How I’ve benefited from Mindful Eating

January 14, 2013 / ktbuchs87

Hello Readers! I hope that everyone had a fabulous week! I know I did but that might have something to do with the fact that I spent it in Jamaica on my honeymoon… Not bragging… ok I am. Both Adam and I had the best time ever in Montego Bay and were able to spend some quality time resting and relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. Ok, as much as I know you would all love to hear more about my honeymoon, I’ll get on with today’s post!

I talked last time about some easy ways that you could start to eat more mindfully. Even if you incorporate one or two of those techniques into your eating habits, you can start to reap the benefits of mindful eating. But what exactly are the benefits to mindful eating? Why should you care about the way you eat? Glad you asked and happy to answer! Now keep in mind, this is the way that I personally have benefited from mindful eating. While it will probably be similar, you may experience different results. That is totally cool, because we are all different!

1) More aware of the food that I eat By slowing myself down and really taking the time to consider the food that I am about to eat I have noticed that I am able to really see how different foods affect me. For example, over the past few months I have noticed that whenever I eat wheat I feel bloated and my skin tends to break out. Or when I have an egg and some type of nut butter for breakfast I am able to feel fuller for longer. Mindful eating has really allowed me to hone my diet so that I can feel and look as good as possible. The practice of slowing down and savoring every bit of my food has also helped to train me to tap into what my body is trying to tell me.

2) New appreciation for food Now that I try to use all of my senses while eating, I have really come to love different aspects of food. For instance, I have come to love the sound of garlic sizzling in a cast iron skillet. I love the smell of sweet potatoes roasting in the oven with Italian spices. I really like the look of roasted beats next to a pile of broccoli. While it might seem silly to feel this way about food, this has allowed me to really appreciate all the ways that healthy food nourishes my body, not just with nutrients but also with sounds, smells, and visuals.

3) Allows me to know when I’m full Before I started to eat mindfully, I could finish a meal in about 5 to 10 minutes flat if I had to. The problem with that (besides indigestion) was that I never knew when I was truly full and would end up eating way more than my body needed in that short time frame. Now that I take at LEAST 20 minutes to eat a meal (most of the time, longer than that) I can feel when I am approaching full. Let me tell you, it takes a lot less food than you would think to fill you up. Plus because I am savoring every bite, I feel much more satisfied after I am done eating.

4) Helped me to connect with others around me While this might not seem like a health benefit at first glance, it really is. Taking the time to sit down and turn off all distractions has allowed me to connect and bond with whomever I am sharing a meal with. Adam and I try to at least eat one meal together and sitting at the kitchen table and it has really opened up a new way to connect. We talk about each other’s day, interesting things we read, or movies/books we are looking forward too. Some of my best memories are family meals where we all would take the time to prepare delicious foods, turn off our phones, and sit at the table and chat. Mindful eating not only is good for the body, it is good for the relationships around you.

These are just a few of the bigger impacts that mindful eating has had on my eating habits. There are others, such as an excitement/eagerness to create new dishes just to experience a new sensation food-wise. Or just the simple fact that I know that I am doing something really healthy for my body and that is always a good thing!

If you have any questions or comments about mindful eating, I would really love to hear from you! Let me know how it has helped you or if you have any questions as how to get started, give me a shout! Also, check out this website for more tips and history on mindful eating. Next week, I want to talk about how our bodies are really great at letting us know exactly what we need nutrition wise. So have a fantastic week and I’ll see you soon!

Such delicious food in Jamaica! I may or may have not eaten my weight in their delicious smoked salmon and callaloo…

Mindful eating: How to get started

December 31, 2012 / ktbuchs87

I hope that everyone had a FABULOUS Christmas! I know that I was doubly blessed this year and got to celebrate twice! Once on Christmas with my family and then Adam and I celebrated our very first Christmas as husband and wife yesterday. It was a great day filled with cheer, board games, presents, delicious food, and Christmas shows. I could not have asked for a better day. Now on to today’s topic!

One of the many cookbooks I got, but I was REALLY excited for this one! Love root veggies!

Cooking my first Christmas feast. Yup I smile like that most of the time

I talked last week about mindful eating and what that means. Simply put, it is experiencing your food with ALL your senses and taking the time to fully savor your meal. So often we are distracted while eating a meal and this leads to you inhaling your food and not really remembering what you ate. This then leads to more (read: over) eating because you do not feel like you got a full meal. Clearly this is a problem and can lead to weight gain and numerous health problems. My humble opinion is that we all need to practice a little mindful eating.

But how exactly do you eat mindfully? It is actually very simple, although I will warn you that it does take practice and patience. When you are used to eating one way for so long it becomes a habit and habits can be tough to break/change. Here are some of the steps that I personally have taken to eat mindfully and they have really helped.

Eliminate all distractions while eating. Turn off your TV, log off your laptop, put away your cellphone/tablet/whatever electronic device you have in your clutches. When you are eating you should be totally focused on the plate in front of you. Distractions while eating cause you to over eat and not pay attention (hence the name distractions… like I said most of this advice is pretty simple). The one thing that I do have while I am eating a meal is music. I like to have the radio on in the background and it is usually tuned to the classical radio station (unless it is Christmas time and then you best believe Bing Crosby is singing to me about a White Christmas). I understand that music could be a distraction for some, but might enhance the eating experience for others.

When possible, sit at a table for your meal. Another simple but effective tool of mindful eating is having a designated area to sit and eat all of your meals. This allows your body to know that it is about to receive food and it can adjust accordingly. I know that a lot of you are eating on the go because you have super busy lives and I understand that sitting down at the kitchen table for every meal might not be possible. But try to make at least one meal a sit down meal. Once you start this habit, you will really notice how just sitting at a table helps to put your focus on the delicious meal you are about to eat.

Try to be involved in the process of putting a meal together. I totally get that not everyone loves to cook or be in the kitchen making a meal. Some people find it a chore or too hard or have the tendency to burn water whenever they are trying to make food. However, you do not have to make the whole meal by yourself to be involved in the process. Help cut veggies, make the sauce, pick a wine to go with dinner, set the table or even just spend time in the kitchen observing the meal being put together. Getting involved in the whole process really allows you, the eater of food, to be more connected to the food and get more out of the act of eating. When you are more aware of your meal, you are better able to appreciate eating that food. Which leads into the next step…

Use all your senses when eating. Don’t just limit your eating to your sense of taste. Yes that is one of the most important senses, but you really miss out on a lot if you are just shoveling food in your mouth barely tasting anything. Smell all the wonderful aromas of your meal before you take a bite, or look at the bright colors of the veggies on your plate. Really listen to the sizzle of that hot steak as it comes your way to the table. Touching your food might be frowned upon in some situations, but notice the texture of that pasta as you eat or feel how creamy your mashed potatoes are. All of these actions make eating so much more than the simple act of putting a fork to your lips. It will also allow you to feel more satisfied with less food. And finally…

SLOW DOWN. It is surprising how fast some folks eat a meal. I kid you not, I have seen a family sit down to dinner and finish in 7 minutes flat. A meal should not be along the lines of a hotdog eating competition. It takes your body at least 20 minutes to register that it has eaten something, so try to make your meal last at least that long. If possible try to stretch it out even longer. Take the time to savor your food and take note that you are eating. Also with this last tip, try to eat just one helping and not go back for seconds. The longer you take to eat, the more you feel satisfied with just that one helping of food.

These are just some guidelines for mindful eating and there are a lot more. There are actually whole classes and seminars dedicated to teaching the “art” of mindful eating. But you don’t need a class to start incorporating these steps into your daily eating. Try one or two and don’t get discouraged. You may feel silly taking at least 20 minutes to eat or that it is ridiculous to smell your food, but these things WILL help you to eat mindfully and in the long run eat better and find more satisfaction with less food.

I will be taking a short break after this post because Adam and I are leaving for our honeymoon on Sunday! I am super excited to head to Jamaica with him and can’t wait to tell you all about it! So enjoy your New Year and I pray that it is a wonderful year for all of you!

Mindful Eating: Wait… Did I just eat that?

December 24, 2012December 24, 2012 / ktbuchs87

Oh the holidays! What a wonderful time of friends, family, and food! How many of you have been in this situation? You’re at a Christmas party, there is food EVERYWHERE, people all around talking, laughing, drinking, having a good time. You are enjoying the rush of holiday spirit and look down at your plate and realize you have downed five pigs in a blanket, a mountain of chips and dip, and there are still cookie crumbs on your face. You know you had a full plate just a minute ago, but you can’t remember finishing any of it.

Unfortunately, this happens all too often, and not just at Christmas time. I’ve been just as guilty of plopping myself in front of the TV for dinner and inhaling my meal without even remembering the taste of what was on my plate. Or how about the mindless snacking that just seems to go hand in hand with surfing the internet? What would Facebook-stalking your friends be without that endless bag of Doritos? We have become a society that has gotten really good at multitasking, but multitasking while eating can be detrimental to your health.

Enter mindful eating. Maybe you have heard/seen/read about this idea but never really gave much thought to it (pun intended there). This idea has been picking up speed and support here in the United States for the past few years, but the practice of mindfulness has been around for much longer than that. In Buddhist culture, they have been practicing the art of mindful eating for thousands of years. So what is mindful eating exactly? In the simplest terms, it is being completely present and aware of everything that goes in to the act of sitting down and eating a meal. Not just the taste of food, but the smell, the sight, the texture, and the ambiance around you. It is really focusing on being in the moment, so to speak, with your food.

Now, I can see some of you rolling your eyes at the computer screen. “Great. She is one of THOSE people. How long before she has us hugging trees and dancing around with scarves to advocate healthy eating?” No, I am not one of THOSE people, although there is nothing wrong with them and I do a pretty wicked healthy food scarf dance. Mindful eating doesn’t have to be some crazy spiritual food experience to be helpful to you and your health. There have been numerous studies and research products on the effects of mindful eating on a healthy diet. And a lot of them have shown very positive results.

Over the next few posts, I want to go more into the principles of mindful eating as well as share some of my experiences with the practice. It really has helped improve my health, and I was one of the skeptical ones when I first heard the idea (30 minutes to eat a banana? No thanks, get it in my belly asap). But I now see the benefits and I think that you can reap those same benefits for yourself!

With that in mind (yup another pun) I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy the time with your loved ones and bask in the glow of this wonderful season! And just maybe think before reaching for that fifth candy cane….

Merry Christmas from the Dawson’s!

You’ve got the power!

October 26, 2012 / ktbuchs87

What do you think of when I say willpower? Maybe resisting temptation, overcoming adversity, or maybe a specific person comes to mind. Whatever the case, some form of strength comes into play, the word power is right there. A lot of you may believe that you have absolutely no willpower, especially when it comes to food. When you see that plate of cookies you know you are going to cave and have one, or six. What gives a person willpower? Why does it seem like some people have greater amounts of it? How do you tap into that?

Willpower is a tricky thing. You can’t see it, only its effects. Willpower also means different things to different people so it is hard to give it an exact definition. But I do believe that we all have willpower, no matter how weak you might think yours is. I think there are a few important aspects to a strong willpower that makes it seem as if some people have great stores of it while others are just trying to muster up a few drops of it.

The first one is the desire to change. It might seem obvious, but this is so often overlooked or not given much credit. People have a strong willpower really and truly WANT to change some aspect of their life. Let’s take nutrition and eating (this is a nutrition blog after all folks). If you really want to eat better you have already taken the first step to having more willpower. But Katie, I do really want to eat better, I just can’t resist those “bad” foods. Then no, you don’t want to eat better, you want to eat the same garbage you have always eaten. Sorry to be harsh, but saying you want to change but then turning around and downing a pint of ice cream is a bit contradictory. You almost need to be at a place where you are disgusted with the way you are eating and the only place you can go is in the total opposite direction. There is a point where you will WANT change and act on that want, there is the first little hint of your willpower.

The second part of willpower is motivation. Wanting to change your eating habits is great but you are going to have to have motivation to keep that change going and to strengthen your willpower even more. Motivation is another tricky idea; here is the technical definition of it. I’m going to simplify it because I think that it doesn’t need to be super technical. Motivation is personal to you and is what gets you revved up and going. What motivates me probably will not motivate you in the least. That’s fine, what isn’t fine is when people use what they are fighting against as motivation. Let’s use eating again. If you are trying to eat better and maybe lose weight and decide to motivate yourself by promising yourself a piece of chocolate cake if you lose five pounds, how is that helpful? That’s the equivalent to trying to quit smoking and rewarding a smoke free week with a cigarette. Find other means of motivation for what it is you are trying to change. By using food to reward yourself, you’re just slowly weakening your willpower as well as your motivation to keep going.

One other thing that is important to willpower is the perception of gaining something from your use of willpower. In this article, the author talks about how when people see results from the use of their willpower, it actually gets stronger. That makes a lot of sense; if you see the fruits of your labor, aka willpower, you are going to continue to use it. And as a result of continuing to use your resolve, you’re strengthening it. And that right there will motivate you to keep up your change (see how it’s all tying together!?).

I can’t tell you how to get willpower. It’s not as simple as that. I can tell you that you already have the willpower you need to change right inside yourself. You just need to find it. You have to truly want that change, and you will need to find the proper motivation to keep going. Take a look at your life and see where your weakest area is. Ask yourself if you are ready to take on the job of turning that behavior around. If you are then you have the tools within to make that change. I believe in you, do you?

It’s ok, I workout

October 19, 2012 / ktbuchs87

That phrase is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to diet and health. Sadly, this attitude is becoming more and more prominent and it is a very slippery slope towards poor health. Just within this past week I have heard those words in passing at least twice and I know numerous others who have adopted this mindset. I will admit that I have fallen victim to this way of thinking a few times. It’s so easy to justify certain things when you work hard, but in the long run it will just pull you right back down the way you came.

There is no sugar coating the truth so I will just come right out and say it, you will never out exercise a bad diet. It’s just not going to happen. I know it might seem totally fine at the moment. You’re telling yourself, I am in great shape and I eat what I want! I put in the time at the gym so I don’t have to worry about that piece of pie after dinner. I’ll just burn it off later. The thing is that while you might be in great shape and a healthy weight right now, that poor diet will catch up with you. You might start to see the pounds creep back up, or worse you might find out you have a serious medical issue, like diabetes. There has been a shocking increase in the cases of diabetes not just in the overweight but in the seemingly healthy. This article talks about young 20-somethings who seemed to be in perfectly good health and exercised regularly but found out they had diabetes. One thing that struck me was that they all said they might not always eat the best but they exercised regularly. The food you put into your body is SO important. It is the fuel that will drive you, and if it is junk fuel, you are not going to go very far and you will break down at some point.

The other fact is that most of us don’t exercise enough or at such an intense level to justify eating more food. Most exercise sessions burn a smaller amount of calories than you think. Eating a doughnut after a run pretty much undoes the work you just put in (this website is neat and helps you to roughly estimate the amount of calories you burn doing a certain activity). If you have a problem with snacking, this is also really dangerous territory. Sure, at first it might just be a bite of something. But that can quickly turn into a small piece or am extra helping and then you’re justifying eating whole meals just because you went to Zumba two days ago. Trust me I know how easy it is to fall into that bad habit but think of it this way: You are not a dog. Do not reward yourself with food.

The thing is, if you are trying to be healthier and are putting in the work by logging gym time and exercising, why wouldn’t you do the same with your food? Being healthy isn’t just taking one area and improving it, it’s an all-encompassing process. Exercise is really important, but so is eating well and taking care of yourself. You want to feel your best in body, mind and spirit and to do so you have to take ALL the steps to get there and not use the guise of exercise to keep a poor diet. In the end, you’re only hurting yourself.