Are You Mindfully Eating? How to Tell

When learning how to eat mindfully, often we begin by focusing on obvious behaviors such as not watching television or driving while eating.  The more subtle aspects come later when we have mastered these and are more in tune with our own bodies and our environment.  However, suggestions to “focus on your food” may seem too vague to be sure we are eating mindfully.  What is most helpful is a checklist to evaluate our own eating awareness.

The acronym A.F.T.E.R.  is a checklist developed by K. Katrina, N. King, and D. Hayes in their book, “Moving Away From Diets”.  Although the acronym suggests its use when you finish your meal, it is actually more useful during the meal.  Keep this checklist handy wherever you eat so that you can be sure to get the full enjoyment from your meal.  Achieving most of the characteristics of A.F.T.E.R. will help insure that you are satisfied with your meal emotionally, as well as physically.  But don’t worry if EVERY meal does not measure up.  Sometimes we eat just to meet our hunger need even if the food isn’t as appealing as we would prefer.

A stands for appearance of your food.  You are encouraged to notice the color, shape, and design of the foods.  Pay attention to how it is served—attractively on a plate?  With a garnish?  With a tablecloth or placemat? It isn’t hard to make your food look good enough to eat!

F is for flavor.  Notice if there is one dominant flavor or do they all meld together?  How does it smell?  Are there certain spices or herbs that you can identify?

T is for temperature and texture.  Is the food warm or cold enough?  If not, you should correct the temperature before you eat it.  What about the texture?  Can you think of four adjectives to describe it?  How about crunchy, smooth, tender, chewy?  Is there a nice balance or contrast in textures?

E is for the overall experience.  Was it pleasant?  If so, what made it so?  Was the background noise conducive to enjoying your food?  How about the lighting, company, etc.?  Make a note of what improved your experience and be sure to repeat it.

R is for results.  When the meal ends, do you feel satisfied?  What other feelings do you experience?  Relaxed?  Pleased? Nurtured?  Did the food sustain you until the next time you ate?

Use the A.F.T.E.R. acronym checklist for your next meal and see if it improves your enjoyment and ultimate satisfaction with the experience.  Learning to respond to our own needs is a journey that takes many steps but is worth it!

Darlene Endy, MS, RD, CDN

www.nutritionbydarlene.com

Religion and Mental Health - Do they belong together?

Where does faith fit into therapy? A recent post on the NY Times blog Well, reports that a growing number of counselors and patients think it that religion belongs in therapy. According to Psychology Today, more patients look for conselors who can discuss their problems and goals from a religious frame of reference.

A Spiritual Director, or clergy of any religion, who is also trained in counseling would be best suited to incorporate a client’s religious beliefs into therapy. Yet how many people will actually seek out or find such a situation?

What is unfortunate is that our culture has separated religion and science is such a way that, even for those who desire it, any attempt at a hybrid approach is shunned as not being evidence based. However, the lack of interest and funding for research that seeks to bridge faith and health perpetuates this lack of evidence. While meditation has been shown to be effective in mitigating some psychological or physiological symptoms, only recently has contemplative prayer been of interest to a few researchers. 

Beliefs, including religious ones, can provide motivation for our actions. They can encourage us to pursue contemplative practices, positive social encounters and a healthy active lifestyle. If therapists and other healthcare providers are to consider the whole person, shouldn't they be better prepared to consider how one’s faith might be incorporated into the healing process?

With faith-filled intentions, all daily activities can become acts of prayer, praise, and connection to a divine power. Nourishing your body and exercise can be considered taking care of the gift of life. Reaching out to others to give or receive acts of kindness, compassion and social support can be considered acts of faithful service. Every thought and actions can become a prayer form by your intentions and desire. Self-care becomes an at of faith if that is your intention. Meditation, mindfulness, positive thinking, nutrition, exercise, and interactions with others and nature can resonant with your beliefs, by the transforming power of holy desire.

See Faith View for more information on relating faith and compassionate self-care.

Eat Right with Color - March is National Nutrition Month

Color your meals nutritous when you Eat Right with Color! March is National Nutrition Month and a great time to practice mindful eating, RealeWell style.

This month dietitions are encouraging you to add color and nutrients to meals, "Adding a splash of colorful seasonal foods to your plate makes for more than just a festive meal. A rainbow of foods creates a palette of nutrients, each with a different bundle of potential benefits for a healthful eating plan," says registered dietician, Karen Ansel (ADA).

Make your grocery list from the choices below and brighten up your plate in every season.

Green produce indicates antioxidant potential and may help promote healthy vision and reduce cancer risks.

• Fruits: avocado, apples, grapes, honeydew, kiwi and lime
• Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, green peppers and leafy greens such as spinach

Orange and deep yellow fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that promote healthy vision and immunity, and reduce the risk of some cancers.

• Fruits: apricot, cantaloupe, grapefruit, mango, papaya, peach and pineapple
• Vegetables: carrots, yellow pepper, yellow corn and sweet potatoes

Purple and Blue options may have antioxidant and anti-aging benefits and may help with memory, urinary tract health and reduced cancer risks.

• Fruits: blackberries, blueberries, plums, raisins
• Vegetables: eggplant, purple cabbage, purple-fleshed potato

Red indicates produce that may help maintain a healthy heart, vision, immunity and may reduce cancer risks.

• Fruits: cherries, cranberries, pomegranate, red/pink grape fruit, red grapes and watermelon
• Vegetables: beets, red onions, red peppers, red potatoes, rhubarb and tomatoes

White, Tan and Brown foods sometimes contain nutrients that may promote heart health and reduce cancer risks.

• Fruits: banana, brown pear, dates and white peaches
• Vegetables: cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, turnips, white-fleshed potato and white corn

Half Plate Rule

Fill half your plate with a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. For additional options in the color palette, choose frozen or dried fruits and vegetables available throughout the year.

Click Here for mindful eating, RealeWell style. 

You can nurture your body and mind just by adjusting your attitude towards food and how you interact with it. Consider the what, when, where, and why of eating, plus emotional eating and nonjudgmental eating. Enjoy your meals, guilt free! Find out about 4 Simple Steps to start eating RealeWell. 

If you wish to explore how mindful eating can become a form of prayer, RealeWell also offers an optional faith perspective.

Upcoming Program and Events

If you know of an upcoming event related to breast cancer survivors or wellness that you would like to share with the community, please send information to realewell@gmail.com at least 2 weeks prior to the event. You can also use the RealePink Forum to post a notice about a program or event and encourage participates to post related comments before and after the program/event. The RealePink Forum is designed to provide an open forum for breast cancer survivors and their families and friends. 

Research Suggests…Love More, Feel Better

How relationships can affect your health is the subject of new research at Stanford University. A new study suggests that feelings of love can relieve pain. The notion of lovesick may turn out to be more like love-well. Research shows that even looking at a photo of a loved one can release dopamine and natural painkillers.          


Study researcher and senior author Dr. Sean Mackey, chief of the division of pain management at Stanford, said findings support the theory that pain patients who seek out pleasurable activities may find some relief.


“Find things to give you pleasure in life, whether it be through the one you love or going and listening to great music or reading a good book,” Dr. Mackey said. “It suggests that activating this intrinsic reward system ultimately can reduce your pain.”


This research should also help doctors with ways to help patients with care that doesn’t involve drugs or a procedure. “It’s caused me to change the education and how I talk with my patients and how they understand it,” Dr. Mackey said.  “When patients are doing markedly better and I find out they are in a new passionate relationship, I may be less likely to think it’s the new medication I put them on,” he said. “I realize that maybe it has nothing to do with me.”

A recent study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that hugging and hand-holding can also release feel-good chemical hormone oxytocin that reduces stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, improves mood, and increases pain tolerance.

According to Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Associate Professor of Psychology at Brigham Young University, "Our relationships help us cope with stress so if we have someone we can turn to for emotional support or advice that can buffer the negative effects of stress." She also suggests that romantic relationships can provide a sense of meaning and purpose in life that can encourage self-care and less risk taking.

Whether or not you are in a romantic relationship, strong connections with friends, neighbors or coworkers can improve your resilience and benefit your health. This Valentine's Day, celebrate your connections. Give a  little love and receive a whole lot more.

Stressed Out? Go "Offline"

Feeling stressed? Burned out? Do you have trouble thinking clearly, remembering things, dealing calmly with stressful situations? Maybe you need to take a personal timeout. According to Esther Sterberg, M.D at the National Institute of Mental Health, "If you feel stressed all the time, you need to take yourself 'offline'."

Can you consider taking a short vacation, a day off, or even a few minutes to nurture yourself? Maybe you can do it right now. Read this then shut down your computer. Turn off all tech gadgets that divert your attention and focus on something that you love to do, brings you joy, focuses your attention outside yourself and your current situations, or moves your body. For example, a walking meditation can offer relaxing/energy building relief for mind and body. Remember that while a personal timeout may seem to be just for yourself, it will also benefit your family and friends, maybe even people beyond your immediate circle. Because whatever is healthy for you can also be healthy for your relationships. If you feel you're on a treadmill, get off! Whether for a week or a few minutes. Anything can help and heal.

Dr. Sterberg says, "We reboot our computers when they are overworked, but we don't seem to do it with our bodies.If you're exhausted from constantly working on deadline or caregiving, take a vacation—they're not luxuries, they're physical necessities. Find a place of peace where you can stop, look, and listen." 

If you can't get physically away from your situation, try meditation to rest body and mind. "Evidence shows that meditation bolsters immune function by reducing stress hormones that dampen immune cells' ability to fight infection."

Exercise is also key to improved mood and developing the body's stress response. You can join a group program or take it slowly on your own but making movement a daily practice matters. Developing a routine of physical activity can boost resilience, strengthen your physical and mental health, and foster a more positive outlook and sense of self-control.  

"(Even) a few minutes are better than no minutes—you can gradually increase how much you exercise every day. You don't need to go jogging—walking has significant health benefits," states Dr. Sterberg.

Relaxation is also important to combating stress and encouraging a peaceful journey through life. There are many paths including yoga, meditation and prayer, music, reading, or art. "We need to find our place of peace and try to go there every day," she says.

The key phrase here is "every day". What can you do every day to move your body and find peace of mind? If you miss a day, react to it mindfully without judgement and just start again. Every moment of every day is an opportunity for renewed wellness, a stronger body and more peaceful mind.

You can take a mental vacation right now. Follow these simple steps for a meditation time-out:
3 MINUTE TIME OUT
You are invited to take a 3 minute timeout to give your mind and body a healthy break in the day, a taste of silence, and a chance to regroup before continuing your introduction to RealeWell.

1) Sit in a comfortable position.
2) Take a slow, deep, cleansing breath.
3) Let a wave of relaxation flow through your body, from your head, down your arms, and torso, and legs.
4) Rest in this moment and focus on your breath
5) Close your eyes, feet on the floor, hands in your lap.
6) With every breath you can calm your body and your mind.
7) If you have distracting thoughts, just let them pass by
and refocus on your breath.
8) Breathing in you calm your body.
9) Breathing out you rest and relax. This is a beautiful moment. 


Continue to focus on your breath for 3 minutes then read on.

“All things will be well and all manner of things will be well.” - Julian of Norwich

Meditation and Your Immune System

This fall, as the cold and flu season approaches, meditation could strengthen your immune system and build up your resistance.

Research at the University of Wisconsin indicates, “A meditation habit can strengthen the body's immune function, plus increase brain performance in the form of electrical activity. It validates the mind-body dynamic of meditation. To gauge immune function, the researchers measured antibodies in the blood that fight flu and other infections. Volunteer subjects in the study who meditated had significantly higher levels of these healthful antibodies than non-meditators in just one to two months. – Bob Condor, Tribune Newspapers 11/29/09

Before the colors of autumn give way to winter, consider that this might be the perfect time for you to develop a habit of daily meditation. One of the easiest ways to get started is by practicing various forms of walking meditation. 

This can mean 20-30 minute walks focusing on your breath, the feeling of your feet on the ground, the movement of your body, and the colors, shapes, and sounds around you. By paying attention to the present moment, any moment can be a beautiful one.

Even if you are inside, a walk up the stairs at work or a lap around the shopping mall can be soothing and strengthening. The repetitive nature of walking and focusing on your breath, your body, and the present moment might be just the thing to get you off on the right foot this fall.