Clients have asked for information on intuitive eating, or mindful eating. I enjoy referring people to Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD.  View her work and let me know what you think.

A pendulum moves deliberately.  Thoughtfully.  Mindfully. 

A yo-yo?  Not so much.  It’s either all the way up or all the way down.  (Unless you are a master at manipulating a yo-yo.)

Take this example and apply it to the food you eat.  Try to view eating more like a smooth pendulum.  Pendulum eaters, or mindful eaters, are in charge–not just in control–and they are fully aware of the eating event.

Another component of eating mindfully: withhold judgment.  No need to grade something as “good” or “bad.”  Eat what you want when you want it.  Focus on true physical hunger, and honor that hunger with real food.  You’ll eat less and feel better.

Learn more at The Center for Mindful Eating and at eMindful.

When it’s cold outside and not much going on, some of my clients tell me how bored they feel–or lonely, anxious, depressed–and the one thing that comforts, the one constant, is food.  Especially sweets.  I usually explain that turning to food must serve some purpose, and I ask about the perceived purpose and the resulting impact.  How do you feel during the eating episode?  Then what about after?  Always the sequence of responses:  great/dizzy/occupied then guilty/stressed/anxious. 

The cure? Eat, and repeat. 

But we know this doesn’t work because it leads to binge eating (either a subjective or an objective binge), and when the episode is over the client feels worse–not better.  The very thing/feeling that made her or him eat in the first place is still there.  The boredom or the anxiety or the loneliness or the depression never went anywhere.  It was masked for a moment.  I encourage clients to explore this with me and/or with a psychotherapist, if appropriate.

Geneen Roth wrote recently (Good Houkeeping magazine, July 2009): “After having devoted a lot of my life to being anxious about things that never came to pass, I’ve finally realized that worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair all day and thinking you’re actually going somewhere.”  Geneen’s solution, which I adore: “[Notice], on a daily basis, everything that you don’t have to worry about. Everything that is already fine, vibrant, thriving.”

To close, as I tell my clients, when thinking of reaching for food, first identify if it’s from physiological hunger or from emotional hunger.  Then proceed accordingly. 

Just wanted to let you know about a professional development opportunity. 

eMindful will be hosting a 10-month Certificate Program entitled Mindful Eating for Health Care Professionals. The program will feature two teachers from Duke Integrative Medicine: Dr. Ruth Wolever and Jennifer Davis, M.S., L.P.C. Jennifer provides health psychology services for multiple programs at the Duke Center for Living, including Duke Executive Health Program, Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs, and the Getting on Track Weight Management Program.  Ruth Wolever, Ph.D., is a clinical health psychologist and Director of Research for Duke Integrative Medicine, and has been a principal investigator in NIH-funded Mindful Eating research for the past 10 years.

The course meets monthly for 10 months inside eMindful’s live, interactive, online classroom where both teachers and students can see, hear, and interact with each other.  21 (possibly 24) continuing education credit hours are available and a Certification of Completion will be provided at the conclusion of the program.  Course outline is available.

Based on the outline and my interaction with another RD who has participated in the training previously, I think it will be good.  Also, they are offering a discount when I refer people.  You just use code “CTRD“.  The full program is regularly priced at $550, but if you use the discount code, you may attend at the reduced price of $299.  If you don’t wish to make the 10-month commitment, you may take any of the individual classes at a discounted rate of $39… just use the discount code “CTRD” to receive a reduction from the regular $89 per class price.
 
Lastly, this program grants me $25 for every person who signs up using the CTRD code.  I will donate all of that money to the American Dietetic Association Foundation scholarship fund.  (I shared this message with some of my Connecticut colleagues on 1/7/10 and informed them that all donations will go to CDA’s scholarship fund.)
 
Looking forward to your thoughts.
 
Sincerely,
Milton
 
PS Share with anyone you wish: physicians, nurses, and other dietitians/DTRs in your network.  

When’s the last time you savored every bite of food? Truly enjoyed the texture, flavor, appearance–the everything about your eating experience?

Most of us have little time for this, or I should say that we make little time. Whether it’s busy schedules or multitasking, or just old habits, eating mindfully can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be. Consider some of the following and see what you can apply to your eating experience:

- Try to eat deliberately. Slowly. Attentively.
- Try to minimize reacting and judging your eating experience.
- Listen to your physical hunger. (How does that differ from emotional hungery?)
- Eat food you love.
- Eat when hungry; stop when full.
- Recognize there’s no one right way or totally wrong way to eat. Each person should have an individualized diet plan.
- Don’t ruminate over food you ate yesterday or last week. Enjoy what you have now.

Can you think of one thing you would change to eat mindfully?