Mindful Eating: Get Out Of Autopilot

Another great article!

By Michelle May, M.D.

Have you ever finished a candy bar and wished you had just one more bite? Are you surprised when your hand hits the bottom of the popcorn bucket at the movies? Do you ever feel completely stuffed and miserable after you eat?

These are all symptoms of unconscious or mindless eating.

Many people eat while they watch TV, drive, work—even while talking on the telephone. And many people eat too fast, so busy filling the next forkful that they don’t notice the bite in their mouth. Since your brain can only really focus on one thing at a time, you’ll miss the subtle signs of fullness so you won’t stop until you feel uncomfortable or until you run out of food. Most importantly, you won’t enjoy your food as much so you have to eat more to feel satisfied.

Eating is a natural, healthy, and pleasurable activity when it’s done to satisfy hunger. The bottom line is that weight management is not just about what you eat. How you eat matters just as much.

Choosing to eat “mindfully,” in other words, giving food and eating your full attention, will allow you to have optimal satisfaction and enjoyment without eating to excess.

Mindful eating makes it possible for you to experience the difference between physical satisfaction and fullness. Mindful eating also allows you to feel more satisfied with smaller quantities of food. Learning to savor your food simply makes eating more pleasurable. Knowing what satisfies you and getting the most pleasure from your eating experiences are key factors for a lifetime of weight control.

Try the following strategies to help you identify your body’s signals and truly enjoy your food:

• Start by recognizing whether you’re hungry before you begin eating. If you aren’t hungry, you won’t be as interested so it will be harder to stay focused. Besides, if a craving doesn’t come from hunger, eating will never satisfy it.

• Don’t wait until you’re famished. One of the keys to conscious eating is to keep your body adequately fed to avoid becoming overly hungry which increases the chance that you’ll overeat.

• Next, decide how full you want to be when you’re finished eating. When you eat with the intention of feeling better when you’re done eating, you’re less likely to keep eating until the food is gone.

• Choose food that will satisfy both your body and your mind. Our society is so obsessed with eating right that we sometimes eat things we don’t even like. However, satisfaction comes not just from fullness but from enjoying the taste of your food–without guilt. Feeling guilty about eating certain foods actually causes more overeating, not less.

• Set the table in a pleasant manner. Creating a pleasant ambience adds to the enjoyment of eating and to your level of satisfaction. Besides, you deserve it.

• Eat without distractions. If you eat while you’re distracted by watching television, driving, or talking on the telephone, you won’t be giving your food or your body’s signals your full attention. As a result, you may feel full but not satisfied.

• Eat when you’re sitting down. Choose one or two particular areas at home and at work that are only used for eating and eat only there. For example, do not eat while standing over the sink, peering into the refrigerator or sitting in bed.

• Appreciate the occasion. Appreciate the atmosphere, the company, or simply the fact that you’re giving yourself the opportunity to sit down and enjoy your meal.

• Take a few breaths and center yourself before you begin eating. This will help you slow down and give eating your full attention.

• Appreciate the aroma and the appearance of your food. Notice the colors, textures, and smells of the food and imagine what it will taste like.

• Decide which food looks the most appetizing and start eating that food first. If you save the best until last, you may want to eat it even if you are full.

• Savor the aromas and tastes of your food as you eat it. Put your fork down between bites and be conscious of all the different sensations you are experiencing.

• If you notice that you’re not enjoying what you chose, choose something else if possible. Eating food you don’t enjoy will leave you feeling dissatisfied.

• Pause in the middle of eating for at least two full minutes. Estimate how much more food it will take to fill you to comfortable satiety.

• Push your plate forward or get up from the table as soon as you feel satisfied. The desire to keep eating will pass quickly. Keep in mind that you’ll eat again when you’re hungry.

• Notice how you feel when you’re finished eating. If you overate, don’t punish yourself. Instead, be aware of the physical and/or emotional discomfort that often accompanies being overly full and create a plan to decrease the likelihood that you’ll overeat next time.

Once you’ve experienced the increased pleasure from eating mindfully, you may be motivated to become more mindful during other activities too. Living “in the moment” and becoming more aware can increase your enjoyment and effectiveness in everything you do.

Michelle May, M.D. is a recovered yoyo dieter and the award-winning author of Am I Hungry?

Don’t Eat After 7pm and Six Other Weight Managment Myths

Great Article!  These are some of the most common things I hear from my clients….

By Michelle May, M.D.

Diets are filled with dogma about when, what and how much to eat. Certainly “the rules” are usually based on observations that make sense, but unless you understand why you do certain things, you’ll break the rules as soon as the temptation is greater than your motivation.

 

Let’s examine some of these myths, where they come from and how to make long term changes that will work for you.

Myth: Don’t Eat After 7pm

Your metabolism doesn’t shut off at 7:01 pm so why is this rule so common? It’s based on the observation that many people who struggle with their weight overeat in the evening. Most have already eaten dinner so they aren’t snacking because they’re hungry. They snack because of boredom, television, loneliness and other triggers.

Rather than creating a rule to address those habits, ask yourself “Am I hungry?” whenever you feel like eating in the evenings. If you truly are, eat, keeping in mind that your day is winding down so you won’t need a huge meal. If you aren’t, consider why you feel like eating and come up with a better way to address that need. Ken, a man in one of my workshops, realized he was just bored so he started doing stained glass in the evenings to entertain himself. Whatever works!

Myth: Eat Small Meals Every 3 Hours

This rule is based on the fact that many thin people tend to eat frequent small meals. However, most of the thin people I know don’t check their watch to tell them it’s time to eat – they eat when their body tells them to. They eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re satisfied. Since that tends to be a small meal, they get hungry again in a few hours.

Instead of watching the clock, begin to tune in to the physical symptoms of hunger to tell you when to eat. And remember, your stomach is only about the size of your fist so it only holds a handful of food comfortably. By learning to listen to your body’s signals, you are likely to follow a frequent small meal pattern naturally.

Myth: Don’t Let Yourself Get Hungry

This one is based on the belief that overweight people are incapable of controlling themselves when they’re hungry. In my experience with hundreds of workshop participants, once they learn to tell the difference between physical hunger and head hunger, the opposite is true.

Think about it. When you’re hungry, food tastes better and is more satisfying. My grandmother used to say, “Hunger is the best seasoning.” Besides, if you aren’t hungry when you start eating, what’s going to tell you to stop? Of course, you also need to learn to recognize hunger and make time to eat before you’re too hungry since it’s harder to make great choices when you’re starving!

Myth: Exercise More When You Cheat

I hate this one because it has caused millions of people to equate physical activity with punishment for eating. As a result, many people either hate to exercise or use exercise to earn the right to eat.

While it’s true that your weight is determined by your overall calories in versus your calories out, exercise is only part of the equation and has so many other important benefits. Instead of using exercise to pay penance, focus on how great you feel, how much more energy you have, how much better you sleep and how much healthier you’re becoming. In the long run, you are more likely to exercise because it feels good than because you’re forced to.

Myth: Follow Your Diet Six Days a Week Then You Can Have a Cheat Day

This is absurd! What if you were a harsh, overly strict parent six days a week then completely ignored your kids every Saturday? How would this approach work for your marriage or managing your employees?

It just doesn’t make sense to try to be perfect (whatever that is) Sunday through Friday while obsessing about everything you’re going to eat on your day off. Then on Saturday you overeat just because you’re allowed to so you end up feeling miserable all day. Huh? Personally, I’d rather enjoy eating the foods I love every day, mindfully and in moderation. I call this being “in charge” instead of going back and forth between being in control and out of control.

Myth: Eat X Number of Calories a Day

Does it make sense that you would need exactly the same amount of fuel every day? Aren’t there just days when you’re hungrier than others, maybe because of your activity levels or hormonal cycles?

Rather than setting yourself up to “cheat” on those hungry days and forcing yourself to eat more food than you want on your less hungry days, allow yourself the flexibility to adjust your intake based on your actual needs rather than an arbitrary number. Important: for this to work long term, you also need to learn to tell the difference between physical hunger and head hunger.

Myth: Carbs are Bad (or Fat is Bad)

This “good food-bad food” thinking makes certain foods special. As a result, you may feel deprived and think about them even more than you did before. Worse yet, healthy foods become a four-letter word.

The truth is all foods fit into a healthy diet. Since different foods have various nutritional qualities and calorie content, you can use the principles of balance, variety and moderation to guide you without trying to restrict an entire food group.

Truth: You Are In Charge

I assume the rule-makers are well-intentioned and don’t realize that they’ve created a tight rope that most people fall off sooner or later. It’s time to give yourself the flexibility to make decisions that both nourish and nurture you.

 

Michelle May, M.D. is a recovered yoyo dieter and the award-winning author of Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don’t Work. Find additional articles and resources at http://AmIHungry.com/.

Today, my patient came to my office concerned about her recent weight gain. She is almost 200 pounds and has struggled with her weight for many years. She’s used Phen-fen, medically prescribed diets, and even starvation. She told me she feels a constant need to eat, oftentimes when she is already full. She eats “by the clock” or when it’s “meal time” and also when she’s around others who are eating.

When I asked her if she’s ever eaten when she feels like eating or based on her own hunger, she looked at me and didn’t say a word. It was obvious that this had never occurred to her before.

My patient’s style of eating is typical of a chronic dieter- one who is constantly trying new diets (diet pills, diet books, and other gimmicks). She also shows signs of being an emotional eater and a “disconnected eater”. An emotional eater is someone who uses food to cope with emotions, such as sadness, anger, depression, and boredom. While a disconnected eater is completely disconnected from their own internal need for food (example, hunger). Instead, their eating habits are dictated by external factors- someone of authority (example doctor), other people in their presence, what time of day it is, what they have read or heard how they “should” or “should not” eat, and others factors outside of themselves.

One of the first steps towards changing these negative eating behaviors is slowing down, tuning into yourself, paying attention and acknowledging that it’s happening.

10 Facts You Should Know About Probiotics

1. Probiotics have been around for over 100 years.  Most of us have only recently become familiar with the term, but, the very first concept of ”friendly bacteria” was proposed in 1907 by researcher, Eli Metchnikoff.

2. Probiotics literally means FOR LIFE (Pro= For; Biotic= Life).  Probiotics are beneficial cultures that can promote health and prevent disease when consumed in adequate amounts.

3. Probiotics help to maintain and restore balance of our digestive tract.  Our digestive tract contains over 100 trillion bacteria- some beneficial, some neutral, and some harmful. Several factors can cause an imbalanced digestive tract- A poor diet, stress, antibiotics, alcohol and tobacco, and aging.  By adding more probiotics, the balance of beneficial bacteria is greater than the harmful bacteria.

4.  Probiotics have many potential health benefits.  Although probiotics are most commonly associated with maintaining good digestive health and enhancing our immune system, there have also been some studies which have shown possibilities of some probiotics to prevent certain forms of cancer, reduce cholesterol levels, and even prevent kidney stones.

5. Probiotics are not all equal.  When choosing a probiotic,  it is important to identify the genus, species, and strain name.  For example, Lactobacillius (genus) casei (species) shirota (strain). Even cultures with the same genus and species name, but, different strain names have different effects.

6. Probiotics count in numbers. Most probiotics have been studied to have effects with at least 5 billion bacteria. Make sure to identify the number of viable probiotic cultures contained in each serving of the product and be sure that that is the amount studied to have a health benefit.

7. Probiotics should have published research which support its specific health benefit.  There are many products claiming to be probiotic. Be sure to choose only products that use strains that have been studied to have a health effect.

8. Probiotics are often associated with dairy products. 

9. Probiotics can be included as part of a healthy diet.  Similar to fruits, vegetables and other foods which should be consumed daily for optimal health, probiotics should also be consumed daily to maintain good health.

10. If you have any questions about taking probiotics, contact your doctor or Registered Dietitian.

“What should I eat for lunch?”

Last week my husband asked me, ”What should I eat for lunch at work?” My first thought was how come this thirty-three year old man, does not know what to have for lunch! But then, he reminded me that at his new job, he doesn’t have the benefits of paid meals or the ability to go home for lunch…so suddenly he has to fend for himself. As the new “wifey” that I am, I decided to take on the task of preparing healthy lunches for my new husband to take to work.

I know from working with my clients, having a healthy lunch is one of the hardest parts about keeping a healthy diet especially for those who work outside the home. Many people claim they lack time to prepare a homemade lunch and either opt for a fast food or restaurant prepared lunch, snack on various foods (usually non-nutritious) throughout the day and call that lunch, or they skip lunch all together and then end up ”starving” by dinner. Maintaining your healthy diet at work may be challenging, but, it is certainly not impossible.

First, you must consider access to refrigerator or microwave. If neither of these are available, it is a good idea to bring foods that won’t spoil or to bring a lunch pack cooler.
In any case, some healthful lunches might include:

1. Turkey roll-up (few slices of turkey, mayo or mustard, lettuce, tomato rolled in a whole wheat tortilla), 1 cup sliced melon, 1 cup of plain or greek-style yogurt.

2. Chicken Pita (few slices of chicken breast with tzatziki (yogurt and cucumber spread), lettuce, tomatoes in a whole wheat pita), green salad with light dressing, 1 cup grapes.

3. Leftover Bean & Pasta Salad (1 cup leftover whole wheat pasta + ½ cup cooked veggies, ½ cup garbanzo beans, sprinkled with Light Italian Dressing), 1 peach, ¼ cup trail mix.

4. Tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread, 1 cup sliced red peppers, ½ cup applesauce + a few walnuts.

5. ½ sandwich & soup- Canned chicken mixed with mayo or mustard on whole wheat bread + 1 cup “Healthy Choice” vegetable soup + 1 cup mixed berries.

6. Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich on whole wheat bread, 1 cup baby carrots

7. Green Salad, steamed or grilled vegetables, 1 scoop of canned salmon, “Light” dressing, 10 whole wheat crackers, 1 cup plain yogurt + ½ cup granola + ½ cup berries.

These are just a few suggestions, but, there are many more varieties…just keep in mind a few key components- Lean protein, whole grains, vegetables, fruit and/or low fat dairy. Also, to save time and stress in the morning, consider preparing your packed lunch with dinner the night before.
It is amazing how a few extra minutes to prepare and bring a healthy lunch will affect the way you (and your loved ones) feel the rest of the day! Plus, it can save you a few extra dollars in your pocket!

Later,  my husband told me how thankful he was that I prepared him a nourshing meal!

Eating Out Mindfully

One of the biggest challenges many people face with their eating habits today is dining out. With work, family, and keeping up with daily chores and activities, many people don’t have enough time in the day to prepare foods at home and therefore resort to eating out. While dining out can be a relaxing, enjoyable experience, if you’re not paying attention, it could have detrimental effects on your body. But, keep these tips in mind when getting ready to go out for your next meal and you can maintain a healthy heart and waist.

1. Whenever possible, plan ahead. Many restaurants display their menu online. If you know in advance where you’ll be eating, check out the menu and make your selection before going. This way you’re choosing when your not distracted or overly hungry and will likely make a healthier choice.

2. Study the menu carefully. Be careful choosing items with terms, such as “buttery, sautéed, crispy, fried, cream or cheese sauce, hollandaise, or marinated in oil.” Instead choose foods indicating low fat, such as “steamed, poached, grilled, roasted, boiled, or barbequed.”

3. Ask questions. If you’re unsure about how something is prepared…Ask! Oftentimes, meals appear to be healthy, but, may be saturated in butter or oil.

4. Make special requests. Many times I hear from clients that they “don’t want to be THAT person”, but, most of the time restaurants don’t mind and will honor your requests because they want to please their customers…perhaps limit it to one or two requests if you don’t want to appear too demanding.

5. Stay relaxed & eat slowly. Whether you’re out to eat or at home, eating in a relaxed environment and eating slowly will likely prevent you from overeating. Try enjoying the atmosphere or conversation with others instead of rushing to get your food down.

6. Stop eating when full. When you are relaxed and eat slowly, it’s easier to listen to your body to know when your full. Those people who eat until they’re comfortably full, tend to manage their weight better than those who overeat.

7. Save some for later! Restaurants are known to serve large portions. When you stop eating when you’re full, you’ll most likely have leftovers to take home for another meal. If you have a hard time with this, try asking for ½ your order to be put in the “doggie bag” before it’s served.

Stress Eating In Stressful Times

Stress is everywhere….my client just lost three family members, my accountant is afraid he won’t get the taxes done on time, my friend just lost her job, and I’m planning a wedding! It seems like almost everyone is under some kind of stress. Many people manage their stress with food. After all, food can provide pleasure; soothe pressure and distress; and fill a void. But, overtime, overeating can cause weight gain, which is often associated with other conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Here are some tips to controlling stress-related eating:

1. Become aware of the behavior. Without being aware, you can’t change..right? To do this, start by being more mindful when you eat. Ask yourself…”Am I hungry?” or think about why you’re eating.

2. If you find yourself grabbing for food when you’re not hungry, try to wait 15 – 30 minutes to eat and see if that changes your desire for food.

3. Try eating only when seated and not on the run, in the car, while working, or any other activity. This will help to keep you more focused on eating.

4. Keep a food record. Look for trends in your eating. This will not only help you to remember what you ate, but also it will help you to think before you eat. Plus, you may realize if you are overeating.

5. Eat regularly and consistently. The more routine your eating pattern is, the less unintentional or erratic eating will take place. Also, eating regularly, keeps your energy and blood glucose levels steady, which can help with managing stress.

6. Keep low calorie, healthful foods available; get rid of tempting foods. If your tendency is to put something in your mouth when you’re stressed, try eating cut up vegetables or fruits to occupy your mouth without affecting your waist.

7. Exercise. Try to take a walk, ride your bike, or practice yoga INSTEAD of eating to cope with stress. Even if it is only 5 minutes…that amount of time will give you a chance to pause and think instead of reacting to a stressful situation. Also, a regular exercise routine can keep stress levels down.

8. Don’t feel guilty if you DO overeat. This will most likely lead to more stressful eating and then the cycle begins again….

9. If nothing else works, talk to someone…a family member, friend, psychologist, or nutritionist.

Simple Eating Tips (by Michael Pollan)

“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants,” stated food author, Michael Pollan at a lecture given to CDC scientists last week. Together, these seven simple words summarize healthy eating…meaning choose mostly vegetables, fruits, whole grains; include some fish, meat, chicken, and dairy; but skip the processed foods and keep portions small. As a dietitian, getting the message across about healthy eating in a very succinct way that everyone can understand is key.

Pollan suggests here’s how to do it:

1. Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food- Go- gurt? Breakfast-cereal bars? Non-dairy creamer?

2. Watch out for food products bearing health claims- Often, they are heavily processed and have no real health benefit.  Also, keep in mind, apples are one of the most healthful foods, yet there are no health claims written on the outside of their skin!

3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than five in number, or that contain high fructose corn syrup.- Usually indicates highly processed and low nutrient foods.

4. Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store, and don’t buy food where you buy your gasoline. Fresh foods tend to be on the perimeter of the store, while processed and less nutritional foods are in the middle aisles and in convenient stores.

5. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves. A plant based diet is generally lower in calories and fat and less “energy dense”.

6. Eat more like the French, Japanese, Italians, or Greeks. “People who eat according to the rules of a traditional food culture are generally healthier than we are”, Pollan says. He suggests, “Pay attention to how a culture eats, as well as to what it eats.” For example, In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full.

7. Cook. And if you can, plant a garden. Food you grow and prepare yourself is generally much healthier than not.

Bring some GREEN into your life…

Green is the color associated with St. Patrick’s Day, but also it’s the color of some of the most nutritious foods on the planet….Spinach, kale, collard greens, turnip greens, salad greens, broccoli, asparagus, green peppers, bok choy, avocado, and others.

These vegetables are rich sources of vitamins K, C, A, and many of the B vitamins; minerals, such as iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which are potent antioxidants that can neutralize free radical damage that can lead to premature aging and disease.

Green vegetables are low in fat and calories and a good source of fiber, which means you can’t go wrong by eating as much as you want (unless indicated by your doctor)!

Here are a few simple ways to bring more green into your life:

1. Use premixed, bagged salads made of the dark green leaves. Have a salad (with low fat dressing or olive oil), with a cup of soup or a sandwich, or as a side dish or as a main entrée with lean protein.

2. Add a pile of leafy greens or green peppers or avocado to your sandwich.

3. Add chopped green vegetables to soup.

4. Add chopped spinach into pasta sauce.

5. Steam up some broccoli or asparagus and serve with dinner.

6. Keep cut up green peppers or broccoli for a quick snack with some hummus or other low fat dip.

7. Make a stir-fry with beef, chicken, or tofu using bok choy

8. Stir raw or lightly cooked greens into omelets.

Probiotics: Food vs. Supplement?

One of the hottest topics today in the field of nutrition and health is PROBIOTICS.

Probiotics are “live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts which confer a beneficial health effect on the host”. Historically, probiotics have been helpful for improving digestion and enhancing our immune systems, however, with research of probiotics on the rise, we are learning about other potential health benefits of probiotics (for example, improving blood pressure and cholesterol levels).

Commonly, people ask me if they need to get probiotics from food or can they take a supplement. While using supplements containing probiotics is an option, I always advise to choose food first over supplements whenever its available. By choosing food products containing probiotics you also get the nutritional benefits of eating that particular food. For example, probiotics can be found in yogurt, which is a good source of calcium, riboflavin, potassium, and proteins. By eating the yogurt instead of taking a supplement you get all the extra nutrients important for good health, whereas, if you take a supplement, you will miss out on all of these extra nutrients.

Probiotics in the U.S. can be found in a wide range of foods, including dairy products, cereals, juices, and even cookies. When choosing a probiotic, it is important to know the strain name of the probiotic, the number of viable bacteria per serving, and the extent of research on humans that demonstrates a health benefit using the particular strain and the amount of probiotic in the product.

Some probiotic products sold in the U.S. include Yakult, DanActive/Activia Yogurt, and Stonyfield Farms yogurts.