One Simple Question: Why?

If you’ve been reading my weekly columns, I’m confident you’re convinced of a simple truth: I’m passionate about the science of exercise and the art of healthful living.

But when it comes to reversing or avoiding overweight and obesity – which is clearly the single biggest avoidable threat to the health of most Americans – eating is fundamental. In fact, I’ve told many of my clients that if I had to choose between healthful eating practices and a structured exercise program and give up one for the rest of my life, I’d choose nutrition over fitness.

Why? There’s always a way to make your daily life more physically demanding, balanced and conducive to your sustained vitality. Ranch hands, surfers and farmers rarely have a specific, multi-point weekly exercise plan.

But there’s no substitute for good eating.

Most would admit that their diets could use some tweaking. Some folks even have a pretty good idea what aspects of their eating habits are the biggest obstacles to eating healthfully. But the less-than-ideal practices continue. What’s the reason?

Well, that’s the question, exactly. It is the single most important question we can ask ourselves throughout the day. What’s the reason I’m putting this in my mouth right now? Simply, why?

Compulsive eating, while a vicious physical and emotional pattern, is fairly rare. But almost everyone eats impulsively. We grab and go, or show up and order, or eat what’s handy or easy when we get hungry. Eating impulsively means we eat out of context. Out of context with what? Two reference points are involved.

The first is what we want to achieve overall with our health and wellness. Could we use more produce in our diet to increase vitamins, minerals and fiber? Could we be spreading our protein sources more evenly throughout the day to curb hunger and keep our blood sugar more stable? Are we getting enough water to metabolize fat efficiently? When’s the last time any of these thoughts even crossed your mind?

The other reference point for context, relative to healthful eating, is the day itself. For instance, I usually eat six to eight  times a day. Since I know the most commonly under-consumed food is vegetables, I almost always have veggies unless I had them at my last meal or snack and I’m going to have them the next time I eat. That ensures I get enough throughout the day.

The same principle can be applied to the amount you eat. Are you eating the volume you consume more for taste or because of entrenched patterns than actual nourishment needs at the time? Are you “cleaning your plate” even though there’s more on the plate than you need? Are you gobbling up all that grub simply because it looks so good?

Last Friday, I was headed out to Livermore to enjoy some coffee (decaf low-fat latte, to be specific) and live music when I realized I was a little hungry for a light dinner. While driving east on Stanley from Pleasanton, I noticed a Japanese place from the road called Hanabishi Japanese Cuisine.

I pulled in knowing I was going with my standard low-volume, low-calorie fare of miso soup, seaweed salad and one order of hamachi (yellow-tail sashimi). When the salad arrived, it was downright beautiful. In fact, I told the sushi chef it was a work of art. And it was delicious, too. As I ate it, I started thinking about how easy it is to scarf up a pretty little dish like that with barely enough time to taste it. So I took a deep breath, smaller bites and made it last, really savoring every bite. I forced myself to do the same thing with the soup, and, more importantly, the sushi.

Here’s a link to a very good article with expert feedback on the myriad reasons people eat besides actual hunger, and ideas from experts on how to avoid those behaviors:

www.health.com/health/article/0,,20409917_1,00.html