Yesterday I confessed that I had become a bit of a wine snob. I’m not proud and I’m certainly no sommelier, just grateful that I’ve discovered the similarity between the enjoyment of both wine and food in moderation. 

Here’s my take on the essence of wine tasting and the Mindful Eating Corollaries:

Step One

Wine Tasting: Pour your wine in a clear, stemmed glass, filling it only halfway or less so there’s room to swirl.

Mindful Eating: Serve your food on a plate rather than eating it out of cartons, bags, or other containers that are destined for the dump or that prevent you from fully seeing what you’re putting in your mouth. And if you’ve got too much food to see the plate, you’ve probably got more than you actually need.

Step Two

Wine Tasting: Notice the color and viscosity of the wine. Swirl it gently in the glass then put your nose in and sniff deeply to appreciate the aromas that hint about the terroir and winemaking process used.

Mindful Eating: Notice the colors, textures, and aromas of your food. Take a moment to express gratitude for the food on your plate and everything it took to get it there.

Step 3

Wine Tasting:  Sip a small mouthful of wine. Swish the wine over your tongue and open your mouth slightly as you inhale, bringing the aromas into the back of your nose.

Mindful Eating: Put a small amount of food in your mouth and set your f ork down so you can focus on the bite that is in your mouth rather than the next one. Chew your food thoroughly as you breathe to bring the flavors up to the back of your nose where much of the “taste” of food actually comes from.

Step 4

Wine Tasting: Mentally describe the flavors, identifying subtleties, similarities to other familiar flavors, and noting how the wine complements or detracts from any food you’re eating. 

Mindful Eating: Be aware of the flavors, textures, and temperatures of your food. See if you can identify the ingredients and notice how they layer to create new flavors.

Step 5

Wine Tasting: Spit out the wine if you’ll be tasting several wines in a row so you don’t dull your senses or cross that invisible line between enjoyment and intoxication.

Mindful Eating: DON’T spit out the food! Instead, take small servings and small bites to pace yourself so you don’t cross that invisible live between enjoyment and misery.

Food and Wine Lovers’ Tip: Taste and eat with attention and intention - attention to the experience and the intention of enjoyment without having to pay the price of excess.

Wine Lovers’ Tip: Maintain a healthy weight by enjoying food MORE. Eat the same way you taste wine. (Open a bottle tonight and tell everyone you’re on a new diet!)

New Zealand and Australia are known for their outstanding “new world” wines. We weren’t in the heart of wine region in either country but we managed to find some interesting tasting rooms for a little ”practice.”

One tasting room was built in an old mortuary (I know, that should have been our first clue). They served old (I don’t mean aged) wine in little plastic communion-style cups. The wines had creepy names that bore no relation to the grapes that gave their life for us. The wine maker, a retired chemist, said, “Making wine is easy.” I whispered in my husband’s ear, “Making good wine - now that’s the hard part!”

It dawned on me that sometime during the 15 years since I quit drinking white zinfandel (not that there’s anything wrong with that), I had actually learned to appreciate good wine. I’m no expert but I know what I like (and it isn’t usually served in plastic). So how did I become a wine snob?

The same way I became a foodie: one taste at a time.

By simply deciding to be attentive to what I am eating (and drinking), I’ve become much more aware of the aromas, flavors, textures of food. More importantly, I’ve become much more connected to the experience and its affect on my body. Just as I know that there’s an invisible but very real line between enjoyment and abuse of wine, there’s a similar line that many people cross with food.

That is a simple but profound lesson that has allowed me to enjoy food more while eating less. I am no longer dazzled by large portion sizes or distracted by packaging, health claims or other attempts to lure me into eating marginal food (any more than the wine cellar viewed through the hole in the floor where they used to raise the casket could distract me into believing the wine was worth drinking!).  

Tomorrow I’ll share the steps for wine tasting and the corollaries in Mindful Eating.

As Stanly pointed out, although my son Tyler seems to effortlessly eat exactly what he needs, most of the rest of us need to conscioulsy override or work with our Clean Plate tendencies. For example, at Jack Stacks, Owen and I decided to split a platter that included smaller portions of several of their most popular meats and side dishes. When it came we found it hard to believe that one person could eat it all but the waiter insisted they do!

You’ve probably heard lots of advice about cutting back on portion sizes; the tips section below outlines some specific strategies for doing just that. However, my best advice is to shift away from thinking about portions in terms of calories (an external measure that can result in feelings of deprivation) to thinking about them in terms of how you’ll feel (an internal measure that results in positive feelings).

In other words, it’s not about being good, it’s about feeling good. How many times have you ruined a fabulous meal by eating so much that you felt stuffed and miserable afterward?

I love to share meals with my husband, my daughter, or my friends. I call it “co-ordering and co-eating.” The meal is more of a shared experience; we get more variety and just the right amount of food, usually for less money. And the big bonus is that we feel comfortable and energetic when we’re through.

Food Lovers’ Restaurant Tip: Portion sizes at many restaurants are large enough for two – think of it as “Two for the price of one.” You can share an appetizer or a salad and split an entrée; you can order two entrees and have some left to take home; or you can share an entrée and a dessert. If you don’t want to share with someone, get your to-go container before you start eating and put some aside for another meal. You’ll get to enjoy it all over again!

My travels began with a three day meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians Commission on the Health of the Public. Nice opportunity to consider my OWN health while discussing issues and initiatives important to the American people!

Since we had nearly three weeks of travel ahead, I decided to try to stick to my usual eating habits as much as possible when possible and save my “eating for fun” for when it mattered. I held my breath as I surveyed the breakfast offerings. All too often conference breakfasts consist of just Danish and coffee. That always struck me as odd since they need attendees to be alert and productive all the way until lunch. Luckily at this meeting there was a nice spread of other breakfast choices each day including eggs, fresh fruit, cereal and skim milk so that meal was easy.  

They did an equally good job with lunches – salad with chicken one day and pasta with a nice tomato-based sauce loaded with vegetables the other. Even the dessert was a light angel food cake with strawberries. However, it’s still easy to overeat at conference banquets unless you stay conscious. They serve warm rolls with butter while you’re waiting to be served. They spoon way too much dressing (if you don’t say “enough!”) on your salad topped with croutons, cheese and bacon. The servings are usually too large, especially the inexpensive fillers like pasta and rice. And the icing on the cake (literally) is some type of dessert (though I love it when it’s already on the table rather than surprising me with it when I am already full!).  

I don’t know about you but that’s way more than I usually have for lunch. So why would we suddenly throw our common sense out the window? Because meetings and conferences are loaded with triggers for overeating. You sit through long meetings so you may subconsciously feel like you’ve “earned” it. Then suddenly there’s all this free food just sitting in front of you. When you become distracted by socializing or networking during the meal, you lose track of how much you’ve eaten.

Meeting Tip: The key to handling the abundant food at meetings and conferences is to remain selective and mindful. Don’t abdicate the responsibility for how you’ll feel all day to the meeting planner or hotel staff who selected the menu. Choose the items and the portions that nourish you rather than mindlessly eating whatever is offered. That doesn’t mean “Don’t eat the roll and butter.” It means decide consciously. If you eat the roll, all the pasta they serve you, AND all of the dessert, how will you feel in an hour? Probably uncomfortable, drowsy, and foggy. But don’t worry; you’ll probably wake up in time for the afternoon cookie break!

For more, read my article “Three Questions to Make the Perfect Food Choice Everytime.”

During our recent trip to Kansas City, I ate two meals a day during my meetings then ventured out in the evenings with my husband and two teenagers for great Kansas City fare. Even at home we try to eat dinner together most nights of the week so it’s a real treat when we don’t have to do the cooking!

I think our favorite family meal was at Lydia’s Kansas City (Lydia also has Italian cookbooks and a cooking show on PBS ). We all ordered the homemade pasta trio they make fresh in the basement kitchen. Chefs moved around the dining room refilling any (or all) of the pastas from large, hot skillets. 

The four of us had a great time playing “Name the Secret Ingredient,” a game we made up on the spot. By tasting each dish mindfully, we identified capers, butternut squash, nutmeg, lemon, and other subtle but delicious flavors. The chefs seemed concerned though. I guess they thought we didn’t like the food because we turned down refills on all but a little more of each of our favorites. I suppose they’re used to people eating until they can’t eat another bite.

Restaurant Tip: The key to feeling satisfied is to value quality over quantity. Slowly and mindfully savor small portions of rich, flavorful foods. Even free refills are no bargain if you feel stuffed and miserable when you’re finished eating.

P.S. We created our version of the butternut squash ravioli with walnuts this week (see photo of our version below).

As I said in my last post before I hit the road, June was a big travel month for me. I made lots of notes about handling challenging situations when it comes to eating, physical activity and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Every day in July my posts will chronicle my trips and provide practical applications you can use to manage your weight EVEN (or more accurately, ESPECIALLY) if you love food.

The first leg of our trip was Kansas City; strange stop for a trip down under, I know. I was there to participate in a meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Commission on the Health of the Public. The rest of my family had never been to Kansas City so we added it to the beginning of our trip.

We arrived in Kansas City in late afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we went to the lounge at Skies, a revolving restaurant on top of the Hyatt Regency Crown Center. (You might remember that hotel from the atrium walkways that collapsed in 1981 killing 114 people.)

We had a beautiful, panoramic, 360 degree view of Kansas City. Because it was two hours ahead of Phoenix, we weren’t hungry enough to eat dinner yet so we ordered a quesadilla to share. This simple appetizer was beautifully presented, resembling the skyscape below. We each had just a few bites and with the views of the city slowly parading by, we all felt satisfied.

Travel Tip: Keep in mind that food should be enjoyable but doesn’t always have to be the main event. Focus on the ambience, the occasion, and your company while you indulge yourself in a few moments of relaxation.

We’re talking about how to use your thoughts to draw what you want into your life - in this case, reaching and maintaining a healthier weight without having to diet chronically. Here is a little more food for thought:

All foods can fit into a healthy diet

When you’re on a diet, you’re forced to think about what you can’t eat. As you try to resist certain foods, your thoughts and attention are drawn to them and you crave them more than ever. When you eventually give in, those foods have more power than ever so you often end up overeating them, feeling guilty, then punishing yourself be depriving yourself even more. This lead to a vicious cycle that I call the Eat-Repent-Repeat cycle. 

When deciding what to eat, instead of attempting to follow a list of rules, select and enjoy a variety of foods so your diet reflects balance and moderation. Just as important as balancing the nutrients in your diet, balance eating for nourishment with eating for enjoyment. This leads to greater satisfaction - with less food. 

Visit http://www.amihungry.com/ for tools to help. 

I received this hysterical email from Karen who ordered Am I Hungry? as an e-book that comes with a complimentary Journal.

“I made the mistake of printing out a couple of pages of the Am I Hungry? Journal at work. My boss happened to pick it up off the printer. Here’s what happened.

My Boss: Did you print this? (She handed me the blank food journal that said, “Am I Hungry?” at the top).
Me: Yes, it’s something my weight loss coach recommended to me.
My Boss: You’re eating a donut.

So I finished eating the donut and sat there thinking about all the things that I wish I’d said. I sent an email to my friends asking them to pick their favorite reply:

• Oh no. I thought it was a carrot! Quick! Get a stomach pump!
• Here. Here’s my food journal. Would you just keep track of it for me from now on?
• Yes, that’s my new food plan. One donut in the morning and nothing else all day!
• Didn’t you eat one?
• I’m sorry. I thought the donuts were brought in for everyone. Someone should have told me I wasn’t allowed to have one.
• Yes, it’s the new Police Officer Diet.

Might as well laugh but it didn’t feel funny at the time.”

Karen’s boss’ mistaken assumptions about what it takes to reach a healthier weight highlight many of the reasons diets don’t work: 

1. If you’re on a diet, you’re not allowed to eat anything that tastes good
2. Everyone else can have a donut but you can’t
3. If you’re overweight, everyone has the right to comment on what you eat
4. If you eat one donut, you’ve blown it for the day
5. The 200 calories in an occasional glazed donut causes more weight gain than the 200 calories in a bowl of cereal with skim milk and blueberries
6. Only thin people can eat donuts in public

Ridiculous! Long term weight management doesn’t require deprivation or perfect eating. That approach only causes shame, guilt, hunger, and rebound overeating. Instead, take charge of your decisions, including enjoying a donut when you really want one. Karen, you are the boss of your body.

For more about weight management without deprivation and guilt, visit http://www.AmIHungry.com.

I knew the New Year’s weight loss ads were coming…but I never saw this coming!

Weight Watchers claiming they are not a diet? WHAT???

The same DIET I restarted 17 times? (I don’t give up easily, especially when everyone said it was the best diet out there - so obviously that meant there was something wrong with ME!)

If I had had to go to medical school 17 times, I would have finally decided that wasn’t working either. But I was smart and determined enough to get through medical school so maybe the problem wasn’t me. When I saw one patient after another fail Weight Watchers too (please forgive me if I was the one who sent you there; I didn’t know better yet), I finally realized that diets don’t work (unless of course you are only interested in short term results).

So when I saw Weight Watchers using that very phrase, “diets don’t work,” I was astounded and offended. What were they charging me for all those years?

And to add insult to injury, they are using my tag line, Stop Dieting, Start Living (I am not kidding; I had to take it off my home page http://www.amihungry.com/ but it is already printed on a bunch of my products!). Maybe I’ll have to change mine to: Stop Dieting Weight Watchers, Start Living. But then maybe they’ll revoke my lifetime membership and I won’t be able to rejoin for ”free” for the 18th time.

They even have the nerve to say, “If diets worked, why are they changing every five minutes?” Good point! Why does Weight Watchers change every year? (Oh yeah, I have a similar line on my website, “If diets were the solution, there wouldn’t be a problem” http://www.amihungry.com/health-professional-resources.shtml. Maybe I should change that one too: “If Weight Watchers was the solution, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

Really, IF Weight Watchers worked, would anybody still be overweight? I RARELY meet  an overweight person who hasn’t done it - at least once.

Before any of you Weight Watchers fans write back telling me what a great diet, ooops, I mean lifestyle change, it is, just ask yourself a couple of questions:

1. If it’s not a diet, then why do they tell you how many points you can eat each day?
2. If it’s not a diet, then why do you have to earn the right to eat more by exercising?
3. If it’s not a diet, then why do you have to be weighed in?
4. If it’s not a diet, then how come vegetables are “free” instead of just good for you?
5. If it’s not a diet, then why is everybody on it talking about food ALL the time?
6. If it’s not a diet, then why do you have to weigh, measure and write down your food? (unless of course you choose their “Core” plan - then you can eat as much as you want of the foods they say are allowed).

I’m not saying Weight Watchers isn’t a “lifestyle change.” I’m just saying, who wants that kind of lifestyle?

This is the third of the three questions you should ask before you decide what to eat. 

The key to the final question, “What do I have?” is planning. If you feel hungry and the only thing available is a vending machine, you’re likely to choose a snack food that may not be very healthy, may not taste very good and may not really be what you were hungry for anyway.

Instead, strive to have a variety of foods available that are healthful and appealing but not overly tempting. These are foods that you enjoy when you’re hungry but won’t be calling out to you from their storage place saying, “Come eat me!”

Of course, you’re not always in control of which foods are available. At a restaurant, office potluck, or friend’s house, simply see what’s available and remember to ask yourself “Is there a healthy choice that will meet my needs without feeling deprived?” For example, could you be happy with frozen yogurt instead of ice cream this time?

Matching the food you choose to what you’re really hungry for and what your body needs leads to greater satisfaction and more enjoyment—with less food.

Remember that small changes really do make a difference and that balanced eating is simply the result of all of the individual positive decisions you make. Eating food you truly enjoy while taking good care of your body is the best way to make long term changes that you can live with.

Join me for an 8-week Spirit of Women/Am I Hungry? weight management workshop at Banner Desert Medical Center. Send an email to info@amihungry.com or visit http://www.AmIHungry.com.