Notice and Wonder

My daughter had the most amazing third grade teacher. Like, life altering. Just someone who made everyone she met feel like the most important person in the room. And I don't just mean the kids in her class. I mean the parents too. I literally cried on the last day of school knowing I no longer got to stand in her light, even briefly, and feel her warmth as I dropped my youngest off at school.

But she gave my daughter something to take home for the summer that helped. It was a simple rock from her yard on which she had painted the words "notice" on one side and "wonder" on the other. She encouraged her students to take it home and sit it somewhere they would see it each day. And to pause. Pause when they saw it and notice something about whatever they were doing, or wonder about it. Such a simple thought, but so wise.

These words summarize the core of mindful eating, a practice that has so profoundly changed the way I enjoy food. I've shared before that I took a flying cannonball into the deep end of "healthy" eating after a big aha moment years ago. Complete and total overhaul. But my genius plan involved allowing myself to eat whatever I wanted on the weekends. So it went like this: five days of utter rabbit food/restriction/constantly growling tummy/headache/fatigue/grouchiness/general food and life misery so that I could have four pieces of NY style pizza on Friday Family Movie Night followed up by a huge bowl of ice cream. And that was just Friday. The rest of the weekend looked fairly similar to that, so that by Sunday afternoon I was sluggish/bloated/aggravated/groggy/constipated...all the fun things. I actually couldn't wait for Monday so I could feel better. So to summarize, during the week I was grouchy and hungry and on the weekends I was sluggish and bloated. Things were going really well.

As I started educating myself, both through self study and eventually, graduate school, I learned that my initial approach was, surprise, flawed. LIVING FOR cheat days = not good. Complete restriction during the week = not sustainable. Organizing all food into two categories, good and bad = not accurate.

Thankfully, mindful eating came into my life. The core values are fairly simple. Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full. Pay attention to how food makes you feel physically and mentally and consider changing portions, side dishes, etc. This last one really changed the world for me. Notice. Wonder.

How does a certain food make me feel physically and mentally? Well, it turns out that even though my Mom's Christmas toffee tastes delicious, one (albeit generous-sized) piece after dinner is enough. After one piece, I feel good. Satisfied. Happy. Living in the moment of that crunchy, salty, sweet taste and all the memories it brings. After two pieces, I feel gross. So gross that after a few times eating more than one piece and really tuning into that gross feeling, I don't even WANT more than one piece anymore. Seriously. This is not a "Yeah, right you have to say that Miss Annoying Nutritionist" moment. It's true. I feel gross. I don't want it. Because that gross feeling lasts MUCH longer than that short enjoyment of eating the second (equally large) piece of toffee.

This same practice applies to Friday Family Pizza/Movie Night. Pizza/movie night is pure heaven. Not only is the menu planned for me, but someone delivers it to my doorstep. No planning. No shopping. No prepping. No cooking. No cleaning. So I wasn't really looking to give that up, nor in truth could I since my family would revolt. But how could I enjoy the evening without feeling bloated and agitated afterwards? It took some trial and error - aka, my mantra of grace/balance/baby steps - but it turns out the sweet spot for me is two pieces combined with a simple spread of carrots, hummus and apple slices. I feel satisfied but not gross afterwards. Pizza/movie night lives on.

Scientifically speaking, it makes sense that I feel better after balancing pizza with carrots, hummus and apples, which give me some fiber and protein to go along with the carbs from the pizza. The fact is, processed carbs, like pizza and toffee, are absorbed rapidly into our bloodstream. Notice I said "processed carbs are absorbed rapidly into our bloodstream" not "processed carbs are bad and we should all avoid them at all costs." They just get to work faster than other foods. So that's why you give diabetics a sip of soda or a small cookie when their blood sugar is too low or an athlete a sip of Gatorade during a strenuous competition. But, on a normal day in a normal moment, most of us don't need to consume carbs only. So if you balance your processed carbs with a protein or a nice, crunchy fiber or a fat source, the carb is absorbed more slowly. So there's no quick spike and fall of blood sugar, which is what causes that jittery then brain foggy sensation no one enjoys. But you have to slow down enough to notice that feeling and wonder how you could balance things to avoid it in the future.

The sweet spot for you might be three pieces of pizza with a side salad or two pieces of toffee with handful of salted nuts or whatever amount/combo you can enjoy in the moment that doesn't ruin the rest of the night. Just notice how food portions make you feel, and then wonder how you might do things differently if the answer is, "not great."

Notice. Wonder. Adapt. And happy holidays!