Summary:
In this episode of the Weight Loss for Food-Lovers podcast, Molly introduces the culinary art of mise en place and how she has come to adapt it to sustainable weight loss. The French term might technically refer to a highly disciplined approach to food preparation, but Molly puts a new twist on the concept.
Before diving into what she means about mise en place for weight loss, Molly backs up a bit to recount her first job working under a fine dining chef with highest standards. It was her dream job right out of culinary school, but fraught with competitive stress, high pressure responsibilities, workplace resentments and constant technical challenge. She frequently left in the wee hours feeling defeated. It was at a particularly low point that her mentor made Molly a convert to the power of mise en place. What that meant was adopting a whole new approach to creating order in her thoughts and prep at the restaurant. In no time, she jumped to the head of the pack and never looked back.
What worked professionally, it turns out, was also applicable to Molly’s struggle with her weight. She ultimately figured out how to apply the mise en place concept to her daily food choices and in this episode shares two central tenets that form a foundation:
1) Mise en Place Means Working clean: A clear space and a clear mind.
a. Organize the mind so it knows what needs to get done and how.
b. Be deliberate in which thoughts about food to believe and disregard.
c. When the plan goes awry, figure out what’s driving choices and why.
d. Deconstruct and fully understand sabotaging thoughts.
e. Adopt new thoughts to replace those that do not serve.
2) Mise en Place Means Slowing Down to Speed Up.
a. The more measured, slower path is the route to permanent weight loss.
b. Slow down to be fully present to the smell, taste and sight of food – to be satisfied with less and enjoy more.
c. Being mindful and deliberate makes weight loss effortless and sustainable through the rest of your life.
Molly details the finer points of how to organize your mental mise en place in her 12-week online course with step-by-step guidance to create a calm, orderly and gratifying relationship with food choices every single day. She wants to help you normalize and enjoy food as never before. As a starting point for a sustainable plan, she recommends that food-lovers focus on:
1) Learning to eat in a way that burns fat but also satisfies and energizes.
2) Including favorite foods while practicing how to eat them in smaller portions.
When you’re working a program that’s real and sustainable, you’re not paying attention to what other people think. Concentrate on what matters to you and feels good inside your own body. How can you be kinder to, and more accepting of, yourself? Turn fearlessly to the truth of your own experience and needs.
Molly explains that a lot of us are paralyzed by a fear of failure or being overwhelmed. She understands, because she has been there. But through her own experience she also knows that it’s possible to get the brain un-stuck. Molly replaces restrictive, predictable old-school dieting with fresh and realistic concepts like mis en place.
Her strategies are unique, her results sustainable and her approach 100% food-lover-friendly. You can request a free discovery call, find out about one-on-one sessions, download Molly’s free six-point plan or sign up for her12-week online courses here.
Topics Covered
· Molly’s old-school academic perspective growing up and the departure she found at culinary school, where the conventional rules did not apply.
· The journey Molly took from securing her highly competitive dream job at a fine dining restaurant right out of culinary school to managing subsequent judgment, skepticism and resentment.
· The French concept and practice of Mise en Place and how Molly has applied its tenets to weight management.
· Molly walks through the steps associated with Mise en Place as a diet strategy.
· How the concept of Mise en Place ultimately offers a foundation for liberation from the endless noise and chaos of overeating.
Key Quotes
· “I had no idea how to organize my time and my partner at the restaurant (cold appetizers) station had to do the bulk of my work, which did not go over well.”
· “It was obvious that no one in that kitchen had any interest in helping me do better.
· “Mis en Place -- One of the most valuable concepts that I have ever learned and I have applied to the rest of my life.”
· “Mise en place is a way of life. It’s a way of concentrating your mind to not only focus on what you need to be working on in the moment, but also to rid yourself of outside distractions. It’s a way of knowing everything you need to do every step of the day.”
· Mise en Place is a mindset. It forces cooks to account for every single minute of their prep time and every movement that they make.”
· “When you slow down you bring consciousness to what’s happening in the moment, in your thoughts, and consciousness to your eating.”
· “Practiced at its highest level, mise en place is kind of like an art form. It involves making decisions ahead of time about what’s in your best interest in order to achieve the goal that you want in the long run.”
· “When you count calories or macros or points you’re looking outside of yourself instead of paying attention to how you physically feel, identifying when you’re hungry and when you’re satisfied.”
· “When we focus outside of ourselves we give all of our power away. We lose our ability to take action.”
· “All it takes is having a process – mise en place – where you can set success up for yourself by having a plan in place.”
Links & Resources
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