Mindful Eating: How to get started

When some people hear mindful eating, they might cringe thinking, "Oh no, does this involve having to do a yoga pose or saying 'Ohmmmm' every time I eat?"  While it can, it doesn't have to!  As Jim Elliot said, "Wherever you are, be all there."  Notice the all..not kind of there, not sort of there, not halfway there.   "...be all there."  While there are no rules and regulations around it, the immediate goal is to create space between us and the noise so that we can enter the eating experience with a clear state of mind that allows us to be fully present in mind and body.  Listed below are several ways to bring you to the eating moment before you even start eating. While it's not a comprehensive, all-inclusive list, it's a start. In future posts, I will discuss ways to check in with your mind and body throughout a meal, too.

• Sit down.  Several years ago, I read a book entitled,  When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair: 50 Ways to Feel Thin, Gorgeous, and Happy.  The title and the story behind it provide an interesting idea. What would happen if we plopped ourselves down on a chair the next time we found ourselves face in the fridge or pantry looking for that...something?  I believe that act would bring greater awareness to the moment and give us just enough pause to reflect on our choices. So, if there is a time that you have a habit of not sitting down to eat for a meal or snack, give it a try.
• Silence!  Get rid of the noise. Turn off the t.v., iPod, or computer.  Stop working or reading the book.  Switch off all the chatter and regain focus over your meals.
• Location, location, location.  Designate a specific room or place where you plan to eat.  The dining room, kitchen table, or breakfast nook work great at home.  At work?  Leave your desk and head to the employee lounge or cafeteria.Do this, and you'll move yourself away from the noise.
  
• Bring curiosity to the table.  My two-year old loves to ask lots of questions about the food we eat before she digs in. Her inquisitiveness shows me that she's exploring her food, and I love that! We can learn from it!  Taking a curious perspective helps to direct our attention to the present moment.  Ask yourself questions that focus on what you're aware of or what you can experience with the food on this occasion:  Check in with your body.  Am I hungry?  How hungry am I?  Will this satisfy me right now?  Use your senses to explore the sight, smell, or feel of food. 
• Relax.  Just a few minutes of relaxation before a meal can create distance with all that mental clutter that we often bring to the table.  There are a variety of ways to do this.  Practice a few yoga poses (yep, I went there;)  In fact, some dietitians and therapists I know recommend this, especially for clients with eating disorders or gastrointestinal issues like IBS. Try prayer, thanksgiving, deep breathing exercises, or mental imagery to quiet the mind. My personal favorite is progressive relaxation.  I actually use this with my students prior to at least one exam.  Meditate. Rick Warren says that if you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. 

Are you ready to give mindful eating a shot?  Start with one mindful eating strategy before one meal or snack this week, and discover the moment!

Mindful Eating: The benefits

Over the last few days I've been sifting through old digital photos in an effort to properly organize and store them for safekeeping. As I browse through these photos, I am instantly brought back to those captured moments. I catch myself smiling, laughing, or even tearing up depending on the pic.  Sometimes the memories are so vivid that I can almost hear, taste,or even smell certain things. That is what I love about photography...capturing a moment in time...one that will never be again.

So, why am I talking about old photographs when this post is about mindful eating?  Well, I believe that mindful eating involves capturing a moment in a way similar to photography.  With mindful eating, we completely plug into the moment physically and mentally while leaving the judgments, criticisms, and worries behind, and we simply enjoy it for what it is...not what we think it could or should be.

In my last post, I presented four of my ideas of what mindful eating entails, and one of them was: "We direct our full attention to the immediate eating experience."  Many of us are so distracted by noise while we're eating.  Physical noise, such as the t.v., computer, or music, may be drowning out the experience.  Sometimes our mealtimes are inundated with psychological noise, such as "to-do lists", emotions, or an "inner critic" judging our eating. Regardless of the type of noise, if you are one whose meals are occupied by chatter, then you may not be getting the most out of your eating experiences.

And this brings me to how eating mindfully will benefit you, me, US!  Yes, food fulfills our basic physiological need for nourishment. You know, energy and vitamins and minerals, oh my! But I believe that food and eating serves a deeper purpose. Why else do so many foods look, smell, and taste so darn good?  Why do certain components of food trigger the release "feel good" chemicals in the body?  Why do {some} of us enjoy preparing it?  Why does it bring us together for so many celebrations? It's part of the fabric that supports our physiological, psychological, social, and cultural well-being.  Unfortunately, I don't think many of us think of eating in this way. Instead, some of us see it as the "enemy", a chore, too complex or confusing, something that must be done, or something that we dread or fear.

Mindful eating brings us to a more peaceful place with food. Wouldn't it be great if there were no difference between eating a piece of chocolate vs. eating an apple?  We aren't good if we eat the apple and bad if we eat the chocolate.  Mindful eating brings balance to our eating. It doesn't have to be the UFC (Ultimate Food Championship;) -- you know, US vs. FOOD.  On the contrary, mindful eating allows us the awareness to make thoughtful decisions about what or how much we're eating. No longer do we need to discontinue eating because the diet, calorie content, or something else told us to but rather we can stop because the experience is no longer pleasant.  Mindful eating allows us the pause needed to become more aware of hidden desires and cravings that we have for food, and in turn, this enlightenment may dissolve or help manage the cravings.  Above all, mindful eating helps us treat ourselves with more kindness!  We must eat to live, yes, but let's take it beyond that. Let's restore some of the pleasure that can be experienced through food and eating...without guilt, shame, judgment, or even indifference.

Stay tuned for my next post on getting started.

Mindful Eating: An Introduction

"Wherever you are, be all there." ~Jim Elliot~

Several years ago, two of my colleagues attended a conference on mindful eating.  Upon their return, they told me about an exercise they did while there.  They had to eat a raisin over the course of 7 minutes.  7 whole minutes!  During that time, they had to write down everything they noticed about the raisin...taste, texture, color, mouth feel, etc.  After doing this exercise, they revealed how eye-opening it was.  They both admitted that they'd never really noticed their food in this much detail.  I'm sure most of us don't.  Do we?  I was curious, so I tried this exercise at home.  I observed things about a raisin that I'd never recognized in the past.  It made the experience of eating the raisin more interesting and gratifying.  It may sound crazy, I know, but try it!

This exercise made me reflect on the variety of ways that many of us are out of touch with our eating experiences.  Although taste has been identified as the most influential determinant of our food choices, one survey suggests that fewer Americans report having as much pleasure associated with eating food.  Yes, pleasure goes beyond taste alone, but this surprises me given that about 2/3 of American adults are overweight or obese.  Sometimes we're just going through the motions because the clock says it's time to eat or because we're distracted by something else while we're eating whether it be the television or a thought. Occasionally, we let external factors influence our eating:  a diet, package or plate size, a friend, colleague, or parent.  More of us are distancing ourselves from the eating experience by relying on someone else to prepare our food for us.  In fact, the average American eats out for about 4 meals/week and spends 42% of the food budget on dining out.  That is up from about 3% in the early 1900's!  As a lover of cooking, I personally find that when I prepare my own food at home that I am more satisfied with the eating experience.  Some of us think of eating as a chore. Many of my clients and students skip meals or rush through a meal because they're "too busy" or "it's too much work".  These behaviors can definitely rob one of the satisfaction that can be gained through eating.

As a registered dietitian, one of my primary goals is to help people develop a more healthful and enjoyable relationship with food and eating.  So I'm going to spend the next few blog posts on the topic of mindful eating.  While a quick Google search will uncover many definitions for mindful eating, I will tell you what I think it involves.

• We direct our full attention to the immediate eating experience.  
• We connect our bodies and minds to facilitate more guided choices in eating.  
• We explore various aspects of food from production and preparation to flavor and aroma.  
• We savor the pleasure and nourishment eating offers without judgment.    

So, are you ready to take your eating experience to the next level?  If so, stay tuned as I delve into the topic mindful eating and discuss strategies that will enhance your eating experience!

Mindless Eating Pitfall #5: Distractions, Distractions

Mindless Eating Pitfall #5
Many of us manage very tight schedules at home, school, and work, and when the holidays roll around, we take our already jam-packed scheduled and times it by...oh, 100! And I think we're all guilty of this mindless eating pitfall...eating while distracted.  We're eating while driving, working, watching t.v., reading, watching a movie, cooking, cleaning up after dinner, playing video games, or watching a sporting event.  I know someone reading this right now is probably eating!  Distracted eating can be one of the most destructive types of mindless eating.  Why?  We have so many opportunities to do it, and what and how much we consume during these episodes can wreak havoc on our diet...and our waistlines.

There are three primary reasons distracted eating causes us to consume more food.  First of all, when our attention is diverted away from the act of eating, we are not as focused on how we feel as we're eating.  In these situations, it's very easy to override our natural satiety cues and become stuffed before we know it.  We also feel dissatisfied because we didn't really pay attention to what we ate, and therefore, we didn't get to enjoy it.  In some cases, we will eat things that don't even taste good.  A few years ago, Brian Wansink and his team gave movie attendees free medium or large-sized buckets of fresh or 14-day old stale popcorn.  Even those offered large buckets of stale popcorn ate 33.6% more than those given medium buckets of stale popcorn. Stale popcorn!  When we aren't focused on eating, we also might eat longer than we normally would.  If we're watching t.v., a movie, or a game, we might continue eating until the entertainment is over rather than when we feel physically satisfied.  Last but not least, it's a habit.  Is every person who eats popcorn at the movies actually hungry or have they simply developed a habit of eating popcorn at the movies?

These may seem like minor infractions, but even 100 additional calories per day from distracted eating can lead to a little over 10 pounds of weight gain in one year! On a more positive note, the simple nixing of that 100 calories of mindless eating can lead to 10 pounds of weight loss in one year.   

Strategies to Manage

• Detach.  Distract yourself with t.v., video games, the newspaper, etc. before getting something to eat. This way you're not eating when you start. Mindless eating averted.   
  
• Pre-portion your portion.  Serve yourself a smaller amount of food (minus refills) before engaging in another activity to reduce the impact of mindless eating.
• Location, location, location!  Only eat while seated in a certain room or place.  At home? Have a seat at a distraction-free dining table.  At work? Head to the employees' lounge or cafeteria to eat. 
  
• Switch it, change it, rearrange it.  Substitute a new habit for your old one (eating).  Instead of eating while watching television, do some...knitting?  Okay maybe not, but how about some stretching or crunches? Shake up your routine. Are you used to grabbing a coffee and muffin on the way to work in the morning? Take a new route to work. Before dishing yourself ice cream before your fave t.v. show comes on, munch on an apple or sip on a cup of hot tea instead? Consume food with your less dominant hand. When you do this, you actually need to focus more on what you're doing since you're not used to it, and you'll be able to monitor your intake better.

For more on mindless eating, check out, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.

Mindless Eating Pitfall #4: Portion Distortion

My first job many years ago was at McDonald's where I worked for three (long) months during high school.  I happened to be there when super sizing was first introduced.  Yep, at one time I was personally responsible for asking people, "Would you like to super size that?".  At the time, I had no idea of the implications that super sizing would have in our country.  But I am not here to pick on McDonald's because expanding portions have hijacked our food supply in many other ways, too.  In fact, one study found that portion sizes for 181 commonly consumed food items ranging from beer and soda to steak, cookies, and muffins have ballooned significantly over the last 40 years.  Even "diet" foods, such as Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, have expanded in size.  An analysis comparing original and updated recipes from the popular cookbook, "The Joy of Cooking", found that newer recipes now yield larger portions.  It doesn't stop here. The sizes of standard dinner plates, bowls, and beverage and wine glasses have increased significantly, too. For example, the dinner plates I received as a wedding gift just a few years ago measure 11.5" in diameter.  A standard sized dinner plate used to be about 7-9" in diameter 40-50 years ago, so that means my plates are about 33% bigger!  This is where mindless eating comes into play.  Short-term studies show that when people are served food in increasing portions, in larger packages, or on more sizable dinnerware, they tend to eat more.  Researchers providing study participants with 6", 8", 10", or 12" deli sandwiches on different days found that the larger the sandwich, the more they consumed.

Why do we do this? Good question!  There are a few  possibilities.  One is that as we have been increasingly exposed to greater portion sizes, we have become accustomed to those sizes. We rely on those measures to determine how much we should eat rather than measuring and weighing for accuracy.  What seems extreme now has the tendency to become the new norm.  An example? Big Macs...remember when that was considered HUGE?  20 ounce bottles of soda? Once unthinkable, but now it's normal because many other larger sandwiches have been introduced. Thank you, Carl's Jr.  Another reason portion distortion could pose a problem is because we aren't very good at determining how many calories are in that portion, especially with larger portions.  Finally, we have the tendency to rely on perceptual cues to determine how much food to serve ourselves (size of plate, bowl, glass).  For example, serving smaller portions of food on a 12" plate may be perceived as an inadequate portion whereas if we serve the same portion of food on a 10" plate, we will believe the portion is more adequate.  It's an optical illusion.  The same goes for glasses. We have the tendency to pour more in a shorter, wider glass than a taller, skinnier one.  See examples here.

Strategies to Manage

• Downsize. Purchase smaller or single-serving packages of food.  Portion out larger packages of food into smaller ones (think snack baggies) or onto plates or bowls.
  
• Honey, I shrunk the plates!  Use smaller plates, bowls, utensils, and serving dishes.  By serving your food with smaller dinnerware, you're likely to eat less.  Check out The Small Plate Movement, a challenge to participants to use 10" plates for the largest meal of the day for at least one month.   
• Divvy it up.  Order two appetizers instead of one large entree. Consume half of your regular order and take the other home.  Share your dish with a mealtime companion.
  
• Load up.  If you do end up using larger plates, fill half of the plate with vegetables and/or fruit.  This way you'll satisfy yourself with a lot fewer calories and a lot more nutrition.
  
• Be an early bird. Prepare your plate in advance of the meal with smaller dinner portions. 
• Deep and High.  Replace shorter, wider glasses with taller, skinnier ones for caloric beverages like juice and alcohol.  

A Black Friday Healthy Holiday Gift Wish List

One of the most anticipated days of the year is embarking upon us...Black Friday!  I know that some people anxiously await this day. I'm not one of them.  In anticipation of this day, and of the shopping season ahead, I thought I'd post a blog with healthy holiday gift wish list ideas.  I like to get some fresh gift ideas just before the holidays, and I thought I'd share some of what I found here. These are a few of the items that I already have, have tried, or would like to have.  So in case you need some ideas for items that promote health for your holiday wish list or someone else's, these are a few of my favorite things...

Mindless Eating Pitfall #3: More is not necessarily merrier

Mindless Eating Pitfall #3 

• The more the merrier but maybe not when it comes to our food.  During the holidays, we spend a lot of time fraternizing with family, friends and colleagues...usually around food.  While the fellowship is great, the mealtime socialization can wreak havoc on our eating behaviors. When we eat with others, especially familiar people like family and friends, our dining experience can be more pleasurable and comfortable resulting in our spending more time eating. Also, what or how much they eat can influence what and how much we eat. This can work for us or against us depending on with whom we are dining.  Have you ever eaten around someone who made you think twice about what you eat?  A first date or a fit friend perhaps?  Maybe you're around what I call a "food pusher" or a "food caretaker", like a well-meaning mom or grandma?  Previous research suggests that as the number of mealtime companions we have increases so does the amount of food that we eat.  Meanwhile, another study found that when a group of people share a meal together, there tends to be less variance in the amount of food consumed compared to individuals eating alone. Heard of "groupthink"? Well, I'll call this "group eat", and if your comrades tend to eat more, then that could impact your eating as well.

Strategies to Manage

• Plan ahead.  Develop a game plan of what and how much you plan to eat in advance of the actual event. Making your food choices and committing to them before the meal rather than during the meal will reduce the influence that others may have on your consumption behaviors. If you know that Mom will want you to savor her special dishes, begin with small servings of her best dishes rather than big portions. Why?  People don't necessarily remember how much food we ate.  If you go back for more, she'll remember that, and you'll likely eat less.
  
• Be a leader. Serve yourself or order your meal first.  I know, rude, right?  At the same time, by taking the lead, you are less likely to be influenced by what or how much everyone else eats.  And you may actually have a positive impact on what those who dish or order after you consume. 
  
• Be a follower.  Take your eating cues from someone who appears to be consuming smaller amounts of food or who is eating at a more leisurely pace.
  
• Take a break...from the food. Arrive late and leave early and you'll be spending a lot less time around the food.  Offer to help put the food away after dinner. Help guests move to another room for socializing.  Take a walk together or do some exergaming after the meal to take the focus off the food.
• Do something different.  Most of the big holiday events we attend revolve around food, so it might be hard to avoid them. But what about those other get-togethers?  The shopping trip with the family? Gift exchange with the girls? Lunch with the colleagues?  Having a meal for all of these other outings can really add up.  Consider suggesting non-food-related activities, if possible. Meet up at non-meal times.  Go out for coffee instead of breakfast or lunch. 
  
• Focus on the family.  I've learned that love is spelled T-I-M-E not F-O-O-D.  The season presents many wonderful opportunities to celebrate and appreciate what matters most in life, and believe it or not, it's not about the food.  If you look back, what do you remember most about the holidays? Is it Auntie Esther's pumpkin pie? Mom's special stuffing?  That sweet gift you got from...who was it?  Or do you revel in the quality time that you spent with your family and friends above all -- playing games, sharing stories, reminiscing, connecting?