Mindful Eating: 4 Ways To Practice

By Karen Leland, The Huffington Post
Posted: September 16, 2009 08:30 AM

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-leland/mindful-eating-4-ways-to_b_287775.html?view=print

I once took my dog Penny to see a canine behavior specialist. The probelm was that Penny, having been adopted from a shelter, had spent the first part of her life suffering at the hands of neglected owners. At the ripe old age of 18 months, she had survived her scared puppy hood, but retained a few bad habits.

During the interview the dog doctor did a whole lot of things involving a liver-snack treat. At one point he looked up at my husband Jon and I and pronounced "you're in luck, this dog is treat motivated." Jon turned to me and without missing a beat said "just like us honey."

That was 15 years ago. Penny's mellower - having had time to reflect on her early doghood experiences - but she still stands in rapt attention whenever the chance for food presents itself. As for Jon and I we have been forced to recon with the very real and sad fact that we can no longer get away with:

- Regular midnight snacks
- Eating ice cream for desert every day
- Having seconds at the 'all you can eat' buffet
- Too much wheat, dairy, sugar, wine or chocolate.

Getting old is a bitch. But the upside of our downward intestinal fortitude is that it has required us to become more mindful eaters. So when I ran across the work of Dr. Susan Albers of www.eatingmindfully.com, I was intrigued. Here's her take on the practice of mindful eating.

What is mindful eating?


Mindful eating is a not a diet.There are no menus or recipes. It is simply about being more aware of what you eat. Eating is such a routine behavior that you can eat an entire plate of food and not taste one bite. You can also fall into repetitive mindless eating habits (eating a snack at the same time each day, stress eating at work etc). When you are eating mindfully, you enjoy your food, savor it and also feel more in control. It's the polar opposite of binging.



Why do you think we don't eat mindfully?
There are many reasons for mindless eating. In part, we use food to soothe and calm ourselves. The busier you are the easier it is to shift into autopilot and become unaware of what you are doing. Dieting has warped our perception of how to eat in a balanced way.

Do you think we eat less mindfully today, than a decade ago? Why or why not?
With portion sizes getting bigger, it is easy to mindlessly eat and not even realize it. Also, the media continues to pushing the therapeutic value of food. Therefore, making it more likely to use food as a way to calm and soothe rather than turning to non-caloric ways of relaxing. The fast pace of the world also makes it difficult to slow down, and dedicate time to eating. We eat in the car and on the run, which encourages mindless eating.

What impact does eating mindfully have on a balanced life?
Mindful eating is important because it is a long-term approach to eating (versus dieting which is short term). Mindful eating is realistic. It doesn't cut out any foods from your diet. 

When you slow down, you think more clearly. You are less reactive. Being mindful helps you be more aware of how you unconsciously and consciously react to food and find new ways to deal with the situation without leaning on eating.

 Overall, your weight impacts your mental and physical health. It's a chicken and egg effect. Unhealthy eating habits lead you to feel depressed and when you are depressed you don't eat well. People who manage their diet well are physically and mentally healthier and more balanced.

Can you give me four ways that we can eat more mindfully?



1. Mindfully Store Food: If you can see it, you are more likely to want to eat it, even if you aren't hungry. You may not have been craving donuts until you pass them in the lunchroom. Then, you can't get them off your mind. Strategically placing food falls in line with the "out of sight, out of mind" principle. The opposite is true as well. You are more likely to eat healthy foods if they are placed in a convenient location. Keep a fruit bowl on the kitchen counter. Thrown a healthy snack into your purse.



2. Avoid Multitasking: When you eat, just eat. It's tempting to eat while you work, talk on the phone or answer an e-mail. But according to research, this can actually interfere with mindful eating, or eating enough to satisfy your hunger without going overboard. So even if it is a few moments, put down whatever you are doing and focus on your snack.



3. TV-Less Dinners: It's tempting to turn on the TV while you eat. But, studies show that TV watching leads to mindless eating. TV commercials stimulate your hunger. Also, your attention is focused on the TV show and not on your food.



4. Sit Down: It sounds simple enough but too often we are eating standing over a counter, eating a bagel while we walk or munching as we make dinner. You will pay much more attention to how much food you eat when you are focused on it. Commit to eating only while you are sitting.



Your Morning Meal Makes a Difference

Breakfast combos can make or break your day.

By Julie Deardorff, Chicago Tribune
September 14, 2009

Breakfast comes at a terrible time of day to make a rational decision. We're rushed. We're groggy. And we're famished.

We know it's good for us -- 90 percent of Americans think it's the most important meal -- yet fewer than half of consumers eat it regularly, according to the International Food Information Council.

Unlike other meals, however, breakfast is unique in that it can set the tone for your entire day -- for better or for worse. The trick is knowing how to eat it.

There is no perfect morning meal because the best breakfast depends on your body and individual nutritional needs, but you can't go wrong by eating "a moderate meal of mixed foods," said Richard Mattes, a professor of food and nutrition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.. Start experimenting, using our guide below to see how common breakfast combos will affect your day.

BAD, BAD, BAD: No breakfast at all
Some people say they're not hungry when they wake up, but because you've fasted all night, your metabolism -- and fat-burning ability -- slows down. Those who skip breakfast are also more likely to be overweight and eat more fat and calories the rest of the day, said Susan Biali, a physician who specializes in dietetics in Vancouver. Bypassing breakfast also makes you less productive and less likely to excel at school or work.

BAD, BAD: Coffee or tea only
A daily cup of coffee or tea can give you some hydration and a jolt of caffeine. Research has also linked both drinks to a variety of health benefits. But though it might hold you over until lunch, "it's only the hot liquid that is filling your stomach, tricking you into feeling satisfied," said Janel Ovrut, a Boston-based registered dietitian. "You likely wind up overeating come lunch, when you're famished." To jump start your metabolism, add a piece of fruit, suggested Ovrut.

BAD: Coffee or tea, plus a doughnut
It's quick, easy and yummy, but you'll pay a steep price for the 90-minute sugar high. Doughnuts are a famously high-calorie, high-fat, high-carbohydrate breakfast that will leave you feeling "stuffed, sluggish and even sleepy," said New York registered dietitian Constance Brown-Riggs. . A breakfast bar and orange juice might seem healthier, but "it's not much better than eating a candy bar and sugar cubes," said John La Puma, a physician, chef and author of "ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine" (Crown, $24.95). Avoid sugary foods in the morning altogether. If you're going to eat a breakfast bar, try to sit down and eat it slowly, La Puma said.

BETTER: A bowl of low-sugar, high-fiber cereal with no- or low-fat milk, banana, whole wheat toast and jam and coffee
Choose cereals that have at least 3 grams of fiber and less than 10 grams of sugar. Still, although this breakfast provides a little fiber, some protein and some vitamins from the fruit and cereal, it's high in processed sugar, wheat and caffeine, said registered dietitian and weight-loss coach Ilona Fordham. "It won't provide long-term energy, and by midmorning a person will want more caffeine," Fordham said. By lunch you'll be hungry and may feel like overeating all day long.

BEST: A hard-boiled egg and a bowl of slow-cooking oatmeal topped with berries, walnuts, raisins, flax seeds or sunflower seeds -- with coffee or tea
This meal is a nutritional powerhouse and easy to pull off if you make the oatmeal and the eggs the night before. Fiber and protein help slow down the digestive process, making you feel full longer and keeping your blood sugar steady. "The protein from the milk and nuts, combined with the healthy carbohydrates, will eliminate any sugar crashes for at least three hours," said Melissa Hawthorne, a Houston-based registered dietitian. To make this meal even better, add good fats by spreading peanut butter or avocado on whole grain toast or an English Muffin.

Is it OK to eat a big Sunday brunch?
Cold cereal is the most popular breakfast food during the week, but on leisurely weekends, we love to let loose. We devour traditional breakfast foods such as eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes, according to the market research company Mintel.

Fortunately, the weekend binge isn't likely to have a huge negative effect because "eating healthy is all about balance," said Timothy Harlan, a professor of medicine at the Tulane University School of Medicine, who produces the nutritional Web site drgourmet.com. "Sure, you can eat perfectly 21 meals a week and be healthier, but at what price?"

Sunday brunch is a special part of countless family rituals, said Harlan. That alone can have health benefits. "Having a large, friendly meal works for all of us on a social level that transcends the perfect diet," he said.

Week 4 Agenda

Banana French Toast from Paula Deen's Paula's Home Cooking (Food Network, USA)

Week 4
M 9.14
Read: OD—pg. 226-286; CR—“My Best Meal Ever” by Bryan Miller, “Remembrance of Tacos Past” by Mark Dery, “Picky Eater” by Julia Alvarez, “Who Needs Vegetables Anyway?” by Matt Marion
In-Class: Essay discussion; Presentations (Sec. 5: Van, Andrew, Davon; Sec. 60: Ritt, David, Max)

W 9.16
Read: OD—pg. 287-333; CR—“Fat's What I'm Talking About” by Tim Carman, “College Cooks Gone Wild” by Margot Kaminski, “Pie (In The Name of Love)” by Vincent Rossmeier
In-Class: Lecture—“Food on Film: Ratatouille, When Harry Met Sally…, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Like Water for Chocolate, Chocolat, and others”
Journal 2 Prompt: Often, dishes tell the story of a family history better than anything else. Whether it’s grandma's cookie recipe or the Thanksgiving dinner tradition no one can remember having started, food plays an integral role in defining who we are as families. Using This American Life’s episode entitled “You Gonna Eat That?” (eR; choose “Full Episode” to hear) as a basis, write about a significant food-related family experience or tradition.
Due: Journal 2

UPCOMING:

Week 5

M 9.21
Read: OD—pg. 334-363
In-Class: Autobiographical essay

W 9.23
Read: OD, pg. 364-411
In-Class: Book discussion; Presentations (Sec. 5: Christian, John, Matt; Sec. 60: Jeffrey, Sharon, Jeff)

Study: Low Self-esteem Leads to Obesity

Children with self-esteem problems are more likely to be obese as adults, a research team has found.

BBC News, Friday, 11 September 2009 03:07 UK

A study of 6,500 participants in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study found that 10-year-olds with lower self esteem tended to be fatter as adults.

The effect was particularly true for girls, researchers from King's College London reported.

One obesity expert said the results highlighted that early intervention was key to tackling obesity.

The children had their weight and height measured by a nurse at the age of 10 and they self-reported when they were 30.

Their emotional states were also noted, the researchers reported in the journal BMC Medicine.

Children with a lower self-esteem, those who felt less in control of their lives, and those who worried often were more likely to gain weight over the next 20 years, the results showed.

Professor David Collier, who led the research, said: "What's novel about this study is that obesity has been regarded as a medical metabolic disorder - what we've found is that emotional problems are a risk factor for obesity.

"This is not about people with deep psychological problems, all the anxiety and low self-esteem were within the normal range."

Strategies

Another researcher, Andrew Ternouth, said: "While we cannot say that childhood emotional problems cause obesity in later life, we can certainly say they play a role, along with factors such as parental weight, diet and exercise.

"Strategies to promote the social and emotional aspects of learning, including the promotion of self-esteem, are central to a number of recent policy initiatives.

"Our findings suggest that approaches of this kind may carry positive benefits for physical health as well as for other aspects of children's development."

Dr Ian Campbell, of the charity, Weight Concern, said: "This study presents some disturbing evidence that, as we suspected, childhood psychological issues have an influence on future weight gain and health.

"Many of the adults we work with have identifiable underlying emotional and self esteem issues and are often resistant to treatment.

"The message here is that early intervention, in childhood, can be the key to combating adult obesity.

"That requires much more than health practitioners can deliver alone and needs greater alertness from parents, teachers, and anyone involved in the welfare of children."

The Cupcake Bubble

Better enjoy that vanilla cupcake with espresso-ganache icing today. This sugar rush is going to end with a crash.

By Daniel Gross, Newsweek
Aug 14, 2009 | Updated: 5:46 p.m. ET Sep 3, 2009

In recent years, the response to a popped economic bubble has been to create a new one. The pierced dot-com/telecommunications bubble paved the way for the housing/credit bubble. That punctured bubble may be giving way to an alternative energy bubble. But I've got my eyes on a smaller, but no less revealing, one: the Cupcake Bubble.

The current recession, which started in late 2007, laid the groundwork for the recent proliferation of cupcake stores in American cities. Lots of people know how to make really tasty cupcakes, which are simple products with cheap basic ingredients. Baking cupcakes doesn't require a large amount of capital investment, and it's relatively easy to scale up without hiring lots of workers. It takes about as much labor to produce three dozen cupcakes as it does to make one dozen. Meanwhile, storefronts in heavily trafficked areas became cheaper with the decimation of local retail. And so in the past year, casual baking has turned into an urban industry.

The trend started, as most trends do, in Los Angeles and New York. In Los Angeles, Sprinkles, which bills itself as the first cupcake bakery, has expanded from its base in Beverly Hills to five locations in California, Texas, and Arizona—with 16 more outlets in the works. Crumbs, started six years ago on Manhattan's Upper West Side, is up to nearly two dozen locations: five in Los Angeles, and 18 in chi-chi zones of the New York metro area—New Canaan, Conn.; Westfield, N.J.; East Hampton, N.Y.—with three more on the way. Magnolia Bakery, immortalized in Sex and the City, has three locations in Manhattan. Washington, D.C., is getting in on the act, too. As the Washington Post notes, "at least half a dozen cupcake bakeries have opened around Washington in the past 20 months, and more are on the way," with Georgetown Cupcake and Red Velvet out front.

The cupcakeries are succeeding for a few reasons. They're peddling a product that is simple, obvious, and generally affordable. Most of the new joints charge about $3 for a cupcake. And they're certainly a useful rebuke to Starbucks, whose industrialized baked goods are barely edible. (I suspect that the coffee chain's practice of placing sausage and egg muffins in the glass cases and letting them sit there all day must depress sales of the adjacent muffins and scones.) And yet I'm suspicious of the cupcake trend for historical, financial, and, ultimately, gastronomic reasons.

In America, bubbles form because any good business idea gets funded a dozen times over. That's the American way. Cupcakes are now showing every sign of going through the bubble cycle. The first-movers get buzz and revenues, gain critical mass, and start to expand rapidly. This inspires less-well-capitalized second- and third-movers, who believe there's room enough for them, and encourages established firms in a related industry to jump in. In New York, the Crumbs is joined by a cupcake truck, Sweet Revenge, Babycakes, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine. The Post notes that in D.C., "established bakers such as CakeLove, Just Cakes, Furin's, Best Buns and Baked & Wired are all in on the act." Operating in what is essentially a commodity market, newcomers try to distinguish themselves by offering twists on the familiar formula. Hello Cupcake, conveniently located near Slate's D.C. office, specializes in organic, seasonal, and local ingredients. Babycakes offers vegan cupcakes. Coming soon to a precious storefront in a gentrifying neighborhood of Brooklyn: sustainable cupcakes made of flour ground from organic wheat raised in Prospect Park, served in wrappers recycled from old copies of the New York Review of Books.

I'm suspicious of the durability of the cupcake boomlet on economic grounds, too. One colleague says the cupcakes are "sort of the baked equivalent of Bush's tax cuts." Why? "Their economic rationale withstands any and all conditions. When the economy is going well, people can afford little extras like cupcakes. When the economy isn't going well, people can afford only cupcakes." Indeed, they are being pitched as affordable luxuries. In an age when discretionary, feel-good spending is at a nadir, cupcake bakeries are trying to persuade people to trade up from cheaper sugar-delivery vehicles (such as, say, a doughnut). It's telling, to me, that the Crumbs that just opened in Westport, Conn., is in the back of a Tiffany's that opened a few years ago. With employment rising and wages under pressure, the larger trend is for consumers to trade down—not up.

What's more, cupcakes aren't so cheap. With tax, many of these cupcakes run close to $4 a pop. Pair a high-end cupcake with a coffee and your snack costs the equivalent of a satisfying sandwich. Crucially, the sugar rush that $4 buys lasts only as long as it takes to walk back to the office. By contrast, an expensive latte can keep office drones humming for the whole afternoon. And while cupcakes doubtless offer good margins, a baker has to sell a lot of them to make real money. That will surely tempt many entrepreneurs to start mass production. But the minute you start baking at a central location and trucking to the goods over long distances, the value proposition inherent in the product can grow stale, as Krispy Kreme found.

The real problem, though, is that the cupcakes are essentially reactionary. In the last few years, as the dread foodie virus has spread, right-thinking Americans have been forced to become experts about a wider range of products: coffee, cured ham, cheese, and, most recently, chocolate. Chocolate has become more sophisticated, and, hence, more complex and less sweet. Urban chocolatiers have fled from the soothing milk chocolate of our youths to dark, bitter, confections combined with spices and chili peppers. Cupcakes, by contrast, are willfully uncomplex, familiar, and comforting, as the menus of Magnolia and Sprinkles show. But as reactionaries often do, they've gone too far. I've tried a bunch of these new cupcakes and find them to be way too sweet—sugar on top of sugar. This morning, a colleague came in with a dozen small cupcakes from Crumbs, each sweeter than the last. A diabetic would have gone into shock simply looking at the package.

Cupcakes are having their moment, no question, and many could make sweet profits. But remember what always happens after a sugar rush: a crash.

Court: McD Can't Claim a McNopoly on Its Prefix

By Doug Stanglin, USA Today
September 08, 2009

After an eight-year legal battle, Malaysia's highest court has ruled that the McCurry chicken restaurant is not infringing on McDonald's copyright by using a "Mc" in its name.

"I am very relieved now. All my prayers have been answered ... now, I can look forward to the future," A.M.S.P. Suppiah, owner of the modest Indian curry shop in Kuala Lumpur, tells the New Straits Times.

Suppiah says he started his fast-food restaurant in 1999 and took the name, according to his website, from the words "Malaysian chicken curry," a house specialty.

The court ruled that there was no evidence showing that the curry joint was trying to pass itself off as part of the McDonald's empire.

It is hardly the first such loss for the American giant. Inc. magazine reports that McDonald's attempt once to sue a Jamaican restaurant also called McDonald's backfired.

Instead of cracking down on the curried-goat and jerk-chicken eatery, the court forced Mickey D to operate under the name "Golden Arches" for five months, the magazine says.

PowerPoint Presentation Schedule: Section 60

Here is the schedule for section 60's presentations. Those topics marked with an asterisk (*) are too broad and must be narrowed. Submit a new or more focused topic as soon as possible.

Likewise, if you are not on this list, I need a topic by Thursday the 10th. If I do not receive a topic from you, one will be assigned.

Completed presentations are in bold.

Week 4

M 9.14
1. Ritt C (Beer: Ales v. Lagers)
2. David P. (Fast Food Addictions)
3. Max S. (Home Cooking vs. Eating Out)

Week 5

W 9.23
1. Jeffrey N. (A Look at Illegal Foods)
2. Sharon S. (Everything You Need to Know About Vegemite)
3. Jeff G. (The African Bushmeat Crisis)

Week 8

M 10.12
1. Joey A. (The Detrimental Effects of Candy on Young Children)
2. Brian J. (History of Pizza in America)

Week 10

M 10.26
1. Khoi N. (Chocolate: The Positive and Negative Effects)
2. Leyzer C. (History of Pasta)

W 10.28
1. Andreas Z. (The Do's and Don'ts of Carving a Turkey)
2. Chris N. (How Brie is Made)

Week 11

M 11.2
1. Cassie M. (Everything You Need to Know About Tortillas)
2. Edgar A. (The History of Tacos)
3. Colleen G. (Chef Profile: Julia Child)

Week 12

M 11.9
1. Holland M. (Caffine and Gaming)
2. Alexandra H. (How to Go Vegetarian)
3. Brendan R. (Children and Fast Food)

Week 13

W 11.18
1. Mary P. (Soft Drink Nutritional Dangers)
2. Linda C. (Exploring Traditional Green Teas)
3. Krista M. (The Effects of Portion Sizes)

Week 14

M 11.23
1. Amanda N. (How to Pick the Perfect Wine Accompaniment)
2. Caitlin A. (Inside the Crab Industry)
3. Angelique S. (Eat This, Not That)