Holiday Eating: B-Merry, B-Mindful

on December 16, 2011 at 11:10 am

Hello Everyone!

With the Christmas holiday season (and party) fast approaching, I felt it fitting to discuss the topic of holiday eating. To preface our discussion, I would like to clarify that it is not my intention to deter you from enjoying the delicious food spreads that will soon be available, but rather to encourage you to eat and drink in a merry but mindful way.

What makes the holiday season so special are the unique traditions that we bring to the table. From decorations to jokes, songs, games, gift exchanges, and foods- celebration diversity is evident in each household. I’m a big foodie and I’m sure almost everyone shares my love for food, particularly during the holiday season when there are two distinct themes- variety (so many different foods) and quantity (so much of everything!).

What we tend to overlook is the fact that we celebrate an entire holiday season- not just one meal on one day in which we could reasonably justify a little overindulgence. There is an abundance of holiday food to be found at work, home, family’s homes, friend’s places, and of course all of the holiday treats scattered everywhere else throughout November and December. And quite possibly earlier if you’re surrounded by individuals who enjoy getting a really early start in October!

Take your time: Work pace should not equal eating pace.

Let’s face it- just about everything in life moves quickly. And we’ve somehow trained ourselves to keep up with the fast pace of our jobs, families, social commitments, and interests. Naturally, our food consumption pace has come to mirror the pace that we follow in these other domains of life.

With increased food variety and availability over the holiday season, we tend to inhale more food in less time. But how exactly can we train ourselves to slow down? What are some realistic techniques for avoiding the pitfalls of eating so fast that we forget what we ate, are immobile, and feel like we are about to give birth to a food baby?

Assess your options and give yourself time to make wise decisions…

Walk around and assess your food spread first. Find out what is available and what looks good before selecting and eating. Avoid mindlessly grabbing every food item in your line of sight. Instead, take your time deciding what you really want to eat and allow that to translate into what you’re going to eat. It’s not a race. Look at the amount of food on the table.

Goal: Look at every food item in your food spread one to two times before making any decisions to plate and eat.

Regress to your childhood days and take time chewing and eating…

As children, we are constantly reminded to take time eating meals and are encouraged to take small bites and chew food properly. Despite these important messages in early childhood, we somehow forget how to chew properly and pace our intake by the time we reach adulthood. When we take time chewing our food (while enjoying the aromas, textures and flavours that our food offers), we give our bodies time to inform us that we’re full- and hopefully listen and stop.

As a child, my parents encouraged me to chew each mouthful of food 15 times which often felt like a torture technique. I am not certain that a valid magic number or formula exists for chewing, but if the average individual eats like me, I would imagine that most of us do not chew each mouthful more than a few times before swallowing.

In the interest of setting a realistic goal and improving our chewing technique, I could certainly conjure up an outlandish formula here, but most people refuse to practice math skills while they eat. Respecting this, I will simply say- make a concerted effort to (and a habit of) chewing mouthfuls for a longer period of time than you normally would.

Consider some of the benefits of increased chewing time. Chewing:

– generates saliva that helps with food breakdown/digestion and contains antibacterial enzymes to help ward off food-borne bacteria

– gives your taste buds time to fully record food flavours, enhancing your overall food experience

– gives your body time to feel full and tell you it’s full

Goal: Make a concerted effort to (and habit of) chewing each mouthful of food for 5-10 seconds longer than you normally would.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Try having a glass of water to drink before eating your next meal. Many of us fail to consume adequate fluids and keep our bodies properly hydrated. Additionally, we often confuse thirst with hunger and mistakenly run to food to satisfy thirst and hunger cues alike. A glass of water before a meal can help you decide you’re full when your body has had enough.

Goal: Have one (8oz) glass of water before each meal.

Size matters: Plate size, that is.

Here is a question of which came first- the chicken or the egg? Did our dishware sizes grow as a result of our appetites increasing, or have our appetites increased with our tendency to use oversized dishes? Either way, the sizes of our dishes influence the amount of food that we eat. Large plates and bowls encourage overeating.

This one is really simple- when you have the option of choosing a small or large plate to eat from, always choose a small plate. Whenever the possibility of using small plates and bowls exists, find them and use them. Cornell professor and author of Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink warns us of the influence of large dishes. It has nothing to do with being smart enough to avoid the psychological cues to overeating. There are hidden intake persuaders everywhere that we are not immune to, so we need to mindfully choose smaller sized dishes to avoid overindulging.

Goal: Choose (and seek out) smaller sized plates and bowls to eat from.

Out of sight, out of mind.

While we are on the topic of dishware, let’s also touch on serving dish transparency, another of Wansink’s clever considerations. To avoid overeating, avoid serving food in clear dishware. It’s that easy. The temptation to overeat will be greater when food is displayed in clear dishes (ie. clear bowls). The idea here is that when serving dishes are transparent and constantly reminding us of what goodies are inside, we are continuously tempted to indulge. On the other hand, when serving dishes are opaque/non-transparent and disguise contents from certain perspectives, we can avoid these constant reminders. So be sure to serve food (especially foods that you may want to eat moderately) in opaque dishes.

Goal: Stick to opaque serving dishes. Avoid transparent serving bowls and dishes.

Strategic seconds: Vegetables and protein only.

But how can we resist the urge to fill up these small plates to a large plate serving size? It’s Christmas. By all means, help yourself to seconds- but be exclusive. Be sure to only have seconds of the vegetable and protein (ie. meat, legumes etc.) dishes. We usually don’t meet the number of vegetable and fruit servings recommended in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating, so this strategy will help increase our fruit and vegetable consumption. Protein intake is related to satiety (feeling full), so an extra helping of lean meat such as boneless, skinless turkey or chicken, beans or peas will help you reach the point of feeling satisfied and cue the end of your meal.

Chances are, if you decline seconds simply because you are not interested in more vegetables or meat, you are full and ready to stop eating.

Goal: If you go for seconds, choose only vegetables or protein (such as lean meat, legumes).

Tis the season of sharing: Desserts.

If your family is anything like mine, desserts are the most anticipated meal component. But after appetizers and entrée courses, when the red carpet is rolled out, the mere thought of eating dessert feels like the impossible dream. So, we “make space” for it-

as my uncle says. Remember- there is nothing wrong with sharing. With smaller dessert pieces in hand, you will be more inclined to take your time and savour each bite.

Goals: When you’re serving desserts, cut and serve them in halves for guests. When you’re eating desserts that are served whole, take half and share the other half with someone else.

Choose your favourites: Stick to the special, seasonal dessert items.

Returning to the idea of variety- an abundance of special (typically high fat, high sodium, high calorie) foods during the holiday season is almost always a given. Masses of appetizers, entrees, and desserts fill holiday event tables and light up our eyes- making us want everything. My advice here is to choose the special holiday desserts that you only see once a year- and take time enjoying every bite. Whether it’s a decadent chocolate cake that your wife makes once a year or a pie that no one but your aunt can replicate at Christmas, stick to the special, seasonal holiday desserts.

Avoid the chips that are thrown onto the table to get eaten up or the ice cream that you already have at home and don’t even particularly like. Moderate your intake from the delight category by not wasting time with boring everyday items that aren’t even worth it- and instead focus on one (or maybe two) pieces of a seasonal delicacy.

Goal: Choose special holiday desserts. Avoid convenient, everyday dessert items.

Share the wealth.

If you are hosting any of the functions that we discussed and would like to control the amount of holiday leftovers that you consume (particularly the higher fat, higher sodium, higher calorie items), one strategy would be to send your guests home with these foods so that you are not stuck with items that you may have trouble moderating.

If you do decide to keep some of the leftovers (which is perfectly fine), try practicing some of the strategies for avoiding overeating that were discussed above.

Goal: Send your guests home with food in an effort to moderate your own leftover intake.

Summary

To quickly review our new goals:

Look at every food item in your food spread one to two times before making any decisions to plate and eat.
Make a concerted effort to (and habit of) chewing each mouthful of food for 5-10 seconds longer than you normally would.
Have one (8oz) glass of water before each meal.
Choose (and seek out) smaller sized plates and bowls to eat from.
Stick to opaque serving dishes. Avoid transparent serving bowls and dishes.
If you go for seconds, choose only vegetables or protein (such as lean meat, legumes).
When you’re serving desserts, cut and serve them in halves for guests. When you’re eating desserts that are served whole, take half and share the other half with someone else.
Choose special holiday desserts. Avoid convenient, everyday dessert items.
Send your guests home with food in an effort to moderate your own leftover intake.

Office Challenge

Practice makes perfect! With our holiday party right around the corner, we have a great opportunity to practice some of the mindful goals that we created.

For example, as a team we can decide to provide the option of smaller sized dishes. Having a glass of water before our meal would also be simple to accomplish. Another office party goal could be to have desserts cut in half or at least have a knife handy (close to the dessert section) so that the option for having a half portion is more convenient.

Last but certainly not least: Enjoy! The aromas, flavours, emotions and each other…

Eat, drink, B-merry and B-mindful.