My Mind, My Body, My Journey™ 

Last week we discussed the benefits of healthy lifestyle habits and caring for your body to reduce your risk of chronic diseases and improve your preconception health. As we move towards the holiday season, it is important to discuss healthy eating habits and the concept of mindful eating. Holidays are a time for celebrating and eating meals that can be full of sugar, salt, and unhealthy ingredients. Consider the traditional Thanksgiving meal, which can include turkey, ham, yams, greens, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, potato salad, cornbread, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, macaroni and cheese, cakes, pies, and cookies. Depending on your situation, you may eat meals at several locations during the Thanksgiving season. The Christmas holiday season is filled with office parties, social parties, and other events during which we can be loaded with baked goods.  

Some people may struggle with eating healthy during the holidays, while others may use the period to indulgence and have several cheat meals. Regardless of your decision, mindful eating habits are important to use throughout the year. Before we go deeper let us define mindful eating, as there are many definitions for this term. For this blog, we will use the definition from the Harvard School of Public Health, which defines mindful eating as using both your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make.¹ Mindful eating can help with increasing your ability to be thankful for the food you are enjoying while encouraging you to make food choices that can nourish your body.¹ Mindful eating is rooted in the concept of mindfulness, which is an intentional focus on one’s thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.¹ Mindful eating habits can assist us with making healthier eating choices, and reducing the likelihood of stress and anxiety. Research has indicted that mindful eating can reduce the likelihood of disorganized eating patterns such as emotional eating and binge eating.¹ According to research mindful eating has been associated with healthier eating habits such as smaller portion size, lower calorie food choices, and increased consumption of fruits.¹  

Healthy eating can mean different things for different individuals. We have access to so many food blogs and websites that encourage healthy eating, as well as many books on diets and meal plans. I would recommend using information from public health sources such as the Harvard School of Public Health or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Harvard School of Public Health has information on diet options such as DASH, Keto, clean eating, intermittent fasting, gluten-free, paleo, and anti-inflammatory diets. Information about physical activity, stress management, and disease prevention are also available. I like that this website includes recipes and the healthy eating plate template, which can help with meal planning. The Healthy Eating Plate is designed to focus on diet quality, which encourages both balanced and healthy eating.² Recommendations include having half of your plate include fruits and vegetables, one fourth of your plate including whole grains, and the remaining fourth of your plate including protein.² Additional recommendations include consuming healthy plant oils in moderation, skipping sugary drinks, consuming one or two servings of dairy daily, and staying active.² The Healthy Eating Plate can be downloaded for use in the home, workplace, or even saved on your smartphone. There is even a version to use with children, which can also be found on the website.  

The USDA’s website has information about food waste, food security, nutrition research, nutrition policy development, children’s nutrition programs, school nutrition programs, and maternal infant health programs such as WIC3. There is also information about healthy food options for seniors, for those of you who are caregivers for elderly relatives.³ The USDA’s website has a variety of information available that pertains to preconception health and health and nutrition during pregnancy, such as breastfeeding nutrition, diabetes during pregnancy, pregnancy health for overweight or obese women, and information regarding folic acid, which is essential to the health needs of the developing baby.⁴  

Try mindful eating during this holiday season as you enter the new year with new healthy lifestyle habits. Check out the websites below for information on mindful eating and healthy eating.  

Wishing you health and happiness  

References:  

1. Mindful Eating. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Website. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/mindful-eating/. Accessed November 26, 2022.   

2. Healthy Eating Plate. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Website. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/. Accessed November 26, 2022.  

3. Food and Nutrition. U.S. Department of Education Website. https://www.usda.gov/topics/food-and-nutrition. Accessed November 26, 2022.   

4. Pregnancy. U.S. Department of Education Website. https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/nutrition-life-stage/pregnancy. Accessed November 26, 2022.