Eating gets my full attention

I have recently been experimenting with a ‘juice fast’ one day a week, to bring some measure of moderation to the holiday and post-holiday seasons. There is nothing like knowing a glass of juice will need to last until supper time to bring full attention to the task of drinking it.

I find I look forward to the drink, actually sniffing its aroma, and then savoring it, sip by sip. Apple juice, heavily processed, has no odor. But Bolthouse Farms has a marvelous Vanilla chai tea with soy protein drink (well ok, it’s not juice, but it’s liquid!) that has a haunting aroma of spice and vanilla and exotic far off places.

A Berry Boost by the same maker boasts blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries, strawberries AND blueberries. I can smell the blackberries and blueberries, definitely, and perhaps a tang of strawberry. Just stopping to smell has heightened the appreciation of what I am imbibing.

That’s why a small book caught my eye when I was in the library the other day. It is called Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time. Wow! With a mouthful of a title like that, I had to sample it.

The author is Pavel Somov, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist who has worked with individuals battling eating disorders and those who are merely overweight and want to win the battle against mindless eating.

Samov covers such topics as the four strategies of craving control: distraction, deep breathing, self-talk, and mindfulness. In another chapter he devises taste tests for everyday items in our lives: bottled water, milk, fruit. Given a blindfolded taste test between house and gourmet brands, could you tell the difference? I couldn’t!

It’s a book that I will revisit. I suspect each time I do I will become more mindful. And I like that.

Another non-diet book that caught my fancy was Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.  Dr. Fuhrman read over 2000 scientific studies to reach the conclusions he draws in his book.  What I like is that he includes the mega studies: the Nurse study with over 35,000 subjects, the China study that longitudinally looked at two different eating regions over decades, meta-studies that combine dozens of other studies to draw more definitive results. 

And the doctors like it, too.  The book begins with three pages of recommendations from physicians and surgeons across the country.

What did he find out? Vegetarian is healthier, and he has the statistics to prove it. But he goes further to say that if a vegetarian diet relies heavily on grains, pastas, and pre-processed Vegetarian fast food that it STILL won’t be healthy. I agree!

So Fuhrman has devised a plan that maximizes high nutrient/low calorie foods. Top of his list are greens: those salads and veggies. He half-jokingly refers to his eating plan as the “beans and greens” strategy.

Furhman says to keep it simple. He promises that if you can be a hard dieter for six weeks following his commonsense regimen, that you can lose substantial amounts of weight. He says that you can also gain freedom from a lot of common illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and yes, even cancer, brought about by the American habit of unhealthy eating.

 Six weeks. A substantial commitment to being healthy. That book I will keep until December 26th, when my holidays are officially behind me and I can start in earnest.

But I will dip my toe in the water in the meantime. Bean dip? I can do that. Salads? OK, no problem. Kale? Kale?? Is that what they feed bunnies? It appears I have some attitude readjustments in my future.

I was talking to a friend who said she has a weakness for cookies. If there is an uneaten one in the house it calls her out of a sound sleep at 3 AM. I can relate to that!

But there comes a time when taking responsibility for myself broadens to include caring for this body that has been housing my soul for so many years. It deserves a break today, too.

And so, I will begin. I want to become more mindful and more caring to the person closest to me—myself.

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Tagged as: Dieting, diets, fasting, healthy eating, mindfulness, vegan, Vegetarianism, weight loss