What are You Thinking When You Eat?

Last week on Oprah, Roger Schultz shared his pre-Biggest Loser ranch daily diet, including the snack of an entire sleeve of store-bought cookies which he said he ate while watching the Biggest Loser. Other Biggest Loser contestants have made similar revelations and I’m sure several of you snack while watching television. In graduate school, I often kept my mind engaged on my studies through continuous motion of hand to bowl to mouth. I was lucky to be young and active to balance such mindless habits.

How many times have you watched The Biggest Loser or Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight Loss Race or even Oprah’s Biggest Loser episode while eating? We eat more when we are focused on something else, not paying attention to what we are doing, and not paying attention to our bodies. Why do you choose to watch these shows in the first place? Do you relate to the contestants? Are you on a similar journey? Are you looking for new ideas to help you along the path? Do you consider these shows to be more family-oriented entertainment than other shows on during prime time and want to communicate a healthy lifestyle to your children? What are you thinking when you make the choice to watch these shows?

What are you thinking when you choose to eat while viewing? Should I first be asking if you are thinking or perhaps it’s become a habit to watch and munch? When you reach for something to eat is it to enhance the experience, to treat yourself, for dinner; what is your motivation? How do you decide what to eat? Are you eating apple slices, toast, pasta, or ice cream? Are you making the choice based on nutritional value or ease in preparation in the short commercial break?

Are you thinking about the habits that make up your day? How does this line up with your goals? Are you thinking about what you’re thinking? What are you thinking?!?