to taste)• ½ cup slivered almonds

DirectionsPlace milk, oats and salt into medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover. When cool, place in refrigerator over night.

In the morning, serve as a cold cereal or reheats oats over medium heat until warmed through. Top with the slivered almonds.

Topping options: Slivered Almonds or walnutsDrizzle of honeyFresh berriesShredded unsweetened coconutOrange zestSpices

Serve with:

Hard boiled egg and fresh fruit

Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 1 Tb avocado oil or coconut oil• 6 boneless chicken thighs cut into

bite sized pieces • 1 head of broccoli• 4 ounces mushrooms • 2 medium carrots• 2 cups shredded cabbage• 8 ounces snow peas

Stir Fry sauce• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled• 1 clove garlic• 2 Tb soy sauce• 2 Tb water• 1 TB avocado oil or coconut oil

Directions• Heat oil in large skillet over medium

heat. • Add chicken and brown- about 5

minutes• Add Stir Fry sauce and mushrooms• Sauté until chicken is cooked

through- 5-7 minutes. • Add the rest of your veggies. • Cook until veggies are bright and

tender but still “al dente”.

Phase 1 Serving:Serve hot over big handfuls of fresh spinach. The heat of the stirfry will wilt the spinach.

Phase 2 or 3 Serving:Double the Stir Fry sauce. Add 2 cups cooked brown rice and extra stir fry sauce when the veggies are almost finished.

Serving Ideas: Replace the chicken with beef, shrimp or tofu.

Leftovers: Serve in lettuce wraps for a yummy lunch!

Phase 2 and 3 Variations compatible with all phases

BONUS: Recipes

Source: http://acleanbake.com/chicken-tortilla-soup/

Dinner Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping(

Ingredients• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets• 2 tablespoons fat (lard, butter, tallow, ghee,

coconut oil, etc)• 1 can cannellini beans• 1 small onion, diced• 2 celery ribs, diced• 2 carrots, diced• 8 ounces mushrooms• 2 cloves garlic, minced• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or lamb• 1/2 cup beef broth• 6 ounces canned tomato paste• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley• salt and pepper to taste• 2 tablespoons butter• 1 cup shredded sharp-cheddar cheese

Directions• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-3 quart

casserole dish and set aside.• In a large pot, steam or boil cauliflower until tender.• Heat 2 tablespoons of fat in a large skillet or saucepan over

medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, around 5 minutes.

• Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until browned. Add beef broth as necessary to keep the mixture wet. Add tomato paste (if using), parsley and season with salt and pepper. Let simmer while you prepare the cauliflower/white bean topping.

• To make the topping, drain the cooked cauliflower. Combine cauliflower and cannellini beans in bowl. Mash or puree until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and season with salt and pepper. If it’s too think, drizzle a little half and half or milk.

• To assemble, spread the meat mixture on the bottom of the dish. Top with the cauliflower/bean mixture and smooth with a spoon. Cover with shredded cheese.

• Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve warm.Source: ADAPTATION!

http://www.ovenloveblog.com/shepherds-pie-with-cauliflower-topping-gaps-paleo-grain-free-dairy-free-option/

All phases

Serving Ideas: Serve with a big, fresh salad to cut the richness of this yummy supper.

BONUS: Recipes

Quinoa Tabbouleh and Kafta Meatballs

Kafta MeatballsIngredients1 lb lamb1 lb ground beef½ tsp salt1 tsp cumin1 TB each fresh mint, parsley and cilantro2 cloves garlic¼ quarter onion finely chopped

DirectionsPreheat oven to 375 degrees.Combine all ingredients.Form into long, rectangular meatballs.Cover sheet pan with aluminum foil. (easy clean up!!)Add meatballs to sheet pan.Cook for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Ingredients• 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa, cooled• 1 cup flat leaf, Italian parsley• ¼ cup fresh mint• 1/8 cup chives, chopped• 9 ounces cherry tomatoes• 1 tsp lemon zest• 1 tb lemon juice • 1 tb olive oil• 2-3 tb feta cheese

Directions• Combine quinoa, parsley, mint, chives tomatoes and lemon

zest. • In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. • Pour over salad and toss to combine. Top with crumbled feta.

• Serve with: Serve meatballs with and tabbouleh with this yummy mixture, Plain yogurt and finely chopped cucumbers.