On this season of the Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta podcast, CNN’s chief medical correspondent has explored the topic of weight: what it really tells you about your health, why it’s so hard to lose it, how new diet drugs work, and their links. until menopause (you can listen to the episodes here).
Whether you’re happy with your size or not, whether you’re on a special diet or eating whatever you want whenever you want, the basic fact of life (inevitable, inescapable, non-negotiable) is that we all have to eat. If we’re lucky, it’s usually up to five times a day, every day.
How you choose to nourish yourself can make a big difference in how you feel, not only in your body, but also in yourself and the world around you.
“I had a nanny who was a chronic dieter,” Dr. Linda Shiue, an internal medicine physician and trained chef, recently told Gupta on the podcast. “She ate this colorless, aromaless food and she was sad all the time.”
That’s not Shiue’s style. She is the first director of culinary medicine at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. There she founded Thrive Kitchen, a teaching kitchen for patients, so she could do more than hand out recipes for chronic illnesses.
He wanted to create a place where he could teach his patients how to make healthy food taste good. “They think of it as deprivation and, you know, loss of joy and even a kind of penance,” said Shiue, who is also the author of “Spicebox Kitchen: Eat Well and Be Healthy with Globally Inspired, Vegetable-Forward Recipe.” “It’s colorless, soft, has no texture, has no flavor, and we’re not supposed to enjoy it.”
Just like in her cookbook, Shiue’s classes show patients how to use spices and herbs to flavor seasonal cuisine while following a health-promoting eating pattern.
“As a lifelong food lover and a doctor who has seen the negative effects of chronic dieting, I encourage people to reframe their relationship with food as a source of pleasure, cultural connection, and well-being, regardless of weight. This can be a difficult task given the pro-diet messages around us,” Shiue said in an email.
What can you do to get out of the diet mindset and actually enjoy your food? Shiue has five tips.
Stop judging food as good or bad
Food is not inherently good or bad, so there is no need to feel bad about your food choices.
“Many of us have experienced shame or guilt around food, and a lot of that is a product of our culture and what the food industry has taught us and what the fashion industry and diets in general have created “Shiue said.
“Even if we, as individuals, don’t even think that we care much about that message, it has reached all of us, it is in our entire subconscious,” he said. “I think most people at some point think, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t eat that.’ That’s bad for me. It could affect my weight.’”
Shiue wants to help people learn how to stop thinking that way. “There is no place for shame on the plate,” she said, carefully choosing her language around food.
“In diet culture, people talk about ‘cheat’ days (but) I prefer to celebrate ‘treat’ days. Everything in moderation, and that means there is room for the occasional indulgence,” he stated.
Don’t do ‘diets’
Restrictive diets are counterproductive because most of us will not be able to follow them perfectly and forever.
“Study after study has shown that the best eating plan is one that any individual can follow: a sustainable lifestyle change,” Shiue said.
“Instead of restricting, add more foods (that) science shows us are better for our health: lots of plants, legumes and whole grains. “This will improve your health even if you don’t eat ‘perfectly’ all the time and even if you don’t lose weight,” he said.
Shiue admitted to not eating perfectly all the time and having a sweet tooth; He said that he allows himself to enjoy his favorite delicacies, although not all the time.
Listen to your body
Eat intuitively.
“That means several things,” Shiue said. “First of all, are you really hungry or are you feeding an emotional need, such as anxiety, sadness or fatigue?
“How does food make you feel after eating? Do you feel comfortably full or do you feel stuffed? How is your energy level after eating? she said. “When you pay attention to these feelings, your body will guide you to choose the healthiest foods for you.”
Also, eat mindfully, which Shiue says doesn’t mean meditating on food.
“It means that when you’re eating, focus on the pleasure of it,” he said. “Eat slowly. Chew your food. …Also pay attention to when you’ve had enough.”
Recover your food heritage
Healthy diets can come from a variety of ethnicities and customs, and can contain a wide variety of flavors and ingredients.
“A lot of people were taught that, quote, ‘cultural food’… is unhealthy,” Shiue said. “People are told, ‘Oh no, no: the food you eat is the reason you have diabetes.’ You have to eat this kind of healthy, standard American diet.’”
But he said many people from different backgrounds don’t want to change their diet, or they don’t know how, or it just doesn’t work, and, Shiue said, they really don’t have to.
“The traditional diet of each culture contains healthy foods and should be celebrated with great pleasure,” he said.
Think beyond calories
Remember that food is more than a way to simply stay alive.
“Nutrition and sustenance are only a small part of food,” Shiue said. “For me, food is mainly pleasure. It is a connection with myself, with my loved ones, with my culture.”
He added that food is also an expression of love and affection.
“Enjoy your food,” he said.