Re: [lifewritingdiscussionlist] 5 MM and Diet

In a message dated 1/25/05 12:17:10 PM, jharris_home@lycos.com writes:

Steve,

Where does one's eating habits/tastes play into the 5MM practice? 
This is the one area that concerns me because part of my regimen is
geared towards ending my addiction to refined sugar(s). Since I work
at a desk during the week, and since said desk is located in close
proximity to several vending machines full of junk, my first priority
right now (other than completing my work) is to focus on getting this
Sugar monkey off of my back.  The 5MM provides me with the framework
to visualize and create the positive eating habits I need to grow,
but what are those eating habits?  What does a body need when
undergoing such a change? And what does a body need to maintain after
the change has come to fruition?

Peace,

Jason in Bmore

Considered as a way to raise energy (with energy being a primary tool to facilitate growth), eating is at least 25% of the puzzle.  (Eating, exercise, rest, and focus are the four tools to increase energy). The five Minute Miracle works very nicely with the "Body for Life" eating plan of 5-6 small meals a day.  Your problem is that your blood sugar is set to crash every couple of hours. Then you need to eat more (processed, simple) sugars to get it back up.  Which triggers the insulin response, pulling the sugar from your bloodstream (and storing it as fat), and starting the cycle over again.
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The way out of this is manyfold.  On a strictly dietary level, begin to substitute complex unprocessed carbohydrates for simple ones--they metabolize more slowly, and won't cause the same magnitude of crash.  Eating a spoon-sized shredded wheat instead of a Twix bar is probably a sane approach.  Or, you could eat a piece of fruit instead of that candy.  While it's high in sugar, it also contains nutritional factors, and the TYPE of sugar (fructose) doesn't cause the insulin response as drastically.  Eating a couple of orange slices after performing your 5MM might be a smart approach.
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In general, no diet that you cannot sustain for the rest of your life is going to work.  You have to shift to an eating pattern that is long-term.  Then, of course, you have to deal with whatever emotional stuff is keeping you stuck in the first place: until you deal with the emotional needs,  your subconscious will sabotage any efforts you make to change.  This is where meditation, dream-journaling and quiet, focused introspection work great.
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A last thought: having one day a week on which you get to break your discipline is a great idea.  For me, it's Friday, and we call it "Cheat day."  If I've been moderately good the rest of the week, I get to be moderately bad on Friday.  But if I've been SPECTACULARLY good and disciplined the rest of the week--guess what?  I get to be SPECTACULARLY bad on Friday, if I really want to be.  It's a nice pressure valve!

Steve