Slow Food Tenets

Now that I'm so close to receiving my DNA Microbial test results (to indicate whether I still have c-diff), I'm freaking out. I need to refocus on eating habits. LOL So I'll discuss some helpful suggestions I found in a chapter from "Can Diets Be Harmful?" That chapter came from a Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter entitled "Entering a 'Slow Food' State of Mind: Resolutions for Better Eating in the New Year" (January 2003).

The letter begins by briefly describing the 'slow food' movement, which believes that "by snacking less frequently and by preparing one's own meals, individuals will (1) eat less, (2) eat healthier, less processed, foods and (3) enjoy eating more." Then the article explains why unfocused eating (while doing something else) can cause overeating:

"Along with a lack of attention, a lack of enjoyment from quick eating gets people consuming more than they should ... Part of what people seek in a meal is good taste, pleasure, and relaxation. If those elements are missing, eating continues even after hunger is sated in search for the more intangiblesatisfaction food is meant to bestow."

That observation helped me realize why even when I focus on the food and my stomach sensations when I eat standing at the kitchen counter, I don't feel satisfied as easily as when I sit at a table and eat: Standing deprives me of 'relaxation' while I eat! DUUUHHH!!

The best part of the chapter is the 'Slow Food Tenets', which are actually slow food guidelines written by the authors of the Tufts letter, but in keeping with the tenets of the slow food movement. Here's what they suggest:

(1) DON'T EAT UNLESS YOU'RE SITTING AT A TABLE. (You won't feel as satisfied if you eat out of a container standing at the kitchen counter!)

(2) PREPARE MORE OF YOUR OWN MEALS. (Increase the number of meals you currently prepare at home. Use time you would normally spend watching tv or online to prepare food for meals perhaps while you watch tv!)

(3) DON'T EAT WHEN YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY. (When people eat when not hungry, they don't have a clear 'no longer hungry' stopping point, eat more than necessary, feel guilty and eat even more. Although people assume they will just eat less later, an elegant French study showed that snacking unaccompanied by hunger did not reduce the number of calories later consumed when hungry.)

(4) SAVOR WHAT YOU'RE EATING. (When you eat quickly without focus, you miss the food's flavor. What we consider taste is really smell. Taste only includes sweet, salty, sour, bitter. However, slow chewing releases foods' odors to the nose, which can detect subtle flavors.)

(5) DON'T EAT WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE. (Eating food just because it's easily available or on your plate wastes calories AND satisfaction.)

(6) FOLLOW THE SAME PRINCIPLES IN RESTAURANTS THAT YOU WOULD AT HOME. (Expect relaxed atmosphere, great service and granting special requests, like take out boxes from every restaurant you visit.)

(7) PARTICIPATE IN MODERATELY VIGOROUS PHYSICAL EXERCISE EVERY DAY. (Exercise improves appetite control and facilitates digestion.)

I almost always use tenets (2), (6) and (7). I prepare almost all of my own meals, to avoid food allergens. I expect great service and relaxed atmosphere from restaurants, also because I need allergy free preparation of my food. I exercise every day, which improves my sometimes challenged digestive system and also helps me sleep soundly.

HOWEVER, I finally understand why I don't feel satisfied when I eat standing up. I don't like 'snacking' between meals, because I prefer to save my appetite for a relaxed, sit down meal. I've gone back and forth between eat only sit down meals and eat snacks between meals so that I eat less at the meals. I thought I could stop sooner (than uncomfortably full), if I knew I could snack between meals whenever I felt hungry. Instead I allowed myself to snack standing up when I'm not hungry and continue to eat after the meal standing at the kitchen counter, because I didn't feel satisfied by the meal. I'm ready to try eating only at meals for awhile.

I eat when I'm not hungry whenever there is food available as 'free samples (usually fruit because I can't eat most baked goods)' in stores as well as when I have food on my plate, but I'm no longer hungry. I may begin to eat a meal when I'm hungry, but I continue waaay past 'no longer hungry'. So I need to work on eat only when hungry.

I really savor breakfast, because I insist on eating that meal alone every day without distractions. I usually eat lunch without distractions, but I don't often savor every bite at lunch. When I eat that meal with my husband, I'm lucky if I can even chew each bite before I swallow to answer his question or comment on his comment. LOL When we watch a netflix DVD during dinner, I can savor each bite, because I don't talk. However, I often continue to eat past 'no longer hungry', because I don't want to get up to put food away. However, I know I don't enjoy the food when I feel full. When I eat past 'just enough', I can only taste very strong flavors like sweet or salty. I can't really identify subtle flavors at the point. I also leave the table very uncomfortable, when I eat past 'just enough'. So I also want to focus on SAVORING food, rather than just eating.

Unfortunately, I do sometimes eat foods I don't really like. Tonight I ate bland boiled potatoes, only because I covered those with margarine. Without margarine I dislike the flavor and texture of white potatoes (although I LOVE sweet potatoes). I often mix meat with vegetables, because I don't like the texture of dry meat. I love most fish, but I need to add vegies to meats to make them more appetizing. No wonder I love meat soups and casseroles or vegan dishes with grains and legumes or nuts or seeds. If I prepare a specific food which my husband likes but I don't, I can also prepare a food that I like, but he doesn't. Or I can make my favorite vegie and let him make his own favorite vegie. He can cook simple vegies. I've tried to make myself to like his favorites, but I still don't like them. So I won't continue to waste my appetite on foods I dislike.

The 'slow food tenets' helped me understand why I prefer meals to snacks and how to enjoy those meals so much that I don't want food before I sit down and after I leave the table. SAVORING is the key to eating 'just enough' and leaving the table satisfied.