Where were you when breakfast happened?

I tend to think about food a lot and encourage others to as well. I think about things like where did the food come from? How was it produced? How did it get to my table? What types of foods should I be eating? How much and how often should I be eating certain types of food? (As in I’d like to eat bacon every day, but I know that wouldn’t be a good idea.) And it is a dynamic process, one in which I try new things, make changes, and see what works for me and what does not. I am not unique in this as there are a lot of people who are thinking more and more about their food on many different levels- beyond “should I get a #1 or a #4 value meal today?” 

But there is one area where I, and a lot of other people, tend to fall short when it comes to thinking about their food, and that is while we’re eating it. One of the casualties of our fast paced modern lifestyle has been the act of sitting down to eat our meals, and only focusing on the eating of said meal. How often do we go through a drive-thru and eat on the go, or gobble up our lunch while sitting at our desk in front of a computer, answering emails? With smart phones and tablets we can now read and post Facebook updates while we’re eating our breakfast.  And let us not forget the classic TV tray- designed to make our lives easier by allowing us to say “No she didn’t!” with a mouth full of spaghetti.

I’ve been guilty of doing all of the above-( well, except maybe the “No she didn’t” part- I think I just said “Nah-aaah!”). It’s an old habit, and we all know how easily those die, but it is one that I am working on changing. And the reasoning isn’t just because it’s the cool, uppity-yuppy, pretentious thing to do. The reason for doing it is for better physical, as well as mental, health.

One thing I had not given enough thought to when it comes to food is how we digest it. All of this thought about food up to the point it gets in front of my mouth, but not much thought about what happens to it between my mouth, and, um, where I eventually get rid of the food. So let’s take a look at it. (The process of digestion, that is.)

It is important to appreciate that eating is a process that involves all of our senses. Vision: we see a big juicy burger, and now we want a big juicy burger. Smell: we walk by a place that is grilling big juicy burgers, and man do we want a big juicy burger. Sound: we hear the sizzle of (I’m just going to start using BJB), and we want that BJB. Touch: this is more where the tongue comes into play- the texture of our food. Think of when we’ve put something in our mouth and gone “YUCK!” due to texture (octopus)- or “YUM!” (crispy bacon on that BJB). Taste: pretty obvious- that BJB tastes amazing. (Sorry to my readers who are now craving a big juicy burger. See how powerful suggestion is when it comes to eating?)

So what happens when we’re not mentally present with our food while we’re eating it? We tend to do a few things that are a detriment to healthy digestion and nutrition. One, we tend to eat too quickly and not chew our food enough. Chewing (mastication) is one of the most important aspects of digestion. People may not realize it but there is only one thing that actually gets digested in our stomachs by the acids in it, and that is protein. Carbohydrates and fats go elsewhere to be processed, and when these carbs and fats are in larger pieces, it is harder for the body to process them. Two, we tend to overeat, especially if we’re watching television while eating. In one study that evaluated the caloric intake of children watching TV, the researchers found that children watching TV took in an average of 228 more calories. Do that twice a week for a year and you’ve consumed 6 ½ pounds worth of extra calories.

Besides the physical reasons for being present with your meals, there are also the mental and spiritual aspects of eating to consider. Food really should be celebrated and enjoyed. I think that we too often look at a meal as something of a chore- something we have to find time to get done. There is so much joy to be found in eating when we take the time to savor the experience. When was the last time you really thought about how great the crispness of a fresh apple is? Or how intense and savory the smell of roasted garlic is? When we are distracted from the process of eating by electronic gadgets and pending tasks, we miss out on one of the very best things about eating food- namely the eating of the food! When we take the time to appreciate our food and think about how it nurtures and sustains us, we realize that the act of eating really is sacred. I look at it this way: I am sacred, and I am what I eat; therefore what I eat is also sacred. (Might not pass mustard in a college logic course, but it works for my purposes).

So I encourage and challenge all of us to be more mindful in our eating. The next time you sit down to eat, put aside the distractions and do the following. Look at your food and appreciate the color and the shape of it. Smell the food and savor its aroma, however strong or faint it may be. (I was smelling an apple the other day, and this apple wasn’t particularly pungent, but I still enjoyed it).  Feel the food, the weight of it on a fork, the texture of it in your mouth. Notice the variety of textures a food or dish may contain. Hear the sounds of eating; the crunch of an apple, the sizzle of a steak being grilled. And of course taste the food. Really notice the flavor and appreciate it as it is happening.

Think about how something as simple as an English muffin with crunchy peanut butter becomes so magnificent when we take this approach. It goes from something quick and easy for us to make and eat while we check the morning’s emails, to a beautiful golden-brown, nook-an-cranny filled, peanut smelling, warm, crunchy yet soft and creamy, absolute bit of delicious enjoyment!

Hmm, now I want an English muffin with peanut butter on it to chase my big juicy burger.

Be well,

Seth

It All Matters.

One of my co-workers at a local gym is a young lady working on improving her eating habits. We’ve had a few discussions about diet and nutrition, as she has asked me for information from time to time. The other day she told me that she had been really good during the week, 6 days of good eating- then she ate a bunch of junk food on the 7^th day. (“And on the 7^th day, God created Gummy Worms.”) She asked me, “So…does that count?” As in, does it matter that she ate well for the week, if she ate crap at the end of it? This struck me as an odd question at first, but in the end it illuminated some vital points.

Illuminated Point #1: People are really confused about what to eat and nutrition in general.

It seems odd that we should have so much confliction over something that we have been doing since the dawn of mankind. We’ve been eating FOREVER, for obvious reasons. We do it every day. We’ve done it our whole lives. But somehow we have made it overly complicated and confusing, especially in the context of the modern Western diet. Some of the typical noise I hear around nutrition sounds like: “Are those Lean Cuisine things healthy?” or “How much carbs should I eat?” or “Do I need to eat more protein if I’m exercising more?” Etcetera, etcetera. What should be simple, we have made complex and confusing.

Illuminated Point #2: Everything matters.

One thing I stress to my clients who are trying to lose weight or improve their wellness is this: our state of wellness is the culmination of many choices we make on a day to day basis over many years. We don’t go on vacation and gain 50 pounds- (though it might feel like it at times). Likewise, we don’t exercise and eat well for a week and lose 50 pounds. Every day we make choices that affect our health and wellness. Do I put cheese on this sandwich? Do I exercise today? Do I go out for ice cream? Do I go out for ice cream again since the first one was amazing? (I think I ask this question more than most people). Every one of these choices matters. So that answer to her question of “does it matter that I ate well for a week, if in the end I ate a bunch of junk food one day” is… YES! Absolutely it matters! How much better is it to have 5 or 6 days of healthy eating and one day of bad, than to have 7 days of bad eating? It is a lot better. Everything matters. If someone normally drinks 3 bottles of sugary soda a day, and they cut it down to drinking 1, that matters! It all adds up. It all counts. It all matters.

Illuminated Point #3: Avoid TMTS Syndrome.

TMTS Syndrome is a condition that afflicts millions of people every year who are trying to make changes in their life: they do Too Much, Too Soon (TMTS). If we are looking to make significant and wide scale changes in our life, it is best to do it incrementally. If our goal is to exercise 6 days a week, lose 30 pounds, reduce the amount of red meat we eat, increase our vegetable consumption, and stop drinking alcohol , then… WHOA! Slow down. Start by exercising a few times a week. Maybe cut meat out of one meal, replace it with more veggies, and have one glass of wine instead of two. Start with a weight loss goal of 5 pounds. But don’t try and do everything all at once, because we are humans, and we will hate it, and we will bitch and moan, and we will say “this sucks”, and then we will stop doing it. Completely. Change needs to be adapted to so that it becomes sustainable. As evidence of this, I asked the young lady at work a week later, “How is the eating going?” Her response: “Crappy. I’m eating junk again.” So I talked to her a little bit about moderate changes, as she had gone for the “flip-a-switch” approach previously. And I also pointed out that we make changes when we’re ready to.

So what should you eat? I don’t know- it’s too confusing. (I’m kidding, but I’ll get to that another time.)

Be Well.

Seth