How cannabis helps me leave food on my plate and not go back for seconds

The speaker discusses the concept of mindful eating and how cannabis can help with leaving food on the plate and not going back for seconds. Mindless eating is identified as a problem that leads to overeating and weight gain. The speaker explains that listening to our natural fullness signals is important, but often we eat past fullness because we enjoy the taste of food. The speaker introduces the idea of eating to 80% fullness instead of 100% to avoid feeling stuffed. The cultural influence of finishing our food and the abundance of food in society are discussed as factors that contribute to overeating. Slowing down, taking smaller portions, and checking in with our bodies are suggested strategies for mindful eating. The speaker also mentions using CBD to help focus the mind and be more present during meals. Hi, my name is Beth, and you are listening to the Canna Fitness and Nutrition Podcast where we are hanging out at the intersection of fitness, nutrition, and cannabis. First, I just want to say thank you for pressing play and listening in today. The topic today will hopefully make you think about nutrition and weight loss in maybe a little bit different way than you thought of before, so I hope this is interesting for you. My topic today is I'm going to talk about how I use cannabis to help me leave food on my plate and not go back for seconds if I don't need them. So when we talk about mindful eating, that's a buzz word that all that really means is that we're just paying attention to what we're eating, because having worked in this industry for 15 years, I know that, and even from my own experience, that mindless eating is where we get into trouble, right? When we're not paying attention to our food choices, to how much we're eating, to our hunger levels, and we're not honoring all that natural sensation, then that's where we get into trouble, and that's where overeating comes in, that's where making poor decisions, and what I hear a lot of from clients that are asking for help and that I'm helping and we're looking for new ways and trying to retrain our brains is that we're finishing our food on our plate, and that doesn't sound bad if I just say it like that, but if you think about it, when we have a plate of food, it's one thing to just eat it all, but it's a whole other ballgame to listen to your stomach as you eat it, and to ask yourself to stop when you're full, right? That's different, because you may be full before the food on the plate is gone, and to be fair, you might not be full and you might need more, right? But what I'm hearing, and again, I know from my own experience, is that chances are we're finishing our food and we're going back for seconds, not because we're still hungry, because if we were, it would be fine, but because we want to eat more. We like it. It tastes good, right? I mean, food's amazing, food is pleasure, of course, that's fantastic, but when we eat past our natural fullness signals, when we eat too much, that's when we start to gain weight, right? Our body has a natural mechanism for controlling our weight, for maintaining our weight, and through society, over time, we've learned, or unlearned, to listen to that, and so it's been causing a problem. That's one of the reasons that you see in America, we're getting, what I like to say, fatter and sicker. It's not a very kind way to say it, but you know what I'm saying, right? I think if you are struggling with your weight, you'll agree that portions are out of hand, we're eating everything in front of us, it's hard to make good decisions, we're busier than ever, there's so many factors, so I'm going to share my tactic in terms of what I call mindful eating, again, which is just paying attention, and how I use cannabis to do that. So, leaving food on our plate is what I call eating to 80% fullness, because if we're eating to 100% fullness, that means we're stuffed, right? In my book, I mean, you can have your own scale, but in my book, 100% means I'm stuffed, right? And that can start to get uncomfortable, right? And if we're ignoring the stuffed, then it's really easy to eat past stuffed, right? I mean, you've probably had this experience where you're eating something delicious, it happens a lot when you go out, of course, right, because food, restaurant food is delicious, and you're all of a sudden, you're eating, eating, eating, and then all of a sudden it hits you, and you're like, ooh, I'm stuffed, I'm so stuffed, you know, I can't even count how many times I've said that, or how many times I've heard that, and you know, and a lot of people, you know, tell me, and of course, I've been there, of course, is having seconds, right? You have your meal, you will love it, it's enjoyable, of course, food is pleasure, and it tastes so good, you want more, but the problem is we're listening to the wrong signals. We're listening to what I call mouth hunger, right? We like the flavors, we like the texture, we like the feel of it, it gives us pleasure, and we're using that to drive the decision, instead of using our stomach to drive the decision, right? So you can see how eating past fullness will help, will make you gain weight. I mean, if that's your goal, then sure, but for most people, I would say, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably more on the fitness side, or the weight maintenance, or even maybe trying to lose weight, and so again, how I, how cannabis helps me leave food on my plate and not go back for seconds. This is hard, I want to start by just saying that this is hard because, well, food is good, I've covered that, but also, we've been trained to finish our food. We've been trained to go back for seconds if we want it. We live in, if you live in America here, and you're listening, then we live in a food abundant society. We are very, very fortunate to have the abundance of food available at our fingertips, right? We don't want for anything, we don't go hungry, we don't have any issues getting food in our society, and we, so we are used to just eating as much as we want, because we've never had to, we've never had to think about it, we've never had to ration, we've never been without, and so we are accustomed to just having as much as we want, and I think a lot of us, probably, I would say 99% of us too, we've gotten trained to not waste our food. I think there was a time, I think a lot of people in my generation in their 40s and 50s and 60s, we can relate to, there was a time, it was in the 80s, I want to say, when there was a phrase that used to go around, it was like, oh, there's starving kids in Africa, there's starving kids in Africa, finish your food, there's starving kids in Africa, and it was a thing that parents would say to their kids to get them to eat the rest of their broccoli, right? And they didn't literally mean that that food could have gone to someone in Africa, but it was a phrase that kept going, it kept perpetuating, and so it gets stuck in our brain, and not that our parents did anything wrong, because they were simply trying to make the point that we need to eat all of our broccoli, we're blessed, we're fortunate, all that. But I think when we heard that for years and years too, that the message from society was, don't waste your food, that we are fortunate to have as much, and other people in other parts of the world don't have as much, so we're fortunate, so eat it up. But at this point, now, because of that, partially because of that, we've gotten to a point, fast forward 30, 40, 50 years of that mentality, and now it's impossible to break, right? You automatically finish your food, because that's how you've always eaten, right? We just clean our plates, you know, clean plate club, that was a thing, right? That was a saying in the 80s and 90s, right? Clean plate club, finish your food, you know, and we try to teach children to do that, again, until they get plenty of nutrients. But as adults, now, we're serving ourselves, right? So we're serving ourselves, and you've heard the saying, our eyes are bigger than our stomach, right? So we're serving ourselves for pleasure, right? Taking a portion, because we all know that portions are big now, and I think everyone would admit that they probably take too big of portions. And then, now, we've got that mentality that we've got to finish the food. So even if it's a big portion, we're doing it because of habit, not because we're listening to our stomach. So one of the secrets to success in my programs and in my coaching and what I do myself is to, instead of just automatically going through the motions of eating, is to slow down, take smaller portions, and listen, check in with your stomach, right? Check in while you're eating, and see where you're at. You know, it might mean you have to eat a little slower. It might mean you have to take a breath between bites, right? And we've gotten so automated with our eating that we've, a lot of times, because what I hear when I teach people is that we've lost sight of the slowing down and the listening to our bodies. So, that being said, with mindful eating, I use it as a way to check in with my body and listen as I'm eating instead of cleaning my plate, going back for seconds. Now, cannabis, and I've talked about this before, but one of the things I love about cannabis is the ability to focus the mind. And I take CBD daily. CBD is the cannabinoid that's not psychoactive. I take it for anxiety and for clarity and focus. It helps me focus my mind, which helps me pay attention to what's going on in my body. I tend to be one of those people that is easily distracted, is always doing 16 things at once, and so I'm a prime candidate for mindless eating because I'm going to have, you know, my food and my laptop and the TV on, and I'm doing 18 things because that's how my brain works. But if I take my CBD, then it helps me focus on just the one thing at a time. Now, I might have all those things out at the same time, but at least I'm just doing one at a time. And I'm remembering to turn in and say, okay, stomach, like, are you full? Am I full yet? Like, do I need more? Because normally what happens is, again, food is pleasure. That's what it's supposed to be, and it's nutrients. I'll say, oh, you know, this is so good, and my mouth will say, ooh, let's have more, let's have more because, you know, either you love the flavor or you love the texture or whatever it is. It's my mouth party, right? I think there's a term for that, too. It's a party in your mouth. So you, you know, my mouth says that, like, let's get more, let's get more. But when I have the CBD, it allows me to focus a little bit more into, okay, well, stomach, what do you say? You know, I have to ask, like, stomach, what do you say? Do you, do we need more food or is that just my mouth playing tricks on me? So, you know, the CBD really helps with that in terms of clarity. Now, THC can do the same thing because THC can help with that mental clarity and focus. So depending on what you prefer or what you're using based on the time of day or your consumption, you know, preferred consumption, you can get the mindfulness benefits from both CBD and THC if you're looking to focus and be able to be more mindful when it comes to eating. Again, it does take some, a little bit of habit change in terms of eating more slowly. It does mean we have to slow down, which I think we could probably all agree is necessary anyway, and taking smaller servings. So instead of bringing, you know, the whole bowl over of the whole pint of ice cream, you know, I'll take a scoop or a few out of the carton, put it in a bowl, and then bring it over and have that as a small serving and then assess and be like, okay, I had some, you know, my mouth always wants more, but does my stomach want more? Do I need more? And that's, you know, that's the behavioral part of it. So CBD just happens to be a natural appetite suppressant too, so that does help a little bit with the, you know, that mental chatter and the constant thinking and longing and wanting when it comes to the food, right? And again, especially when it comes to servings or going back for seconds. You know, you want that sort of, we become automatic, like, it was good, I want more, when we really should be like, that was great, how's my stomach, you know, before we go for more. So I can also, because of the CBD, or again, I use THC for this too, because it helps me zone in on what I'm focused on, I can zone in on what's going on in my head, in my stomach. So, you know, again, I can identify that the desire is coming from, it could be coming from my stomach, maybe my stomach's not full yet, right? Or it could be coming from my mouth because I just enjoyed chewing and I liked the texture, the taste, the flavors of it. Or it could be because, you know, sometimes you just get that craving, you know, that you start thinking about food because of another reason, like fatigue. I'm just, you know, have you ever had this happen? So you're, you know, you're chilling, maybe it's evening, usually this happens in the evening, and you start thinking about food, right? And you're like, oh, I should eat, I'm hungry, you know, you just want food, even though you're not really hungry, you just want to eat something. But then you realize that you're just tired and you're not hungry at all, you just need sleep. Does that ever happen to you? Because that happens to me a lot. And when I'm focused and clear with the CBD or THC, I can identify that better. I'm actually able to zone in on what's going on in my brain and be like, you know what, I'm just tired, why don't I just go to bed? I don't need to stay up and eat more because I don't need more food, I need sleep. So I'm able to more clearly identify what's going on. Now, again, this takes practice. It's a practice. But it's entirely doable, and the cannabis as a tool just makes it that much easier to do. I mean, I learned these things on my own without cannabis, but then once I found cannabis, I was like, holy moly, this is way easier to do this when my mind can focus. So, again, it can really zone into the things that drive food decisions. The other thing that I wanted to point out is a lot of times we make food decisions based on our anxiety or emotions. So if you're feeling sad or depressed or super happy or super nervous or anxious, sometimes those emotions can trigger cravings and these food desires too. But CBD regulates our emotions, so there aren't as big swings between the highs and the lows. It is a mood regulator, it's a mood stabilizer, so our moods are much more even. And because of that, then I'm less triggered by those moods to make me want to eat and to drive those food decisions. So, again, another bonus. Now, here's another aspect that may or may not apply to everyone, because I know everyone has preferred consumption methods. When I say that, what I mean is some people prefer to have an edible where you ingest your cannabis, whether it's CBD, not psychoactive, is great. Or if you want to have a little bit of a buzz and have some psychoactivity, that's the THC. Some people prefer edibles, some people prefer to smoke it, some people prefer to vape it. There's different ways to take it. Some people prefer the tinctures. There's a lot of different options when it comes to that. Although I have noticed, I've been experimenting with what's called dry herb vaporizing. So it's not smoking, it's not combustion. It's heating the plant to a level that creates vapors. So it's not dangerous for your lungs, but it kind of feels like smoking. And I've noticed that that is a nice, just relaxing activity, right? There's kind of a routine to it. What's the word I'm looking for? Where you just have a routine of it that is relaxing. So after I eat, sometimes what I'll do is I'll have my vape and I'll have a few puffs on the vape. And then because it's so fast acting too, it just goes right into the bloodstream and then helps me really relax. So it's almost like having coffee after you eat too, which I love. Whether it's to have decaf coffee or if you can handle regular. That's just a nice settling and calming ritual. Ritual, that's the word I'm looking for. It's a ritual. So I found that having a cup of coffee or sometimes at night hot chocolate is nice. Or tea, if you love tea. It's a nice ritual for after you eat because it settles your stomach. It helps you feel full. And it gives your mouth something to do. Because sometimes, again, I said this earlier, but our mouths can get us in trouble. Because our mouths love the food. Your mouth doesn't feel full, your stomach feels full. So your mouth is like, oh, that was really good. Can we have more? I want to taste more. I want more flavors. I want more texture. But our stomach is like, nope, nope, we're done. We're done, we're done, we're done. So it's important to recognize the difference. And, again, that clarity and focus from the CBD really helps me identify the difference. And here's a fun thing that I found when I was looking on the Internet the other day. Is that somebody, I can't remember the brand off the top of my head, but I'm sure I'll share once I get them. Is somebody came up with toothpicks that are infused, and they must have a coating of CBD on them. So toothpicks would be a great thing to chew on after you eat. And to be able to chew on a CBD-coated toothpick would give your mouth something to do while also ingesting the CBD, which, again, acts as an appetite suppressant. So maybe, I don't know if I'm just crazy thinking about this, but I feel like that would be kind of a nice thing to do after you eat, is to take a CBD toothpick, chew on it, give your mouth something to do. If you like that mouth-chewy oral fixation thing like I do, I know I like to chew. So it would be something nice to kind of chew on, but give you the, it probably has a little flavor to it, and give you that oral fixation, but also provide you with some CBD to help relax, help suppress the appetite, keep you calm, help promote sleep if it's the evening. So I think that could be cool, too. My point is that there are a lot of options out there, and I think this plant as a whole, CBD, THC, and the other various cannabinoids, you know, this is something that I think we need to really look into and address more, and I'd like to see more people try it, because it works fantastic for me, and it makes perfect sense when you look at the science of it and put the science of it with the behaviors. So all that being said, that's my, that's how cannabis helps me leave food on my plate and not go back for seconds. And I hope that that was interesting for you, and that made you just think about it a little bit different maybe today than you had before. If you're interested in trying it, then please, I'd love to talk to you about that and reach out and help you along the way. I do have a CannaFit program that walks you through, you know, how to get back on track with fitness and nutrition, but I work with individuals on their individual needs. So it depends on what you really need cannabis for, what you really need in terms of your fitness and nutrition, and how we can put that together and how that can help you overcome any barriers you're having to your fitness or your weight loss. So if you want to talk, reach out, I'd love to hear from you. If you have any other topics you'd like me to talk about on the podcast, I'd love to hear that too. And so you can reach me at, my email is Beth at Cannafitnessnutrition.com. I'm on Instagram, it's Beth underscore Cannafitnessnutrition. You can reach me through the podcast, there should be a way to click and contact me that way. And I'm also writing an article weekly for the National Marijuana News website. So it's tmnnews.com. And so, again, I hope this was helpful and maybe enlightening and maybe gave you something new to think about. And I will see you next time. Thanks for tuning in.