Well... That Explains A Lot (Including the 15 Pounds)

How my new mindset was unexpectedly followed by a lighter body.

Here’s a secret: In spite of everything I know, and even with how much I genuinely love food—the choosing, the preparing, the savoring—I still deal with the struggle of deciding what to eat.

When life gets busy and overwhelming, healthy decisions about what to eat are often the first things that become a trade-off. Last week’s post, See This Dog? That's Your Brain's Response to Food Decision Fatigue, struck a nerve for a reason: that “I can’t cope” feeling is real. And food is usually the last place we have the mental bandwidth to sort things out. (See previous post: How a Simple Food Framework Ends Overthinking.)

Dogs love food. They don’t overthink it. They eat, they enjoy it, and then they move on. I used to be that way too.

Last November, following the Eat, Savor, Love: 5 Day Mindful Holiday Eating Challenge, I made one simple choice: after the 5 day event ended, I kept going. I made the decision to stay present with the process of truly listening to my body and making decisions in real time.

I had strong motivation to keep going. I am a coach for a Unified Special Olympics team and ski season was upon me. I needed to fit more comfortably in my ski clothes.

It worked. By the time ski season kicked in, I had lost 5–7 lbs and my ski pants and I became friends once more. By this point, the behaviors had become a habit. This way of eating was my new ‘normal’.

Over time, something subtly shifted. It wasn’t dramatic, and it didn’t happen overnight, but it was steady enough that I started to notice. By the following spring, I had dropped from 132 pounds to 117—back to where I had been years ago.

The Unexpected Result

That wasn’t the goal—it was the unexpected result. Nothing about what I was eating changed in some big way.

What did change was this. I started to enjoy my food again. I appreciated it more. My body’s signals became clearer.

Note: This is often described as mindful eating, but for me it became less about the concept and more about actually doing it. If you’re curious, this is a helpful overview: https://www.helpguide.org/wellness/nutrition/mindful-eating

I remembered how to really enjoy my food in the moment. Like the dog, I would eat, and then I was done.

Because I listened to my body’s signals, I wasn’t thinking about what I had eaten later or second guessing if I had made the right choice. The decision didn’t follow me.

That simple act—eating and moving on—freed up more energy than I ever could have imagined. Because this wasn’t just about food. It was about stepping out from under an underlying pressure that had been taking up too much mental space.

I still have full days. I still get overwhelmed. I still have those moments where nothing sounds good. But I don’t stay stuck in it the same way.

That, for me, is the difference. If this resonates, and you’d like to experience this for yourself, I’ll be guiding the Eat, Reflect, Flourish: 5 Day Mindful Eating and Earth Connection Challenge starting April 22.

We’ll take a closer look at how to make this kind of shift feel natural and sustainable in your own life.

AEO Snippet

Q: How can I reduce the mental load around daily food decisions?

A: By shifting your focus to making real-time decisions and truly listening to your body's signals, you free up mental space and move past the constant struggle of deciding what to eat.