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SENIOR MATTERS

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MINDFUL EATING FOR SENIORS

The spring season is upon us, and it is a great time to start thinking about how to make small changes in our daily lives to become healthier. When we go out with friends or socialize with family, our gatherings are most often focused on food and drink. This is a great time to refocus on how you think about food and try to enjoy the company of others. For someone that has just embarked on the journey towards improving their eating habits for better health and/or weight loss or someone who is just trying to maintain their weight through the holiday season, this time of the year can be the perfect time to pick up some new habits.

There is one strategy called Mindful Eating (or Intuitive Eating) that can be used to help you stay on track with your goals in relation to your eating habits and weight. According to Jan Chozen Bays, a zen teacher and author of Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food, Mindful Eating is an experience that engages all parts of us, our body, our heart and our mind, in choosing, preparing and eating food. Mindful Eating replaces self-criticism with self-nurturing. It replaces shame with respect for your inner wisdom. Through mindful eating, you can learn to be present when you eat and reawaken the pleasure of eating and drinking.

When you practice mindful eating, it makes you think about what you are eating and pay more attention to the satiety cues that your body is sending you. For some of us, the holiday season has become an excuse to overindulge in food and drink. Many of us have said to ourselves, “Gaining weight during the holidays is normal, and I can lose the weight once the holiday season is over” Unfortunately, for many, that does not always happen. You gain 10 pounds during the holiday season and only lose 3-5 pounds. If your mindset does not change, you can be up 20 pounds over  5-10 years. And for many older adults, weight loss becomes more difficult as you get older.

Mindful Eating does not mean you cannot eat and drink the things you truly enjoy. In fact, you will find that you will enjoy it more. I often tell the seniors that I have worked with at the community center that when you are presented with too many food options at a party, choose the foods that you truly enjoy and avoid the foods that you truly don’t enjoy. Some of us will eat something at a party because it is in front of us, not because we truly like it. From Jan Chozen Bay’s book, the mind has two distinct functions, thinking and awareness. The awareness function is turned down when the thinking function is turned up. When the thinking function is going full throttle, we can eat an entire meal, cake, or an entire carton of ice cream and not taste more than a bite. If you do anything else while eating- talking, walking, writing, or thinking, the flavor of the food and drink diminishes or disappears.

The following are some tips that you can use to help you avoid overindulging at your next holiday gathering:

  • 1. Prior to the beginning of the party, do not skip any meals that you usually eat during the day. Showing up to a party with feelings of extreme hunger will make it difficult to eat mindfully.
  • 2. If standing or sitting next to a dessert or appetizer table makes it difficult for you to avoid overindulging then move to a spot away from that table
  • 3. Think about which indulgence you prefer to have at the party before you attend the party and enjoy it.
  • 4. Use a small plate which can help with portion control
  • 5. Remember that you do not have to eat or drink something just because it is there
  • 6. Take a doggie bag home of some of your favorite dishes that you didn’t have a chance to taste. This can also work for the family member who insists you try the dish they made. Kindly inform them that you are not able to eat any more food but would love to take some of their dish home to try the next day. Just make sure you reach out to that family member that you truly enjoyed their dish the next day.
  • 7. Overeating can make you feel uncomfortable and it can take the joy out of your party experience
  • 8. In regards to alcoholic beverages, drinking beverages mixed with club soda or sparkling water with a squeeze of lime or lemon can decrease the caloric content of the drink. Try alternating water with alcoholic beverages to help you limit the amount of cocktails that you might consume at a party

The spring season can be the perfect time to try and change things up and try a different routine. Mindful eating can limit the stress that is connected to the holiday season in relation to food. Reading the book by Jan Chozen Bays is just one way you educate yourself on the ways of mindful eating. You can also check out the website, www.thecenterformindfuleating.org which has many resources on mindful eating. Now that winter is almost over and a new season is in bloom, it is the perfect time to try something new and continue to use your new skills throughout the year.

Try our Intuitive Eating class:
Intuitive Eating Class (6 wk. class) $15 fee includes book, Fridays, April 14 – May 19, 11:00 a.m. – Noon Intuitive eating is a non-diet approach to improve your relationship with food. Class size is limited, must attend all classes. Sign up by April 7. Call 781-698-4840 to register
One-on-one nutrition appointments available with Barbara Collins, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist, on Fridays for in-person or phone consultation at the Lexington Community Center. Please call the Human Services Department at 781-698-4840 to make your appointment.