Eating smart is all in your mind

[Guest guest]

By LaRue Huget

Washington Post

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Picture yourself at your most recent big holiday meal.

Did you pile your plate with food served from bowls and platters at the

table?

Did you take some -- or a lot -- of everything, whether or not each food was

a particular favorite?

Did you dig in when everyone else did and chat while eating, never even

pausing to put down your fork?

And, when that first plate of food was gone, did you automatically seek

seconds?

If that sounds familiar, you ate more than you actually wanted or needed.

And you probably didn't enjoy it as much as you thought you would,

especially when the meal was over and you were left feeling uncomfortably

full.

Now picture this: At your next festive gathering, you serve yourself from

bowls and platters in the kitchen, taking just the amount you want of only

those foods you love best. Before digging in, you sit for a moment, even as

those around you start eating, and you take in all the sights, scents and

sounds of the holiday table. Then you lift your fork and taste, pausing to

notice exactly how your food smells, its temperature, how it feels in your

mouth, savoring its flavors. As you chew, you set down your fork. Only when

you've fully enjoyed and eventually swallowed that first bite do you take

another. By the end of the meal -- which you are the last to finish -- you

are not just full but truly satisfied.

Which scenario sounds more celebratory?

I suppose an argument could be made for either. But proponents of a practice

known as " mindful eating " are convinced that the second approach not only

allows you to enjoy your food more but also can help you manage your weight

during the holiday season and beyond.

Mindful eating is an outgrowth of a practice called mindfulness, itself an

outgrowth of Zen Buddhism (but one that can easily be embraced without

adopting Zen or any other philosophy). Mindfulness involves slowing down to

savor all of life's details, to notice small things and appreciate every

sensation. As applied to eating, mindfulness offers a means of making the

most of every calorie you choose to ingest and can help you make those

choices.

Psychologist Albers has written extensively about mindful eating,

particularly in her book " Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and

Enjoy a Balanced Relationship With Food " (New Harbinger, 2003). She defines

the practice as " a calm, focused, nonjudgmental awareness of what you eat.

It focuses more on the way you eat rather than what you eat. " Mindful

eating, Albers adds, " is not a diet. There are no menus or recipes. "

It takes three steps, she says. First, train yourself to really taste food,

using all of your senses. Next, become aware of the habits and routines that

govern your eating. Finally, tune in to your hunger and fullness, learning

to distinguish between psychological and emotional hunger and true physical

hunger.

Mindful eating might just be the tool to get you through the calorie-fest we

call the holidays. " Too many people decide to diet during the holiday

season, " Albers notes. " This isn't realistic. In fact, creating a rule to

steer clear of holiday treats is a setup for failure, shame and guilt.

Instead, " she recommends, " work on eating cookies and other holiday treats

mindfully. Before you take a bite, ask yourself, 'Am I eating this

mindfully? Am I hungry, and would I really enjoy it?' "

Adopting mindful eating takes time and practice, Albers acknowledges. Even

though the eating season is well underway, you can still commit. But don't

try it for the first time at the office holiday party. " It is like building

any other skill, " Albers says. " You don't want to learn to swim when you are

drowning. . . . Initially, practice the skill when you are feeling calm and

relaxed rather than in the midst of a strong craving or too many holiday

treats. "

Wansink wrote the groundbreaking book " Mindless Eating: Why We Eat

More Than We Think " (Bantam, 2007), which showed how our eating habits are

governed by myriad environmental cues, such as the size of our plates and

the company we keep. He has a slogan: " The best diet is the one you don't

know you're on. "

Wansink says he believes we can harness our awareness of environmental cues

to create conditions that allow us to relax and eat without fear of

overindulging. The goal, he says, is to " help people mindlessly eat right. "

That means scouring your surroundings for all the little things that

encourage you to overeat. Swap your mammoth dinner plates for modestly sized

ones to make healthful food portions seem substantial. Use tall, thin

glasses instead of short, squat ones so you pour less liquid. Plate your

food in the kitchen rather than at the table so you're forced to get up for

second helpings. You might not.

The idea is to remove all of the subtle obstacles to healthful eating so

that you don't have to think about whether you're eating smart: Doing so

becomes the only option.

" We have tremendous control over our personal environment, " Wansink says.

Exerting that control is a sound strategy " for anyone who doesn't want to be

a full-time dieter. "

Instead of devoting ourselves to lives of mindfulness, he suggests, we can

just work on changing the cues that trigger our overeating. " For someone who

really wants [mindful eating] to be their entire life mission, they can

study it and eat mindfully, " Wansink says.

" But most of us are too busy for that. "

[Guest guest]

Francesca,Thank you for posting this article. It is a concept that I am trying to incorporate in my eating plan for longevity. In fact, I find that if I listen to my body, I will eat what it needs. Of course, this is not always possible, but if I do it most of the time. it gets easier. While I have learned so much here regarding the various nutrients and biochemistry, for me, it comes down to quality of life and having some fun. One trick that is working for me is to plan well in advance. I have never been a fan of freezing food, but am doing more lately, so I have good nutritious food available when I feel the hunger pangs. It also helps to use my food for lunches and snacks at work. Since I am a nurse anesthetist and work in an operating room, it is not possible to have a serene, slow lunch. Learning to adapt to that is my next big challenge.On a personal note, last weekend I attended a baguette baking course at The San Francisco Baking Institute. The classes were excellent and after making 40 baguettes, I am certain that I will never eat store bought bread, when I can make my own. Since the low carb movement, many people dismiss bread as a no no. Actually, well made bread, without preservatives is very healthy and filling. I am not sure my comments will be well received by the purists here, but in order to make CRON or any other plan for longevity work for the average person, good tasting food is essential to success, in my opinion.MJMOn Dec 10, 2009, at 6:42 AM, Francesca Skelton wrote:

By LaRue Huget

Washington Post

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Picture yourself at your most recent big holiday meal.

Did you pile your plate with food served from bowls and platters at the

table?

Did you take some -- or a lot -- of everything, whether or not each food was

a particular favorite?

Did you dig in when everyone else did and chat while eating, never even

pausing to put down your fork?

And, when that first plate of food was gone, did you automatically seek

seconds?

If that sounds familiar, you ate more than you actually wanted or needed.

And you probably didn't enjoy it as much as you thought you would,

especially when the meal was over and you were left feeling uncomfortably

full.

Now picture this: At your next festive gathering, you serve yourself from

bowls and platters in the kitchen, taking just the amount you want of only

those foods you love best. Before digging in, you sit for a moment, even as

those around you start eating, and you take in all the sights, scents and

sounds of the holiday table. Then you lift your fork and taste, pausing to

notice exactly how your food smells, its temperature, how it feels in your

mouth, savoring its flavors. As you chew, you set down your fork. Only when

you've fully enjoyed and eventually swallowed that first bite do you take

another. By the end of the meal -- which you are the last to finish -- you

are not just full but truly satisfied.

Which scenario sounds more celebratory?

I suppose an argument could be made for either. But proponents of a practice

known as "mindful eating" are convinced that the second approach not only

allows you to enjoy your food more but also can help you manage your weight

during the holiday season and beyond.

Mindful eating is an outgrowth of a practice called mindfulness, itself an

outgrowth of Zen Buddhism (but one that can easily be embraced without

adopting Zen or any other philosophy). Mindfulness involves slowing down to

savor all of life's details, to notice small things and appreciate every

sensation. As applied to eating, mindfulness offers a means of making the

most of every calorie you choose to ingest and can help you make those

choices.

Psychologist Albers has written extensively about mindful eating,

particularly in her book "Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and

Enjoy a Balanced Relationship With Food" (New Harbinger, 2003). She defines

the practice as "a calm, focused, nonjudgmental awareness of what you eat.

It focuses more on the way you eat rather than what you eat." Mindful

eating, Albers adds, "is not a diet. There are no menus or recipes."

It takes three steps, she says. First, train yourself to really taste food,

using all of your senses. Next, become aware of the habits and routines that

govern your eating. Finally, tune in to your hunger and fullness, learning

to distinguish between psychological and emotional hunger and true physical

hunger.

Mindful eating might just be the tool to get you through the calorie-fest we

call the holidays. "Too many people decide to diet during the holiday

season," Albers notes. "This isn't realistic. In fact, creating a rule to

steer clear of holiday treats is a setup for failure, shame and guilt.

Instead," she recommends, "work on eating cookies and other holiday treats

mindfully. Before you take a bite, ask yourself, 'Am I eating this

mindfully? Am I hungry, and would I really enjoy it?' "

Adopting mindful eating takes time and practice, Albers acknowledges. Even

though the eating season is well underway, you can still commit. But don't

try it for the first time at the office holiday party. "It is like building

any other skill," Albers says. "You don't want to learn to swim when you are

drowning. . . . Initially, practice the skill when you are feeling calm and

relaxed rather than in the midst of a strong craving or too many holiday

treats."

Wansink wrote the groundbreaking book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat

More Than We Think" (Bantam, 2007), which showed how our eating habits are

governed by myriad environmental cues, such as the size of our plates and

the company we keep. He has a slogan: "The best diet is the one you don't

know you're on."

Wansink says he believes we can harness our awareness of environmental cues

to create conditions that allow us to relax and eat without fear of

overindulging. The goal, he says, is to "help people mindlessly eat right."

That means scouring your surroundings for all the little things that

encourage you to overeat. Swap your mammoth dinner plates for modestly sized

ones to make healthful food portions seem substantial. Use tall, thin

glasses instead of short, squat ones so you pour less liquid. Plate your

food in the kitchen rather than at the table so you're forced to get up for

second helpings. You might not.

The idea is to remove all of the subtle obstacles to healthful eating so

that you don't have to think about whether you're eating smart: Doing so

becomes the only option.

"We have tremendous control over our personal environment," Wansink says.

Exerting that control is a sound strategy "for anyone who doesn't want to be

a full-time dieter."

Instead of devoting ourselves to lives of mindfulness, he suggests, we can

just work on changing the cues that trigger our overeating. "For someone who

really wants [mindful eating] to be their entire life mission, they can

study it and eat mindfully," Wansink says.

"But most of us are too busy for that."

[Guest guest]

While we all need to find our own path, and this won't work as well when feeding a family, I have found cooking large batches when making meals, and then freezing modest portions for later microwave re-heating, is helpful for portion control, and saves time, while reducing the temptation of seconds. Even if slightly hungry, after finishing one portion I am never so hungry that I'm willing to cook another whole portion. This is also works with appetite timing effects, that delay satiety for several minutes after eating. At least it works better for me. I know that I won't still be as hungry, ten minutes from now or however long it takes to heat up another serving. This also allows me to reduce my average daily meat consumption in dishes by adding more and different vegetables to the pot. The amount of meat that might have made one or two servings for me when I was eating ad lib, now stretches to 7 or 8 servings. I also only cook on my stove once a week, while living from my freezer and microwave the rest of the time. I use different meats each weekend when I cook, so my daily meals can rotate between chicken, beef, pork, chili, stew or whatever (last week I threw some ginger in with the chicken ). So I enjoy variety based on the contents of my freezer. I use pyrex freezer containers to cut down exposure to plastics, while they still use plastic covers. A bridge strategy for me to manage portion size was to buy modest sized microwave meals, but I have completely weaned myself off all processed foods a few years back and now they seem unpalatable.-----I would be one of those purists that avoids bread as a daily diet item, but will occasionally splurge on some home made deep dish pizza. I have even made home made bagels before (using whole wheat flour). Better than twinkies but not as good as a piece of fruit. I don't advocate 100% abstinence from any food (except perhaps man made trans-fats) . If we are going to follow a healthier eating pattern for the rest of our life, we must feed our inner child too. What matters is what and how much we eat in the average. A few baguettes won't make much difference, but a few every day, will make it harder to maximize your average nutrient density (bang for the calorie). But take your time, we have the rest of our lives to perfect our diet... As long as we are continually improving it, we are on the right path. Merry merry happy happy..JROn Dec 10, 2009, at 9:06 AM, Jeanette Mannino wrote: Francesca,Thank you for posting this article. It is a concept that I am trying to incorporate in my eating plan for longevity. In fact, I find that if I listen to my body, I will eat what it needs. Of course, this is not always possible, but if I do it most of the time. it gets easier. While I have learned so much here regarding the various nutrients and biochemistry, for me, it comes down to quality of life and having some fun. One trick that is working for me is to plan well in advance. I have never been a fan of freezing food, but am doing more lately, so I have good nutritious food available when I feel the hunger pangs. It also helps to use my food for lunches and snacks at work. Since I am a nurse anesthetist and work in an operating room, it is not possible to have a serene, slow lunch. Learning to adapt to that is my next big challenge.On a personal note, last weekend I attended a baguette baking course at The San Francisco Baking Institute. The classes were excellent and after making 40 baguettes, I am certain that I will never eat store bought bread, when I can make my own. Since the low carb movement, many people dismiss bread as a no no. Actually, well made bread, without preservatives is very healthy and filling. I am not sure my comments will be well received by the purists here, but in order to make CRON or any other plan for longevity work for the average person, good tasting food is essential to success, in my opinion.MJMOn Dec 10, 2009, at 6:42 AM, Francesca Skelton wrote: By LaRue Huget Washington Post Thursday, December 10, 2009 Picture yourself at your most recent big holiday meal. Did you pile your plate with food served from bowls and platters at the table? Did you take some -- or a lot -- of everything, whether or not each food was a particular favorite? Did you dig in when everyone else did and chat while eating, never even pausing to put down your fork? And, when that first plate of food was gone, did you automatically seek seconds? If that sounds familiar, you ate more than you actually wanted or needed. And you probably didn't enjoy it as much as you thought you would, especially when the meal was over and you were left feeling uncomfortably full. Now picture this: At your next festive gathering, you serve yourself from bowls and platters in the kitchen, taking just the amount you want of only those foods you love best. Before digging in, you sit for a moment, even as those around you start eating, and you take in all the sights, scents and sounds of the holiday table. Then you lift your fork and taste, pausing to notice exactly how your food smells, its temperature, how it feels in your mouth, savoring its flavors. As you chew, you set down your fork. Only when you've fully enjoyed and eventually swallowed that first bite do you take another. By the end of the meal -- which you are the last to finish -- you are not just full but truly satisfied. Which scenario sounds more celebratory? I suppose an argument could be made for either. But proponents of a practice known as "mindful eating" are convinced that the second approach not only allows you to enjoy your food more but also can help you manage your weight during the holiday season and beyond. Mindful eating is an outgrowth of a practice called mindfulness, itself an outgrowth of Zen Buddhism (but one that can easily be embraced without adopting Zen or any other philosophy). Mindfulness involves slowing down to savor all of life's details, to notice small things and appreciate every sensation. As applied to eating, mindfulness offers a means of making the most of every calorie you choose to ingest and can help you make those choices. Psychologist Albers has written extensively about mindful eating, particularly in her book "Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship With Food" (New Harbinger, 2003). She defines the practice as "a calm, focused, nonjudgmental awareness of what you eat. It focuses more on the way you eat rather than what you eat." Mindful eating, Albers adds, "is not a diet. There are no menus or recipes." It takes three steps, she says. First, train yourself to really taste food, using all of your senses. Next, become aware of the habits and routines that govern your eating. Finally, tune in to your hunger and fullness, learning to distinguish between psychological and emotional hunger and true physical hunger. Mindful eating might just be the tool to get you through the calorie-fest we call the holidays. "Too many people decide to diet during the holiday season," Albers notes. "This isn't realistic. In fact, creating a rule to steer clear of holiday treats is a setup for failure, shame and guilt. Instead," she recommends, "work on eating cookies and other holiday treats mindfully. Before you take a bite, ask yourself, 'Am I eating this mindfully? Am I hungry, and would I really enjoy it?' " Adopting mindful eating takes time and practice, Albers acknowledges. Even though the eating season is well underway, you can still commit. But don't try it for the first time at the office holiday party. "It is like building any other skill," Albers says. "You don't want to learn to swim when you are drowning. . . . Initially, practice the skill when you are feeling calm and relaxed rather than in the midst of a strong craving or too many holiday treats." Wansink wrote the groundbreaking book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" (Bantam, 2007), which showed how our eating habits are governed by myriad environmental cues, such as the size of our plates and the company we keep. He has a slogan: "The best diet is the one you don't know you're on." Wansink says he believes we can harness our awareness of environmental cues to create conditions that allow us to relax and eat without fear of overindulging. The goal, he says, is to "help people mindlessly eat right." That means scouring your surroundings for all the little things that encourage you to overeat. Swap your mammoth dinner plates for modestly sized ones to make healthful food portions seem substantial. Use tall, thin glasses instead of short, squat ones so you pour less liquid. Plate your food in the kitchen rather than at the table so you're forced to get up for second helpings. You might not. The idea is to remove all of the subtle obstacles to healthful eating so that you don't have to think about whether you're eating smart: Doing so becomes the only option. "We have tremendous control over our personal environment," Wansink says. Exerting that control is a sound strategy "for anyone who doesn't want to be a full-time dieter." Instead of devoting ourselves to lives of mindfulness, he suggests, we can just work on changing the cues that trigger our overeating. "For someone who really wants [mindful eating] to be their entire life mission, they can study it and eat mindfully," Wansink says. "But most of us are too busy for that."