Authors: Travis Stork
The Doctor's Diet: Dr. Travis Stork's STAT Program to Help You Lose Weight & Restore Your Health (17 page)
OPENING YOUR MIND’S EYE
Mindfulness is the process of being aware—intensely aware of everything going on around you. Philosophers, such as the Buddha, taught their followers to use mindfulness to achieve spiritual enlightenment. I’m no philosopher, and I’m certainly not going to try to tell you how to run your spiritual life. But as a doctor I’ve learned that mindfulness plays a crucial role in good health.
When you’re mindful, you become more aware of the options you have, and you fully understand and accept that the decisions you make influence your health and well-being. In my experience, mindful choices are the best kind of choices, because they are based on knowledge and clear-eyed thought, rather than ignorance and uninformed assumptions.
So, what is mindful eating? Here’s a great way of thinking about it. You know
Highlights
, the children’s magazine that you see in dentists’ offices? One of the regular features in
Highlights
was a comic strip about two characters, Goofus and Gallant. The strip showed how Goofus and Gallant acted completely different in various social situations. For example, on a crowded bus, Goofus would stay seated while an elderly woman held on to a pole for dear life; Gallant would get up and offer her his seat. Goofus would keep the dollar he found on the street; Gallant would put up a sign looking for the money’s owner. You get the idea.
You can apply Goofus and Gallant thinking to mindful eating as well. In most eating-related situations, there are mindless choices and mindful choices. For example:
Reading labels.
Mindless eaters ignore them, paying no attention to a food’s ingredients. Mindful eaters read them carefully, using the information on them to pick healthy foods and limit those with added sugar, unhealthy fats, and artificial ingredients.
Choosing portion sizes.
Mindless eaters guess at them and overeat. Mindful eaters take note of serving sizes on nutrition labels and help themselves to a limited amount of food by using measuring spoons, cups, a scale, or a memory device (such as, a serving of protein is about the size of the palm of your hand, minus your fingers).
Grocery shopping.
Mindless eaters wander up and down the aisles buying whatever captures their interest. Mindful eaters make a list and stick with it.
Meal planning.
Mindless eaters wait until mealtime to figure out what to make. Mindful eaters plan meals in advance, either by the day or week, making sure they have all the right foods on hand for healthy meals.
Choosing foods.
Mindless eaters eat with only the present moment in mind; if something looks good, they consume it. Mindful eaters consider food choices before rushing to eat, considering whether the food fits in with their short-term and long-term health goals.
Eating.
Mindless eaters watch TV, read, stand, walk around, drive, talk on the phone, or do many other kinds of multitasking while eating. Mindful eaters focus on their food, blocking out other distractions so they can taste, smell, and enjoy what they’re eating.
Timing.
Mindless eaters rush through their meals. Mindful eaters slow down, allowing themselves to taste every bite, to chew their food fully, and to give their bodies time to recognize and react to food.
Tasting.
Mindless eaters barely notice the taste of foods. Mindful eaters savor every bite, paying attention to flavor, texture, spiciness, crunch, chewiness, and other attributes of deliciousness.
Appreciating natural flavor.
Mindless eaters sprinkle salt or sugar on everything. Mindful eaters reduce their dependence on salt and sugar and enjoy the natural sweet and savory flavors of food.
Focusing on the body’s reaction to food.
Mindless eaters ignore feelings of hunger and fullness. Mindful eaters listen to the signals sent to their brain by their digestive system and respect the body’s innate ability to recognize hunger and satiety. (This is a skill that may take awhile to develop, so don’t worry if at first you’re not good at deciphering these signals.)
If you’ve been eating mindlessly for years—or even decades—you may be very much out of touch with what hunger and satiety feel like. Eating mindfully starts with getting reacquainted with these feelings. One way to do this is to let yourself get hungry, and to pay attention to how it feels. As an experiment, go a little longer than usual without eating, and then spend a few minutes focusing on your sensations. Sit in a quiet room, without any distractions, and really zone in on what your body is telling you. Mindfully experience the feeling of an empty stomach, the “growling” of your belly, the sense of emptiness or gnawing that occupies your middle. Do a mental body scan to look for other signs of hunger. Do you feel headachey at all? Are you light-headed? Do you feel impatient or irritable? These sensations can be unpleasant, but they are true signs of physical hunger, and it’s good to be in touch with them so you can recognize them.