52 Healthy Habits: 4 Tips for Mindful Eating

Last week was rough. You may recall I gave up coffee as my weekly healthy habit in order to reset my caffeine tolerance. It is something that I do occasionally when my caffeine intake increases a lot and I realize that my morning cup (errr...I mean pot) of coffee just makes me feel normal rather than giving me an energy boost. It's an simple fix, give up caffeine for about a week to reset, then slowly introduce caffeine back into your diet. I said simple, not easy. 

I felt like crap all week. I was fine Monday morning, but by Monday evening the headaches started. I was cranky, irritable, unfocused and wasn't managing stress well (and it turned out to be an unusually stressful week). It took five solid days to feel normal, but once I got over the withdrawal symptoms, I felt clearer and better than ever. I think I am going to stay off coffee for one more week before I reintroduce it.

I was surprised to find that I enjoyed drinking my mint, caffeine-free tea in the morning as much as my coffee. I'm sure I will introduce coffee back into my diet eventually, but for now I am going to stay off caffeine.

WHAT IS MINDFUL EATING?

I may have mentioned that I am studying sports and exercise nutrition with Precision Nutrition. It is an amazing course and I am learning so much about the science of nutrition and lifestyle coaching. I should be able pass my exam by the end of April and I am introducing my nutrition and healthy lifestyle coaching services starting in June. 

In lifestyle coaching one of the key principles is to start with basics. It sounds like common sense (or un-common sense as hubs likes to say), but so many people are worried about supplements, meal timing and macro splits but don't have basic nutrition and healthy lifestyle habits in check. It sounds more exciting to try intermittent fasting or the ketogenic diet, and there is nothing wrong with those things in theory (possibly under the supervision of a Registered Dietitian), but if you are sleeping five hours a night and binge eating or drinking on the weekends, there are more important things to tackle first. 

Mindful (or intuitive) eating is one of the easiest ways to regulate intake and calorie balance because our bodies tells us what it needs. But because of our busy, technology-driven lifestyles, most of us (including me) have lost touch with the signals our body sends to tell us when we're full or hungry. We eat based on the time of day or our emotions and we clean our plates regardless of fullness signals.

A lot of us were brought up to clean our plates at dinner. My dad used to joke that I had to finish dinner or send the leftovers to a starving kid in Africa. (That's probably politically-incorrect to say now, but it was the 80s) We were taught not to be wasteful, but perhaps we should have been taught to listen to our body's signaling cues of hunger and fullness. 

Enter modern day technology and our hectic lifestyles and it got worse for all of us. Not only were we not listening to our bodies natural cues, but we were scarfing down food in the car on the way to work, or in front of the computer or TV. We lost our ability to sense hunger cues and we stopped enjoying our food. Yes, food is fuel, but food is meant to be savored and enjoyed. It's hard to do that while you're scrolling your Facebook feed over breakfast (I am as guilty as anyone).

Our bodies have built in signally cues to tell us what it needs. If we eat when we are not hungry and don't stop eating when we are physically satisfied, we can end up with a less than ideal body composition and overall health. 

5 TIPS FOR MINDFUL EATING

1. EAT SLOWLY

If you eat too quickly, your body doesn't have time to send the fullness signals to your brain and you may end up overeating or feeling stuffed 10-20 minutes later. There are several ways to tackle slowing down. One way is to time how long it usually takes you eat your meal, then try to add five minutes next time. Another way is to chew your food 20-30 times before swallowing. Try setting down your fork or taking a sip of water between bites. Choose the strategy that works best for you.

2. APPETITE AWARENESS

Hunger is a normal and healthy biological response. Fullness and satiation tells us when we've had enough. If we eat because it's a certain time of day, we are bored, upset or because of a habit (like always eating popcorn when we watch a movie on Friday night) then we might not be paying enough attention to our body's signaling cues. 

When you sit down to eat a meal, before you take the first bite, ask yourself how hungry you feel. Just be aware of your appetite. When you are eating slowly try to notice when you start to feel full or satisfied. Stop eating once you've had enough. Notice how you feel after each meal. Just taking the time to think about it can help you get back in tune with your appetite.

3. AVOID DISTRACTIONS

Turn off the TV, put away the cell phone at the table and don't try to eat while working at your desk. If you are a distracted eater then it's harder to pay attention to your body's cues. Have you ever scarfed down a meal in front of the computer and didn't even notice or taste it? I have. 

In our busy lifestyles it can be hard to do, but it is worth it to take the time to walk away from the technology and enjoy a meal. It's not to say you can never enjoy a meal while watching TV but it should be a conscious choice that is an exception, not a normal behavior. 

4. SAVOR FOOD

Pay attention to the food you are eating. Smell it. Look it at. Examine the texture. Think about the ingredients in it. Take note of what you observe. Even if you are enjoying an indulgent meal, take it slow. Sometimes when we slow down and think about the food we are eating, we discover that we really don't even enjoy some of those unhealthy foods, we eat them because they are cheap and/or convenient. Enjoy your food, no matter what you are eating, healthy or not. Take the time to savor your food and relish every bite. 

I am going to apply all these strategies this week. It will be a change for me to put away my phone and eat slowly. Will you also give it a try and let me know how it goes? If you are interested in nutrition and lifestyle coaching starting in June get your name on the pre-sale list for a reduced introductory price. 

Playing catch up? Follow along with the 52 Healthy Habits series:

52 HEALTHY HABITS SERIES

week 1: Early to Rise
week 2: Track calories
week 3: Macro cycling
week 4: Morning pages (journaling)
week 5: Stop the scrolling (reading instead of social media)
week 6: Be a good student (take time for learning) 
week 7: Strength Training 15 minutes per day   
week 8: Eat more protein
week 9: Take a coffee break (break from caffeine)
 

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52 Healthy Habits: Take a Coffee Break

Welcome to the latest edition of 52 Healthy Habits when I tackle a new healthy habit each week because habits are the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle. No matter where you are in your fitness journey, there is always room for small incremental improvements. This column is part inspiration for you, to give you ideas of some things you can try, and part accountability for me as I try new things in my own journey. 

I have no expectations that I will be perfect or successful in all of these habits. I am sure I will find successes, failures and everything inbetween. It's about what we learn along the way about our priorities, our preferences and ourselves.

TAKE A BREAK FROM COFFEE

I'm sorry for the headline. I said 52 Healthy Habits: Take a Coffee Break, but what I meant to say is Take a Break from Coffee...but I didn't want to scare you away. 

Take a break from coffee...Say, what?

People hate this idea. When you tell people you want to quit sugar or fried foods or alcohol, they are mostly supportive and agree that they should probably do the same. But when you tell you people you want to take a break from coffee, they usually say, Why the hell would you want to do that? 

Before you start throwing things at me, hear me out. I love my coffee. I love it so much my husband and I share an entire pot every morning and on some days I buy another large coffee once I get to work. While there is nothing inherently wrong with coffee (I drink it black) or caffeine in itself, there can be negatives. 

One negative is that I noticed when I am heavy into caffeine, it can make it harder to get going in the morning before I have my coffee. When I am off caffeine, I don't have that terrible groggy feeling. It makes it easier to get out of bed in the morning. That groggy feeling is at least partly caffeine withdrawal. If you don't have the dependency on caffeine, you don't have the withdrawal symptoms, so you feel better when you wake up in the morning. 

Another is the issue of tolerance. Caffeine is a drug and just like any drug or alcohol, you build up a tolerance over time. So when you used to get a energy boost from one cup of coffee, now it takes three or four cups just to feel normal. I like to drink a whole pot now. Not good. 

I am not suggesting that anyone should give up caffeine forever, I wouldn't do that because I want you to still like me after reading this. 

A COFFEE RESET TO IMPROVE RUNNING PERFORMANCE?

The key to enjoying the benefits of caffeine while minimizing the negatives is a periodic coffee reset. Every few months take an entire week off of coffee. Admittedly, I feel like $hit the first couple of days, but when the fog clears I am better for it. 

I joke that caffeine is my performance enhancing drug. I like getting off caffeine the week before a race, then having a cup before I hit the start line. You really feel the energy and reap the benefits of a caffeine boost on race day.

It's just a reset. After a week off of caffeine, you'll go back to your coffee and feeling the benefits again after just one cup. 

SUCCESS STRATEGY

Replace your regular coffee with decaf or hot tea just for one week. Decaf still has a small amount of caffeine to help you get over the hump. If you're like me, having a cup (or pot) of coffee in the morning is a habit. I'll just temporarily replace my coffee with another hot drink so it doesn't feel like such a stretch from my normal behavior. But I know what you're thinking...

There's a time and place for decaf coffee: never and in the trash. Hah. 

By the time you read this, I will be on my first day of no caffeine. Wish my husband and co-workers luck these first couple of days. 

What do you think? Don't knock it until you try it. Am I crazy? Wait. Don't answer that until after your caffeine withdrawal symptoms have subsided. We're still friends, right? 

Playing catch up? Follow along with the 52 Healthy Habits series:

52 HEALTHY HABITS SERIES

week 1: Early to Rise
week 2: Track calories
week 3: Macro cycling
week 4: Morning pages (journaling)
week 5: Stop the scrolling (reading instead of social media)
week 6: Be a good student (take time for learning) 
week 7: Strength Training 15 minutes per day   
week 8: Eat more protein

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5K HOORAY: 3.1 REASONS TO LOVE THE 5K

Happy Fri-YAY! This week we are talking 5Ks because I ran the Dallas Rock 'n' Roll marathon series 5K race last Saturday. While I still claim the half marathon as my favorite race distance, this race reminded me why I love 5Ks and racing in the first place. 

Why 3.1 reasons? Because a 5K race is 3.1 miles. Seems appropriate. 

1. 5Ks ARE FUN FOR EVERYONE

There's no question, most of the people who are out running a 5K are having fun. There are families, friends, kids, tutus and superheroes. A 5K offers a low barrier to entry, most people can at least walk a 5K no matter their current fitness level. It's a fun reason to get outside, get fresh air and some exercise. Even if you are a competitive type, a 5K can be the perfect reason to leave that GPS watch at home and remember why you fell in love with racing in the first place. 

2. 5Ks ARE A CHALLENGE FOR EVERYONE

Yes, 5Ks are fun, but don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean they can't be challenging. The great thing about 5Ks is that everyone can challenge themselves at their own level. For some, simply crossing the finish line is physically demanding enough. For others it may be a time goal. Whether you run a 35 minute 5K or a 19 minute 5K can you always challenge yourself to beat your PR by racing the clock. I once heard a misinformed person scoff that 5Ks were "too easy" and I knew right away that this person never really raced. Sure 3.1 miles may feel easy if you jog 3.1 miles, but if you are racing for time, you can push yourself to your limits (if you want to). 

3. 5Ks ARE EVERYWHERE

There is no shortage of 5K races. Most medium to large cities have organized 5Ks of different sizes almost every weekend. Whether it's a charity race, a city-organized event or a major race company rolling through town, the options for 5K races are everywhere! Want to run a 5K? Try a quick internet search or your local running store for a calendar of local events. 

3.1. NOW YOU CAN FINALLY BUY THAT 3.1 STICKER FOR YOUR CAR WINDOW

Join the club. Buy a 5K bumper sticker to start your running sticker collection and people will repeatedly ask you what it means. Any excuse to talk about running, right? You can hang a medal on a rack in your home, but everyone sees a sticker on your car.

If you want more info on training to run a 5K, I suggest that you start here: How to transition from running and walking intervals to just running. It's a good place to start if you can currently run with with walking intervals. 

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52 Healthy Habits: Eat More Protein

Welcome to the latest edition of 52 healthy habits when each week I work to establish a new healthy habit, because healthy habits are the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle.

You don't have to overhaul your whole life at once. Choose one small change and take the time to establish a new habit, building one small step at a time. Even if you already live a healthy lifestyle, there is always room for improvement and to take it to the next level. No matter where you are in your healthy living journey, establishing healthy habits can snowball into massive results. 

I saw this painted in the floor at the Rock 'n' Roll marathon health & fitness expo in Dallas on Saturday and I thought it summed up my healthy lifestyle philosophy perfectly.

(p.s. I am a rock 'n' blogger for the rock 'n' roll marathon races, so if you want to run a half or full marathon in 2017, you can use discount code RNB15 to save $15 off most of the races in the series.)

Last week I confessed that even though I am a personal trainer and huge proponent of strength training for runners, I have let my own strength training slide a bit. I have an injured shoulder and I am limited in what I am able to do. Instead of focusing on what I can't do, I decided to focus on what I can do (take my own advice, right?). I committed to just 15 minutes of strength training a day to get back on the wagon. Obviously, this will be largely lower body and core based as I can't put any pressure on my shoulder. 

I am happy to report that I did it three days last week, which is a great start! Sometimes we want to go from 0-6 days but it is not always realistic. I am happy with my start and I have plenty of room to grow and build on the three days from last week. This week I'll shoot for 4. 

EAT MORE PROTEIN

I may have mentioned that I am studying sports and exercise nutrition with Precision Nutrition. I have been studying hard and you can expect a lot more nutrition-based content coming in the future, plus nutrition coaching services coming soon.

My habit goal for next week is to increase my protein intake. I wasn't tracking my intake and when I started to track in My Fitness Pal I realized that my protein intake was lower than I thought. I generally eat a healthy diet and I assumed that since I eat a protein-centric meal at every meal (eggs, chicken, fish, etc.) that I was getting enough. But what is enough? Why do I need protein? What types of proteins should I be consuming? How much is too much? Let's dive in. 

WHY PROTEIN?

Protein or amino acids are the building blocks of our body. We use protein to break down and build up muscle and structure. Protein intake helps us preserve our lean muscle as we lose weight. (Remember our focus should always be on losing fat, not losing weight.) Protein helps us feel full longer and it has a higher thermodynamic effect, which means it take more energy for our bodies to process protein. We actually burn more calories just processing protein than we do processing carbohydrates or fats. 

HOW MUCH PROTEIN?

The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends is 0.4 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight (or .8 per kg) for the average sedentary person. But we're not sedentary (or average!), right? For athletes (yes, you are an athlete if you run or workout) protein requirements go up.

There are recommendations that are higher, but there is an upper limit of protein that our liver and kidneys can handle. If you are training hard or frequently increasing protein intake higher than these recommendations is probably safe for most healthy people, but consuming protein amounts double the recommendation on a regular basis is unnecessary (no added benefit) and possibly unsafe. As always, talk to your doctor or registered dietitian regarding any health concerns or when experimenting with a new diet or going outside general recommendations. 

WHAT TYPES OF PROTEIN?

OK, you know as an active person you need more protein than the average bear, but what foods are best? It is always ideal when making any nutritional choices to choose diverse, whole, less-processed foods. For protein this includes foods like lean meats including beef and pork, poultry like chicken and turkey, fish and seafood, dairy like cottage cheese and plain Greek yogurt, beans and tofu. 

SUPPLEMENTS

Once you get most of your protein from whole food sources, you may find you need to supplement protein in order to meet your daily requirements. I always suggest whole foods first, then supplement to fill in the gaps as it fits into your lifestyle. No time for breakfast? Then a morning shake with fruit, spinach and protein powder can be a great way to get in your nutrition as your run out the door. I use whey protein powders to supplement, but a vegetarian eater may prefer a plant-based protein like pea or hemp. Make the best choice possible for your own lifestyle and preferences.

ACTION PLAN

What's the plan? I always enter the foods I am going to eat for the day in the morning before I eat anything. Why? For one, it helps me plan ahead. What's that saying about failing to plan is planning to fail? Yeah, that one. In order to enter in my food for the day, I need to have a pretty good idea of what I am going to eat. I always end up editing as the day goes along, but it gives me an idea where I stand and if I need to make any adjustments to my day. You don't want to be looking at My Fitness Pal at 8PM and realizing you didn't get your protein for the day. (Actually, it's not the end of the world, you can just try again tomorrow.)

My protein intake plan looks a little like this (left out the non-protein items in my day, this is not everything I plan to eat):

Breakfast: 3 eggs

Snack: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese

Lunch: Grilled chicken

Afternoon snack: 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt mixed with a spoonful of chocolate protein powder

Dinner: Fish or Turkey

A word of warning on tracking if you're anything like me. I tend to have an all-or-nothing personality and I work really hard on balance. It's something I have to be aware of or else I can easily slip out of a healthy-balanced mindset. I track for a week or so to get an idea of where I stand, but I am careful not to let tracking take over my thoughts or actions. It's a good idea to see where you stand, it's a terrible idea to get obsessed with every morsel that goes into your mouth. Some people have no trouble with tracking, others can take it too far if they are not careful. Remember that our ultimate goal is a healthy life which includes a healthy body and mind. 

You can track by using an app like My Fitness Pal or you can just increase, if needed, by including more protein in your diet. It not so much about hitting the exact number of grams but finding the correct amount of protein to optimize your body. It just might take experimenting to find it. 

Let me know how it goes!

Playing catch up? Follow along with the 52 Healthy Habits series:

52 HEALTHY HABITS SERIES

week 1: Early to Rise
week 2: Track calories
week 3: Macro cycling
week 4: Morning pages (journaling)
week 5: Stop the scrolling (reading instead of social media)
week 6: Be a good student (take time for learning) 
week 7: Strength Training 15 minutes per day   

Like this post? Please consider sharing. 

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Coach Lea