I really enjoy watching TED talks because I can hear from inspiring people about a huge range of different topics, from architecture and self-assembly (one of my previous professor gave two talks on his 4D printing projects, watch them here) to self-confidence and health. I thought I could start a series on this blog about the different TED talks that I've watched and enjoyed while also perhaps putting in a little bit of my own input in. After all, I think part of the reason TED talks are so accessible is to help promote conversations.

A few days ago, I ended up watching a bunch of talks about health, food, and dieting. Part of the reason is because my roommate started taking a Food Anthropology class at MIT and shared this New York Times article with me. It discusses the relationship America has with food in comparison to other countries, namely France, and how that relationship is incredibly unhealthy. And with the New Year (I know, it's February, but the year is still fairly new! We're only like 30-something days in) there's obviously a huge wave of people dieting (again) and exercising (again).

To be honest, I've tried this whole dieting thing and exercising thing and I personally think I love food a little bit too much and hate exercise a little bit too much (or I'm just lazy) for it to work. I starved myself for a long time in high school - that didn't work (and it was unhealthy! Don't do it!). I also ran in high school, but no matter how much I ran (I was running 2-3 times a week) and how much water I drank, once I got off the treadmill I would get so dizzy I would have to sit down. Apparently running doesn't suit me.

I found this TED talk called "Why Dieting Doesn't Work", given by Sandra Aamodt:

While the science behind it is interesting, I already knew most of the information she was talking about. I was intrigued, however, by her concept of "mindful eating", which was also something - while not named - that was kind of discussed in the New York Times article. Mindful eating, as how I understand it, is basically taking the time to understand your body and the signals your body gives you. In that way, you let your body govern your eating patterns: eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full - don't keep those chips on hand to much on when your body doesn't need it! Obviously, this would be a long process because it goes against the whole 3-large-meals-a-day convenience. I thought, however, that I might try it - I've been trying to find ways to curb my sweet and savory cravings, not particularly in an effort to lose weight (although that would be awesome) but more because my constant cravings are kind of just annoying.

Things that I've learned so far:

1. My body either doesn't need very much food at all or I'm very bad at recognizing hunger signals. On Wednesday, I ate breakfast and only got hungry at around dinner time, but then I was starving by bed time (I slept it off).

2. 3 large meals a day is infinitely more convenient. In fact, my classes just happen to be structured so that it allows the time for those 3 large meals, with my "lunch time" to be an hour or so following my "breakfast time". I have a 1-5 class 3 out of 5 days of the week, which means while I would usually be getting hungry for a snack at around 3 pm (I eat breakfast at 10, and that holds me over for a pretty long time), I can't, so today I had to eat when I wasn't hungry to avoid the hunger in the middle of class, which kind of defeats the point of the whole mindful eating thing. On the other hand, because I spent a good amount of time this afternoon running around Boston, I became ridiculously hungry at 4. (I had a very early dinner.)

3. My savory cravings are ever present. They have always been ever present. The last time they were curbed, it was because I ate dinner at Yume wo Katare (in Porter Square) and the sodium levels and fat content of the ramen were so high I literally wasn't hungry until two days later.

4. Dried Mangoes have become my pecking snack: when I start to get a little bit hungry, I have a couple and drink some water and then I'm miraculously not hungry anymore. Dried mangoes are magic.

5. I no longer crave Twizzlers, which is good. I also no longer crave Swedish Fish or Sour Patch Kids. I think I will probably forever crave Lindt truffles. Mmm. Lindt truffles.

Obviously I don't expect to see changes after only doing this for a few days - I can't hope to understand my body so soon, and I'm unsure if my lacks of appetite and hunger are because my body doesn't actually need the food or because I've messed up my cues for hunger because I starved myself once not so long ago (again, don't do this. It's bad. Food is beautiful.) But I hope that as the semester progresses, I will come to understand my body more and become a healthier person through mindful eating.

And you know, the next time I come across a Lindt truffle and eat it, maybe I won't have to beat myself up over it.

What are your biggest cravings? What do you think about mindful eating? Let me know!