Be Mindful/Give Thanks

brian wansink, phd who wrote "mindless eating" has a new book titled "slim by design". since i am interested, as many of you are, in mindfulness, design and slimness i thought i would check it out.  he writes on how to redesign the main locales in which we encounter food-our kitchens, grocery stores, restaurants, etc. -to promote healthier, mindful eating that may also lead us to being slimmer. one of his main ideas is that it is easier to change our environments than to change our minds.
     some of his ideas, based on research, should be familiar. here is a selection of some of his main suggestions.*

• willpower alone does not work for most people with 75% of dieters giving up in the first month of their diets. small changes that you can live with work best for a steady weight loss. 
• don't hang out in the kitchen! the only food on your kitchen counters should be a big bowl of fruit. this is basically the out of sight out of mind rule and he also suggest using this rule in arranging your cabinets, pantry and frig. wrap that leftover piece of pecan pie in aluminum foil not clear wrap so that it's not staring at you every time you open the door
• use smaller plates! his research also indicates that if the plate is close to the color as the food that is on it that we will eat 18% more food. i'm not so sure that i believe this one.
• speaking of color-the best kitchen colors are mid tones-not too dark nor too light (although white kitchens seem to be making a comeback lately). ok but we are not supposed to be hanging out in the kitchen anyway
• if you have a dining room and use it, dim the lights and have soft music playing. it should slow everyone down giving our brains a chance to tell us when we are full
• of course no bread at restaurants but always get water even when having wine or a cocktail
• and these are my tips-many times when you think you are hungry what your body needs is water so give it what it really needs. and if you are not hungry enough to eat a piece of fruit guess what, you aren't hungry- you're doing mindless eating and it probably has a lot of calories!

    so you get the picture. many of us are so rushed, distracted and/or multitasking that we are not mindful when we eat and we should try to be. a good time to practice mindfulness would be this thursday-slow done and be thankful for all that we have. happy holiday!

*if you're interested in promoting change in your workplace or children's school i suggest you take the time to read the book.