Yeah, the subconscious eating habits that I have are tricky to deal with, too. I’ve found myself wandering to the kitchen to get something to eat just from boredom, or as just to be doing something. I think my mom also did a bit of what you’re talking about, are you hungry, do you need something to eat, etc. So whenever I’d feel the slightest bit of hunger – off to the kitchen!

Good point about the fixed ideas about exercise (or anything, really!) To be fair, I think having the idea of 40 minutes to an hour as “an exercise session” is partly due to the stuff we read about exercise routines. That’s the typical amount of time the literature professes – at least half an hour, 45 minutes or an hour being ideal. Then we get it stuck in our head that it’s either that or nothing at all, which is nonsense. Sure, one big block is better, especially for aerobic exercise, but if you’ve got 2 separate blocks of 15 minutes, doing exercise in those blocks is better than none at all.

On the exercise front there are similar habits to conquer – e.g. I went through a phase of being really good and going to the gym regularly and doing a good 1-2 hour session. I also got an elliptical trainer which I used a lot, usually fo 40 minutes at a time. Then I went through a phase where I was more stressed and had less energy, and ended up not doing anything. The eventual lesson I figured out was that I’d built up a fixed idea of an exercise session being a major effort of 40+ minutes, so if I didn’t feel upto it I didn’t do anything at all and just felt guilty or frustrated about it. Now I’ve figured out how to be kinder to myself and accept that if I’m not feeling so energetic then 10 or 20 minutes is still okay, and that this is a lot better than nothing. So now I do this every day, and more often than not, I get into it and start enjoying it and end up doing 40+ minutes anyway. But if I only manage 10 after a tough day at work, then I don’t beat my self up over it, so it’s easier to enjoy it and accept the experience as-is.

Is this ChiChe you’re talking about also known as Hotei or Budai, or is that another entity altogether? This is the fellow I’m thinking of.

Thanks for the heads up on the post about dieting and eating. I look forward to it. However, you won’t have to notify my here (unless you really want to). I’ve been subscribed to your feed for a while now.

And although this happens to be the most recognizable version of a Buddha in the West, he is not actually a depiction of The Buddha, but of the Chinese monk ChiChe Which literally means “Knowing This” who reached enlightenment through study and practice, but lived from 850 BC to 916 BC, which is 400 plus years after Siddhartha Gautama passed. He was also known as Pu-Tai and or Mi-Le-Fo which mean cloth sack, referring to the bag he carried.

Sorry, but I hear this one a lot especially in Idaho. Folks are always joking about Buddha being fat, when they really are referring to ChiChe.

By the way, I’m working on a blog post that addresses, dieting and eating in general, I’ll comment back here when I post it.

Good to hear your dieting has gone well. I’m still struggling a bit to get a regular exercise regime going.

All snarkiness aside, I too have been watching what I eat for the last 18 months or so. I’m naturally rail-thin, but I worry about my health (heart, specifically, and also the risk of diabetes), so I’ve been trying to excise as much refined sugar and other crap out of my diet as possible. And exercising more, although my track record for getting to the gym is spotty at best.

Best of luck to you in your weight loss.