Savor life

I love going to the movies; when we go we always get popcorn because movies without popcorn just aren’t the same.  We usually get a tub of popcorn because it's the best deal, but the problem is that I practically end up eating the whole thing.  I get some help from my children, but after a while they get tired of eating; instead I am so immersed in the movie that I just keep eating without even noticing.  Popcorn once in a while is great, but eating without being hungry is not. 

Mindless eating happens when we eat unconsciously driven by signals around us.  Brian Wansink, the author of the book “Mindless Eating” explains that “We overeat because there are signals and cues around us that tell us to eat. It's simply not in our nature to pause after every bite and contemplate whether we're full."  When we are busy, stressed, or paying attention to other things we tend to eat without thinking, not only consuming unneeded calories, but also making poor eating choices.

Mindless eating is also affected by marketing psychology; its objective is to sell and get us to eat more. Look at the advertising around us; we are bombarded with enticing photos of food that looks delicious making us immediately hungry and crave those foods. Have you ever driven by a billboard and immediately thought: “I want that” and there just happens to be a place to get that “need” right by the billboard?  If we are not careful with our decisions and mindful when it comes to eating, we may end up making very poor choices.   Keri Gans, author of “The Small Change Diet: 10 Steps to a Thinner, Healthier You” recommends that when feeling like eating something that may not be good for us, to keep in mind the five Ds: delay, determine, distract, distance and decide.  Taking time to think if you are just craving something or if you are actually hungry helps the decision process so you won’t fall prey to advertising.

Since we are on the road often, we were getting used to eating in the car. We would pack up our lunch so we could be on the way to a class or an audition, but eating in the car is neither healthy nor safe.  Not only that, but eating in a hurry is harmful to our digestive system.  We forget that we don’t eat just to satisfy our hunger; we eat because we need food to nourish our body; this process requires time and focus in order to be done properly.

The digestive process begins even before we take the first bite.  It starts in our minds as we think, see or smell food and the central nervous system releases acids and digestive enzymes to prepare the body. When we eat in a hurry or under stress, the necessary setting for good digestion is missing, which results in bloating, heartburn, and other stomach problems. Every step of the digestive process is important.  Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung in the book “Savor” recommend: “Concentrate on what you are eating.  See how it looks; let your eyes enjoy it, what it feels like in your mouth, what it tastes like.  Chew consciously, savoring what you eat.  As you become aware of what you are eating, you also become fully aware of the present moment.  Living in the moment, you can really receive what the food offers you. “

Don’t you think it is unfair that it takes so long to prepare a nice meal only to end up eating it so fast? With some planning we can extend the pleasure of our meals, taking time to enjoy, savor, and share them with friends and family. These ideas may help you get started:

Give thanks:  It is wonderful to be able to enjoy a delicious meal, so we need to appreciate it.  A moment of silence will help you and your family make a shift in pace, to go from the rush of the day to a relaxing moment. 

Create a beautiful meal:  Making every meal beautiful doesn’t take extra work. Small details such as nice plates, candles, flowers, contrast of color on the table can make a difference.

Put your senses to work: Appreciate the textures, listen to the crunchy sound and enjoy the different tastes. Enjoy the delicious aromas that come from the kitchen.  Do certain smells take you back to wonderful memories? Don’t you want to help create that for your children, if you have them, or for yourself? 

Put away the distractions and make time to enjoy your meals.  You will notice the physical benefits as well as the social and emotional ones. Eating mindfully is a great way to pause from a busy day, be thankful for what you have and gather energy to continue.

Manuelita   @manuelitaotero

Listen to Your Body

Have you ever started the year making the resolution to eat healthy, do exercise and lose some extra pounds?  How many times do we buy weight loss products, books, supplements, pills, herbs, meal plans or anything that promises the results we want, but by the second week we are discouraged because we don’t see the results we were expecting. All of this leaves us more frustrated than before.

Isn’t it interesting how each year there seems to be a new miracle food, the latest diet book or a panel of experts giving us a long list of foods that we should be eating to gain energy, have radiant skin and have the fit figure that most people want. Americans alone spend billions a year on weight-loss programs and products. We see the ads with the appealing before and after photos and we let others decide what we should be eating, doing or buying.

It seems that everyone wants to tell us what to do, when to eat and what to eat; all for a price of course and we want what they sell, easy solutions and results that seem too good to be true. But most of the time that is the case; the results are too good so they are not true. Usually if we take in more calories than we burn, they will be stored in our body. We tend to eat what we shouldn’t because it tastes so good; we take things to extremes to the point that we change our body’s metabolism. Then we feel guilty and start looking for a fast solution. In the end, the advice and products full of so many promises offer no long-term solution. According to a 2006 study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, most people who participate in weight-loss programs regain about one-third of the weight during the next year and are typically back to baseline in three to five years.

Wanting to be “skinny” can be a goal, but living a healthy lifestyle and achieving our right weight is a more complete option.  The issue is not about size, it is about health. So, instead of believing blindly everything everyone is saying, let’s use the resources we have and inform ourselves and learn about the foods we should be eating. Let’s listen to our bodies, make decisions and follow them through. 

I can’t tell you what to do to eat healthy or lose weight. I don’t have the magic words that will make you reach the weight you want, but I can motivate you to find your own path, the one that works for you. I can tell you that you can do it. It won’t be easy, but if you persist in your goal, if you listen to your body and make wise choices you will achieve a healthier lifestyle.  Here are some tips to get started:

- Be informed: Read labels; know your food. Read about the benefits of certain fruits and vegetables so you know what you should be eating or avoiding. If the problem is that you eat a salad and then you are hungry for the next four hours, find what could fill you up, such as starchy foods, pasta, grains, and potatoes; if you choose the unrefined version it is a healthier option.  But don’t take my word for it… read, learn, investigate.  

- The truth and nothing but the truth: Tell yourself the truth.  You know how often you eat out, or how many cookies you ate, or when was the last time you exercised.  Don’t make excuses, this is for you, so who are you lying to?  Once you make the decision to hold yourself accountable, that should be enough. 

- Small changes make a big difference: Every transformation in our life starts with a small change, and then another, and then another. Start with simple resolutions, for example: Don’t put butter on your bread, give up soft drinks, drink less alcohol, have a smaller dessert, don’t put whipped cream or sugar on your coffee. Sometimes we do these things out of habit.  If we stop doing them it's going to feel awkward and we are going to miss them. But after a while, we will get used to it. Look at the eating habits you have and decide on what small changes can you start today.

- Make it a lifestyle: Move more. Do exercise whatever you enjoy, and if you don’t enjoy anything, do what you dislike the least. If it is raining, do exercise at home, get a video on YouTube and follow it for 30 minutes. There's always a way.   

Don’t deprive yourself; don’t mess with your metabolism by fasting for long periods of time or cutting out certain foods from your diet. Don’t starve yourself, eat healthy, natural snacks every two hours or so.  Eat fresh, cook at home and drink lots of water.

Don’t give in to immediate gratification: Skip fast food places. Just say no; the more you say it, the easier it becomes. Want something sweet after a meal? Eat a fruit, a small sweet, a piece of dark chocolate or share a dessert with someone.  

The first step to achieving a healthy lifestyle is making the decision.   There are no shortcuts, like everything that is worth achieving it will take hard work, smart decisions and changing habits, but it will also include lots of celebration and the satisfaction that you are doing something good for you, on your own terms.  

Manuelita   @manuelitaotero

Step One… Make a Decision

I love to get up early before everyone and drink a cup of coffee while I have some quiet time and get ready for the day. Unfortunately, coffee early in the morning accelerates my heart rate and affects my breathing for the rest of the day.  Still, I am a stubborn woman, and out of habit I make my coffee and drink it knowing what will happen. I am not saying coffee is bad, I justshouldn't drink it early in the morning.  Sounds familiar?  Is there a certain food that you know you should not eat, but it seems you can’t help it because it's so good? 

At times we seem to put more value on food and the desire to satisfy a craving than on our well being.  We know certain foods are not good for us and yet we keep eating them. Why would we knowingly eat something that will make us feel bad or be harmful to our health? There may be many reasons: some emotional, others logical, and some based on traditions. Let’s think on a more personal level. Would you leave a precious diamond outside by the garage? Would you use one hundred dollar bills as bookmarks? Would you give your daughter a valuable heirloom to play dress up?  It seems easy for us to decide how to take care of things we consider valuable, but at times we find it difficult to take care of our own valuable body.

Deciding what to eat is a very personal decision.  At times, we start eating “right” because we want to follow the latest diet, but not because we have made the decision to eat healthier, so it becomes a temporary solution.  Once we understand why we act certain ways and eat certain foods at certain times we can define habits and strategies to improve our eating.  Sometimes it is more about the feelings involved when we eat, the reason we eat and how we feel after we eat than about the actual food. Have you ever said, “I can’t eat just one cookie?” I have.  And it makes me mad to think that a cookie has more power than I do.  Why can’t I enjoy just one cookie after my meal? Who has decided that I have to eat five or that I can’t eat any?  Who controls what you eat? You do!  

Since eating healthy sometimes may prove to be a challenge, these ideas may help: 

-Pause, think and make a decision. When you know your worth, and how precious and amazing you are, you start paying more attention to how each decision affects you. And when it comes to food that means we pay attention to everything we are putting in our mouths.  Saying “no” to food that is harmful for us becomes part of an attitude that says “My body is too precious for this type of food”.  I know it's easier said than done, but it's the beginning of a process that doesn’t have to be as difficult as we sometimes make it.  As we take one good decision at a time, positive habits will start forming making it easier to eat healthier. You and I deserve a life full of good habits, no matter how difficult the first decision is.     

Food sometimes is so enticing and stimulating that it's hard to turn down. Actually, some food overwhelms the brain circuitry and when we eat it, the brain cranks out dopamine, a neurochemical associated with a reward that drives us to eat that food again and again. But your love for food can’t be greater than your love for yourself, your body and your family.  We are not helpless victims of this cycle.  We have the power to break it. 

-Fresh food contains more of naturally occurring vitamins, fiber, and minerals.  The essential nutrients in fresh produce may protect you against different diseases such as cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Fresh food helps us gain energy, and maybe even reduce the effects of aging.  Fresh vs. processed food should be such an easy decision, right? But since processed foods are carefully designed to taste good and they are easily attainable, it's harder to ignore them.  

-Set yourself up for success and start the day right; never leave the house without eating breakfast.  A small protein bar is simply not enough and it will only take you so far, and depending where you will be when you run out of energy, it may be easier to fall into the trap to grab something on the go. 

-Take healthy snacks everywhere you go.  They will keep you focused and energized the whole day.  Get your own stylish lunch bag and keep it stocked with nuts, fruits, and water at all times.  Cook at home, do it together as a family, so everyone can help, or alone listening to some good music to unwind.   Make eating fresh food easier.  Have carrots, celery, and fruits ready to eat when hunger strikes.  Small changes will make a big difference. 

-If we do the same thing over and over it becomes part of our lifestyle.  We seem to be surrounded by things that want us to eat more and move less, but we don’t have to fall into that pattern. It seems that so much of our eating is done without us even realizing it, which doesn’t fill us up and actually may hurt us.   In the book Savor,  Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung reminds us to “Concentrate on what you are eating.  See how it looks, let your eyes enjoy it, what it feels like in your mouth, what it tastes like.  Chew consciously, savoring what you eat.  As you become aware of what you are eating, you also become fully aware of the present moment.”    

-Make eating a special occasion, whether it is with family or alone, make time to enjoy it.  It takes your body around 20 minutes to register fullness, so don’t rush the experience. 

-Don’t eat in the car. If you are hungry, then have a healthy snack, but try to have your main meals when you can slow down and focus on enjoying them. 

-When you go out to eat, have something healthy before you go, that way you will not be tempted to order more than you need. You could share an entrée, order half a portion or pack half to go once you feel full.   

Eating healthy is a matter of valuing ourselves, and our body.  Don’t get discouraged if it seems too hard.  Remember, it is a process, but you will enjoy the benefits of making right decisions one meal at the time.  

Manuelita   @manuelitaotero