Mindful Eating by Ashley Haug

Summer is the perfect time to take a closer look at not only what we are eating but how we eat, in order to help us from falling into the trap of over indulging at all those upcoming parties and barbeques. Research shows that practicing more mindful eating can help you stay healthier, and even lose weight!

What is mindful eating? It’s simply slowing down and taking more time to really savor your food and avoid multi-tasking; paying more attention to enjoying the food and listening to your body’s cue to tell you when you should start and stop.

Often times eating becomes more of an automatic behavior than it should. In order to break this habit it is important to evaluate your personal eating habits and find ways you can become more mindful of what you are putting in. Follow these 5 steps to become more mindful in your eating habits.

1. Ask yourself if you are really hungry. It is important to determine if you are eating because you are truly hungry or if you are trying to satisfy another need. Taking time to assess your hunger and making sure it is not simply emotionally-driven can help you curb habits of automatically snacking and lower your risk for overeating. Try rating your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is ravenous and 10 is full and try to eat when you are at a 4 or 5 so you can make smart choices. Begin to slow down when you reach a 7 and re-assess to determine if you should push your plate away.

2. Spend more time at each meal. This should be a little easier during the summer where we may not be as rushed as we are throughout the rest of the year. This is the perfect opportunity to plan more relaxed, sit-down meals where you can take time to give your full attention to the task at hand, eating! This will give your brain the proper amount of time to recognize you have reached satiety. This can also help reduce your risk of binge eating and lower your risk for high cholesterol and cardiovascular-disease risk factors, as well as decrease stress.

3. Use all five senses when eating. Take time to sit at the table instead of your computer desk or counter and engage each of the five senses when you eat. Just as a child inspects his or her food you should let your eyes indulge on what you are about to eat, smell it, taste it, enjoy the unique texture and enjoy listening to those you are eating with compliment you on your culinary skills. Try even putting your fork down in between bites to really savor each item.

4. Turn off that TV, radio or computer; put down your newspaper or book. Go ahead and Tivo your favorite show, you have a date with your plate waiting for you. Limit your time spent doing these multi-tasking activities and you will be able to pay better attention to what is going on in your mouth and more importantly, you will be able to hear and recognize those visual and mental cues of fullness.

5. Enjoy your dessert. Work on leaving the diet mentality behind and give yourself permission to have that piece of chocolate, or your favorite dessert. Simply set some initial boundaries. For example, try reaching for single-wrapped pieces of chocolate or save half of your piece of cake for another indulge-session later in the day or week. By allowing yourself to enjoy, you can help offset those intense cravings and avoid binging on every sweet in sight.
By becoming more mindful this summer and breaking the cycle of restricting our eating, binging and then feeling guilty, we can truly enjoy our food and all of the benefits it can bring us. Before you eat, ask yourself how you want to feel when you get done, determine your intention, and then use these five tips along the way to make your summer more relaxed and to improve your mind-body connection.

Ashley Haug, CPT CMT has a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She specializes in Pre/Post-natal Exercise and Nutrition, Post-Rehabilitation and Sports-Specific Training and Nutrition. She can be reached at Ashley@ConditioningSpecialists.com for more information and nutritional advice.

You Are What You Eat by Melanie Elkin

Every day when we wake up we have choices. We can choose to nourish our bodies first thing in the morning with nutritious foods that will sustain us, and then we can choose to continue on the “nutritious” path throughout the day. I say nutritious in quotations because of course there is always room to indulge. We also have other choices - like skipping breakfast, or reaching for foods that may not nourish our bodies and set us into a downward spiral for the rest of the day.

When I classify foods for my clients I don't approach it from a “good” or “bad” way of thinking, but rather a “nutrient dense” and “nutrient less” way of thinking. I live by the 80/20 principle - if 80 percent of the time you eat balanced meals with healthy carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, then 20 percent of the time you can splurge, because otherwise you are not living and enjoying life. Once this way of thinking becomes a habit rather than an afterthought, you will find that not only are you reaching for the more nutrient dense foods but your body actually craves them. Why is that? It takes 21 days to make a habit; once your body is in the habit of exercising regularly and eating more nutrient dense foods, the habits of reaching for the bag of potato chips or eating the double hot fudge sundae at night dissipate and it becomes second nature to reach for the banana or the hummus and carrots. Your endorphins are increased from the exercise routine you are following and your metabolism is also gearing up, which leads to a psychological switch from unhealthy patterns to healthier patterns. Here are some ways you can start switching your eating patterns today and truly be happy with the statement “you are what you eat”:

1. One of the most important things you can do to set yourself up for a healthier eating routine is trying to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. By breaking up your meals not only will you feel more satisfied, but it will also lead to fewer cravings because you will never get to that point of extreme hunger. When we are led to that point we often make unhealthier decisions. Each Meal should try and consist of a healthy balance of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins equating to 300-400 calories depending on body mass, gender, and Resting metabolic rate ( for more information on this you can always contact one of our elite personal trainers out of Conditioning Specialists.)

2. Start small. Set yourself one new goal a week. For example your goal for this week could be to eat breakfast every day. After a week eating breakfast everyday won't seem so hard. From there you can continue to set your goals and reward yourself each time you succeed with non-food related items, like a new pair of shoes or a pedicure.

3. Replace as many processed foods in your diet with whole natural foods. Most items that come in a box or have a list of ingredients that you cannot pronounce are those foods that you should save for your 20 percent of the time splurge.

4.Late night snacking...Eating past 8 o'clock is not a bad thing on its own, but rather it is what you eat past 8 o'clock that makes the difference. Eating high calorie, high fat foods are not the best choices to make when late night hunger strikes. Instead reach for lower calorie, nutrient dense foods, like a whole grain cereal with low fat milk or soy milk, carrots and hummus or veggie dip, lowfat greek yogurt (½ c) with fresh fruit, etc.

5. Have an accountability partner. When you start a new goal it is helpful to have someone on your team, whether it is family, friends, or a trainer, to share your goals and new lifestyle with; you would be surprised to see how willing people are to help keep you going and on track.

Thus, everything comes back to the choices we make. Remember that when good choices are made in relation to what you eat, not only are you giving your body what it thrives on, but you are also creating good habits that will last you a lifetime.