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Why You Should Forget Calorie Counting And Portion Control

Read time: 3-4 minutes

Allow me to introduce Aussie journalist and blogger Sarah Wilson for today’s guest post. Sarah blogs over at here about how to make life bigger, more meaningful, nicer, smarter, heartier. Her blog is one of my personal favourites.

Now here’s a thought: what if all those folk who take photos of their every meal and post them on their blog/Twitter/Facebook were actually onto something? I’m sure you’ve seen them about. I was at lunch recently and watched a table of six whip out their iPhones as their food arrived, repositioning the Maldon salt pot artfully and angling the lighting all Petrina Tinsley-like. In a flurry of thumbs they then tweeted the images on to their cyber followers replete, no doubt, with foodie-ese captions (“River Café-inspired mascarpone-stuffed chook with intriguing heirloom tomato smear”; “Well, if those toffee shards don’t take me straight back to 1992!”).

I’ve previously found such faddish behaviour bewildering. But this week I discerned a point to it all. Fastidiously honouring your food in this way is mindfulness in action. Pausing to reflect on what’s about to go down your gullet, appreciating the brininess of the bisque or the appropriateness of the enoki garnish, can create a respectful awareness. And is evidence of a new way of eating that’s – hallelujah! – blowing diets off the menu.

Forget Portion Control and Calorie Counting

After all the misery of portion control, and the grim failure of calorie counting, there’s mindfulness. Mindfulness is the Buddhist practice of being aware, moment-to-moment. It’s sitting with yourself, instead of reaching for an external stimulus or fix. Mindful eating, then, is eating this Tupperware container of leftover beetroot risotto and being wholly conscious of doing so. It’s being aware of every texture (“I am now biting into a slippery beet chunk”) and every flavour burst (“Hello, salty goats cheese topping!”), while not typing this column at the same time. When you’re mindful, you don’t overeat, you take care to eat good food prepared with care and you’re satiated – emotionally and otherwise. You don’t have to try, you just be mindful.

Bizarrely, a recovering anorexic got me onto mindful eating. Back when I hosted a small show called MasterChef, one of the Top 50 contestants, Sarah, told me about a Eating Disorders Victoria program that taught her to eat with 100 per cent awareness. Over time it helped her appreciate food again. The reason most of the Western world has disordered eating and more than one billion people are obese is we’ve lost the ability to listen to our bodies. From a young age we defer to external cues – eating at set hours, eating set amounts. Then we’re bombarded with competing messages for several decades. Before finally trying to remedy things handing our appetites over to the Jenny’s and the Aitkins to control.

Mindful eating does the opposite. It brings control home to us.

Me, I can be a shockingly mindless eater. Mostly I eat well. But I’m also an emotional over-eater. When I get anxious I shove food down my gob as a way of squashing and silencing the fluttery self-doubt in my gut. I also love food. I cry, sometimes, when I eat something really good. That’s how much I love food. So I get rather threatened by the idea of having to change my ways.

But on Thursday I got bold and tried out EDV’s program. This involved a number of gentle rituals that bring me into my body. Before eating, I take five deep breaths and acknowledge what I’m about to eat. I say it out loud, like old-school grace. I then look at the food. Name it. Note the colour, the texture. In my mouth, I note whether it’s salty or sweet. I chew slowly. I put down my fork between mouthfuls.

Mindful eating is on the up and up. Experts are emerging with fresh tricks and techniques. One advises learning from young kids, who are naturally mindful: when you think you’ve had enough, push your plate away (that is, take it to the sink; this creates “closure”). Another suggests lighting a candle and using lovely crockery as a way to access awareness. My favourite Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh publishes his book Savor early next year. He advises eating in silence for the first half of the meal, then talking only about food after that.

To be frank, this week I found this mindful eating caper bloody annoying. Mostly because I’m not good at it. But the EDV counselor I spoke to put it nicely: “You can’t do mindfulness well or not well.”

Indeed, that’s the beauty of mindfulness. Once you’re aware of it, it kind of infiltrates. And soon enough you’re saying grace and sending photos of your oxtail risotto to your fans.

C’mon – fess up? Do you photo your food, ‘plate up’ every time you cook, and love to admire food as art? Or do you prefer to just scarf it down and move straight to dessert?!

A note from Kat

Until the end of October, whilst I’m living it up on my holiday, I’ll be introducing a series of posts from fellow Personal Trainers, BioSignature coaches, and wellness gurus. These are some of the most inspiring and useful people I know both on and offline, and I trust you’ll enjoy what they have to say. I’ll still be dropping by once a week with my own post and will be in touch via comments and email, so don’t be shy! For more inspiration and thought-food by Sarah visit www.sarahwilson.com.au

2 responses to “Why You Should Forget Calorie Counting And Portion Control”

  1. Christina Bailey says:

    On the topic of portion control (critical on Weight Watchers for me)…my nutritionist introduced me to a new product which has just come out, but it’s hard to find in stores. I ordered it online from http://www.PortionControl.net since they offer free shipping. It’s definitely a why-didn’t-I-think-of-that product, and it really helps me with daily portion control, while making my cooking easier and tastier. I LOVE THEM. It’s really a nifty idea, and I recommend it if you like cooking at home but are struggling with eating right.