A Better Me, A Better You
Week One
Focus: The Bodometer
Many of the ideas here have been adapted from the book ‘Thin Within,’ by Judy Halliday RN and Arthur Halliday MD. We have made a few modifications.
The Bodometer is all about conscious eating. This is not a diet and there are no laws of what you can and can’t eat. What we have here, are keys that if followed, can lead to better health. If you happen to lose weight along the way, that would be an added bonus.
When we sit to eat, we thank Heavenly Father for our food and ask Him to bless it, and then we snarf it down giving no more thought to the wondrous blessing of having had so much given to us. If we were truly thankful we would be more mindful of the blessing of food in our lives and less likely to abuse the use of it. As I would always say to my children, “Think of the starving children in Africa.”
Keys to conscious eating:
1. Eat only when your body is hungry.
This principle is at the heart of becoming aware of your body and what it needs. Most of us eat much more food than what our bodies need to function efficiently. Much of our over eating occurs when we aren’t even hungry. We need to eat when we are hungry and stop when we are not. It is also important to remember that we NEED to eat when we are hungry. That is as important as not eating until you are hungry. If you need to be hungry at mealtime, so as to eat with your family, make sure that you watch carefully what you are eating between meals. You need to be at a 0 on the hunger scale before you eat. This week begin to listen to the God given cue of hunger and respond accordingly.
2. Eat in a calm environment.
Before those with little children come unglued, let’s look at this a little closer. A chaotic environment can produce chaotic eating. We’ve all been there. For those with no children at home or older children, reducing distractions is possible so that we can eat in a calm environment. Those with little children can practice being calm in spite of the distractions. If a calm environment is not possible at mealtime, it is possible to develop an inner calm. Remaining calm in the midst of chaos is a great goal for all of us whether there be little children or not. If our mind is elsewhere or we are distracted, we do not enjoy our food, and we find ourselves going back for seconds because we were not present the first time around.
3. Eat when sitting down.
Americans are famous for eating on the run, and much of our unconscious or mindless eating is done while driving. If you eat on the run or while standing at the kitchen counter, you aren’t fully focused on the food or enjoying present time eating. When this happens, you may hear yourself saying, “I haven’t had a thing to eat all day. If you sit down and take time to focus on giving your body the fuel it needs to function efficiently, your mind will record the fact that you have eaten. Often in our hurry-on-the-go lifestyles not only do our hearts and minds feel depleted, our bodies do also.
4. Eat when your mind and body are relaxed.
Invite the one who said, “Peace be still”, to dine with you.
5. Eat and drink the food and beverages your body enjoys.
This is not a diet. It is a known fact, that as people eat with freedom, they tend to make wiser and healthier food choices. When people strive to adhere to a strict diet, most often they have to deny themselves what they love to eat. This results in misery and a stronger attraction to the forbidden food. You will however be encouraged to eat healthy most of the time and to use the food pyramid to which there is a link on this blog. You will also be encouraged to eat within the parameters of empty and satisfied as shown on the Hunger Scale at the end. Too often we get caught up in thinking we are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on what we eat. Remember that food can’t cleanse the heart no matter how little fat or how much fiber it contains. There are no forbidden foods. (Unless you have an allergy to one.) However, remember, “Everything is permissible to me, but not everything is beneficial.”
6. Pay attention to the food while eating.
As you do this you will enjoy mealtime and be ‘less likely’ to snarf it down while giving it no thought at all, and you will be ‘more likely’ to be grateful for the bounties that the Lord has given you.
7. Eat Slowly.
There are many health benefits to this key as well as to all the other keys. As we chew our food longer our digestive systems respond favorably, and can do the job better that they were designed to do.
8. Stop before your body is full.
If you are looking to lose weight this would be the key. We or at least I have trained myself to stop when I am full. I think that for most people this key maybe the hardest. We often think that if we are not full we are not done. We need to train ourselves to stop at a place of comfort before our bodies are ‘full’ or ‘stuffed’.

10 _______________Stuffed
9
8
7 ________________Full
6
5 ________________Satisfied
4
3
2
1
0 ________________Hungry
If you eat between 5 and 10 you gain weight. If you eat between 3 and 7 you maintain weight.
If you eat between 0 and 5 you release weight. We don’t want to lose weight. When we lose something we hope find it again.
Our goal is to stay within the parameters of 0 and 5.
Keep in mind that these are keys to having a healthy body. They are not rules. They are meant only to be tools to serve you. Every one of these keys or tools has health benefits attached to them. For the next 12 weeks we encourage you to give these tools a test run. Our goal is to have a healthy body and spirit and to show respect to both. We feel that by so doing, we show Heavenly Father in both word and deed that we are truly grateful for these wonderful bodies that we have been blessed with, and that we are grateful for all of the bounties that He bestows upon us each day for our physical and spiritual well-being.