Resolution 9: Eat Mindfully and Stop When Full

Eat  Mindfully and Stop When Full

As the busy women I am, I often eat while on the go: grabbing breakfast while in route to school and eating it as I drive to work or stopping to grab a quick meal between appointments and eating it as I scramble to get across town. Even when able to sit down to a meal, I commonly find myself multitasking as I eat. This past week I spent many a meal rereading Ethan Frome: my Nook propped open as I prepared to teach the novel this coming week while simultaneously eating my lunch. To bridge the expanse of time between lunch and dinner, which grows too long during Speech season, I often grab a snack to eat as I coach my students. In each of these instances I spend little to no time thinking about what I am eating--my mind is always otherwise occupied. For this reason, I took a quiz today that only strengthens what I already knew of myself: I am a mindless eater.

Dr. Jan Chozen Bays, an expert on eating mindfully, believes that a dietary "fundamental problem is that we go unconscious when we eat." To avoid gaining weight, according to the New York Times article "Mindful Eating as Food For Thought," most individuals only need to start thinking about what they eat; focus on what is being put into the body, for what reason(s), and how it satisfies the body's needs. Of course, for me this means taking time to eat without distraction--setting aside my Nook, turning off the television, and not eating while in route to my next obligation.

Additionally, I need to stop eating all that is on my plate. Simply because I grew up in a "clean-plate-club" world doesn't mean that as an adult I still need to feel as if I must eat all that is served to me. This is especially true when eating out, since at home I can control how much food is placed on my plate. Therefore, this week I take a cue from the French, and I stop eating when I feel a sensation of fullness. If that means taking home leftovers or tossing part of a meal, then so be it. If it is better for my health, I need to make it happen.



As for last week's goal of getting 8 hours of sleep, ironically I struggled to fall asleep most nights. Despite setting aside plenty of time each night for rest, I'd tuck myself beneath the covers, close my eyes, and proceed to not fall asleep. Possibly it was psychological, there is no easy way of knowing, but for whatever the reason I did not get the rest I had hoped for last week. I guess this is a resolution at which I will keep having to chip away.

Resolution 8: Sleep 8 or More Hours a Night

Resolution 8: Sleep 8 or More Hours a Night

Those who know me well, know I am a fan of sleeping: I have often been heard saying, "If sleeping was an Olympic event, you would find me on the podium." Once I am cuddling with my blankets and tucked tightly beneath my down comforter, the room light could suddenly be flipped on or a plethora of squad cars could loudly zip up my block, yet I would remain sound asleep. It is for this reason that some may find it interesting that my goal for this week is to insure that I get enough sleep. However, simply because I am good at sleeping doesn't mean I get enough of it.  

The number of hours of sleep on
weeknights, according to the NYT Magazine,
that American adults get on average.

I am not alone in this: many Americans get too little sleep on average. According to a New York Times Magazine story written in 2011, 72% of Americans get under eight hours, or exactly 8 hours, of sleep a night (the average quantity of hours equating to 6.9). This same article indicates that most adults need at least eight hours of sleep a night in order to maintain full concentration abilities on a day to day basis: I guess that means most of us here in America sit at work, talk to our bosses, and run our lives with a less than ideal concentration level. Scary. Anyway, I digress. Additionally, according to a Harvard report released in 2006, getting enough sleep is important for the following six reasons:

1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

All signs point to a need for sleep, yet sometimes I just can not get enough with my life as busy as it is. On the weekends, typically, I easily sleep nine or more hours each night; however, on school nights, I average around 7.25 hours each evening. It is for this reason, with an extremely busy week ahead of me, this eight-hours-of-sleep resolution is an appropriate one. 

A typical "My Plate" report for me this week

As for last week's resolution: I was extremely successful. For seven days in a row, I was able to make my daily My Plate report light up the vegetable wedge! In fact, for three days this past week I was able to light up all five sections. This is somewhat surprising, since in the past I have always struggled eating a balanced diet, but this week I did it (and it was not even all that hard--it just took a little planning when my husband and I planned our lunches for the week).  Albeit, I feel no difference in my body having eaten a more balanced diet this past week, but I can not expect results instantly. That said, I did find it was easier to come in under my designated calories each day, and that is a start in the right in the direction. 


Now, I am off to bed.

Resolution 7: Eat More Vegetables

Eat More Vegetables (along with my fruit)

If only they tasted as deliciously as they look in the store...

Considering that last week my goal was to eat more fruit, it is most likely not surprising that this week my plan is to eat more vegetables. Albeit, this week's goal will be a harder one since I dislike most vegetables: particularly raw vegetables, which contain the most nutritional value. This is complicated by the fact that the vegetables I do like are the same ones my husband doesn't enjoy eating  and/or are the ones that are often quite expensive. For instance, I love grilled asparagus, but Scott does not. Also, I always enjoy sliced raw mushrooms (technically fungi, but classified as veggies when it comes to nutritional value), but my husband will always pass on eating them. Plus, sliced yellow peppers are sweet and delicious, but unfortunately always quite pricey (especially during this time of year). All these things make consuming vegetables harder for me, particularly in the wintertime when availability is low and prices are high.

Nonetheless, it is important that I am successful in fully weaving vegetables back into my life. Eating vegetables is one of the major platforms of a healthy lifestyle. According to Harvard's School of Public Health, a diet rich in vegetables helps to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure, protect against some cancers, promote gastrointestinal health, and maintain good vision.

Personally, I believe that my largest challenge will be to order vegetables as a side-dish whenever I eat out, which typically is twice (or more) a week, rather than French fries. That said, with much help from my husband, I have already made a few steps in the right direction--at least when it comes to eating at home. Scott and I always have a freezer filled with frozen vegetables. Then, this morning at the grocery store, I picked up 8 ounces of pre-sliced mushrooms for snacking. Additionally, for lunch today (and therefore, lunches for work at least twice this week), Scott made an Italian meatball soup that was plumb-full of onions, carrots, and tomatoes (technically a fruit, I know, but nutritionally a vegetable).

Resolution 6: Eat More Fruit

Eat more fruit

What my "My Plate" report typically looks like each day

Over the past five weeks, during which I have been tracking my intake of calories, I have consistently noticed that most days I do not eat enough fruit. The Lose It! site, on which I track my calories,  provides a daily depiction of which food groups I have successfully managed to tap into sufficiently. This report, which follows the guidelines provided by Choose My Plate (a health focused program created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture), rarely highlights the vegetable section for me, and even less frequently the fruit section. According to this USDA program, half of each meal should be devoted to fruits and vegetables: this is something with which I indeed struggle. 


Eating fruit is important for so many reasons. For one, most fruit has a high dietary fiber content: a key ingredient for low cholesterol levels and controlled blood sugar levels (among other things). Secondly, many fruits contain a high concentration of potassium, which "helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower the risk of heart disease," according to the USDA. Additionally, fruit contains a high concentration of numerous vitamins that a healthy body craves, namely vitamin C and folic acid. Therefore, there is no doubt in my mind that I need to be working harder at getting more fruit into my body.


It is for this reason that I asked Scott to pick up some fruit while at the grocery store today. He returned from Hy-Vee this morning with a pint of blueberries, clementines, and bananas. Now, I just have to eat them!

Results: Month 1