How To Adopt These Healthy Habits From People Who Maintain a Healthy Weight (Without Dieting)

We've probably all been out with friends and family members who ordered the salad "when they really wanted the pizza" or passed on going out for ice cream because they're "on a diet". Or maybe you're reading this thinking of a time you have purposefully restricted certain food groups for a diet or felt guilt after indulging in some sort of "bad foods" or overeating.

It can be hard to lose or maintain a normal weight for some people, but we all probably know a handful of people who seem to be able to eat whatever they want while easily maintaining a healthy body weight. Many factors go into weight and body size - genetics and physical activity play a large role in how much you weight, but what about eating behaviors - how do some people stay thin while seemingly never dieting?

The researchers at the New Cornell Food and Brand Lab wanted to find out the answer to this question -  they looked into what the difference between those people who never worry about food and weight and "stay effortlessly slim" vs. those who struggle to maintain or lose weight and regularly dieted.

Much of the data on successful weight loss comes from the National Weight Control Registry, so in a similar fashion, Cornell researchers created the "Global Healthy Weight Registry" to survey adults who have maintained a healthy weight throughout their lives, asking them about their diets, exercise and daily routines. Once the participants were surveyed, they were split into TWO groups -

• Group 1: The Mindlessly Slim - Those who didn't maintain strict diets 
• Group 2: Those  who "dieted regularly, thought about food frequently and were highly conscious of what they ate"

What did the researchers find?

They documented initial findings in this infographic.

The first group (the Mindlessly Slim) were more likely to:

• eat high quality foods
• cook at home
• listen to inner cues
• not feel as guilty about over-eating
• be more conscious of the foods they're eating
• have more of an enjoyment-based approach to eating

Can we take these findings about the habits of the "Mindlessly Slim" and conclude that thin people don't diet?...Or maybe those "naturally thin" people don't diet because they have good genetics or a fast metabolism? Even if that were the case, the Mindlessly Slim participants were also employing some great healthy habits that may help them keep their waistlines in check, such as exercising, eating breakfast, having a salad at lunch, and snacking on things like fruit and nuts.

The lead researcher Anna-Leena Vuorinen reported, “These results are encouraging because they imply that instead of putting restrictions on one’s diet and avoiding favorite foods, weight gain could be prevented early on by learning to listen to inner cues and putting emphasis on the quality instead of the quantity of food."

This is good news for those who struggle to lose or maintain their weight, and are tired of the strict rules and restrictions from the newest fad diet.  We may be able to change our approach to losing and maintaining weight by adopting the habits of the "Mindlessly Slim."

In our culture, it can be easy to rush through meals, eating whatever is quick and easy, often eating on the go, standing-up, at our computers, or in front of the TV...but according to The Center for Mindful Eating, being distracted while eating prevents people from actually enjoying the food (contrary to the enjoyment-based approach to eating taken by the Mindlessly Slim). This "mindless eating" can lead to overeating, anxiety and stress, which ultimately can contribute to weight gain. 

Resources for mindful and intuitive eating:

• The Center for Mindful Eating - Principles of Mindful Eating
• Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD, Fiaedp, FADA - Intuitive Eating (great book/resource to get started!)
• Michelle May, MD, CSP - Am I Hungry?

Fad diets are unsustainable, but taking a more mindful approach to eating is a non-diet habit that is easy to adopt and doesn't require people to label foods as "bad" or "off-limits." 

Thoughts? Have you ever tried incorporating mindfulness into mealtimes?

More Great Links:

Science Daily || The Mindlessly Slim

Avocado a Day Nutrition || What is Healthy?

Well+Good || Why the Healthiest People Don't Actually Diet

fANNEtastic Food || How to Eat Intuitively: A Guide to Mindful Eating

Hummusapien || What Food Bloggers Eat For Breakfast

NYT Well || How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

Speaking with a Registered Dietitian can help you make peace with food and adopt habits in mindful and intuitive eating at meals. Make an appointment by calling the Sanford Sports Science Institute Dietitian today (605-312-7878).

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New Book: The Cult of Nothingness: The Philosophers and the Buddha by Roger-Pol Droit

The common Western understanding of Buddhism today envisions this major world religion as one of compassion and tolerance. But as Roger-Pol Droit reveals, this view bears little resemblance to one broadly held in the nineteenth-century European philosophical imagination that saw Buddhism as a religion of annihilation calling for the destruction of the self.
Originally published in France in 1997, this book traces the history of the Western discovery of Buddhism. Droit shows that such major philosophers as Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Hegel, Cousin, and Renan imagined Buddhism as a religion that was, as Nietzsche put it, a "negation of the world." In fact, says Droit, such portrayals were more a reflection of what was happening in Europe at the time--when the collapse of traditional European hierarchies and values, the specter of atheism, and the rise of racism and social revolts were shaking European societies--than an accurate description of Buddhist thought. Droit also reflects on how this history continues to echo in contemporary Western understandings of Buddhism. The book includes a comprehensive bibliography of books on Buddhism published in the West between 1638 and 1890.


You can find this book and more at the UNT Dallas Library. 

To request this book click here

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New Book: Better Library and Learning Space: Projects, Trends and Ideas by Les Watson

What are the most important things a 21st-century library should do with its space? Each chapter in this cutting-edge text addresses this critical question, capturing the insights and practical ideas of leading international librarians, educators and designers to offer you a 'creative resource bank' that will help to transform your library and learning spaces. This is an innovative and practical toolkit introducing concepts, drawing together opinions and encouraging new ways of thinking about learning spaces in the future. It explores topics that include: the threat of change, including new models of learning and the revolution in technology; the role of the library, looking at new sustainable and creative library models; and, the power of space, exploring its effects on identity, psychology and behaviour. This is a must-have text for those involved in designing and developing library and learning spaces, from library and university management to designers and architects. It's also a useful guide for students taking courses in library and information science to get to grips with the importance of library design. 

You can find this book and more at the UNT Dallas Library.

To request this book click Here 

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New Book: From Mysticism to Dialog by Pual R. Medes-Flohr

Paul Mendes-Flohr illuminates Martin Buber's central themes in a wholly different light from that of the predominant line of interpretation. Consequently, Buber's work assumes even greater importance than previous analyses have assigned. Emerging from the narrowly conceptualized existentialist interpretations, he becomes an intellectually powerful figure, occupying a formidable position within the contemporary setting of German social theory. A publication in the Culture of Jewish Modernity series.


You can find this book and more at the UNT Dallas Library.

To request this book click here
 

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