Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

I have attended Thich Nhat Hanh meditation retreats with Lilian Cheung and have found his teachings to be life changing. This book is going to have the same impact and addresses such a major topic in health in today's world. I recommend that everyone either buys or shares this book with as many people as possible. Susan M. Guillory, member, Nutrition Roundtable, Harvard School of Public Health.

There is a lot of merit in putting together ancient wisdom and scientific data to provide such an insightful perspective on the obesity epidemic and solutions to control it. We are neither short of scientific data and proposals on how to control our weight, nor are we short of motivational programs to help us eat right and exercise more. The authors cut into the heart of why many of us are still failing repeatedly in managing our weight. They emphasize that we need to look into the real cause of our problem, and then solve it by uprooting it from the base. The book sets out by exploring the foundation for understanding ourselves better; it then progresses gradually into suggesting how we can put concepts into daily practice. The beauty is by the end of the book, we feel that we have been infused with new hope, picked up some new tools, and are ready to try to start building this mindfulness energy, to shed light on our shortcomings and then transform them. I thought this book was going to be difficult to read, but I was totally surprised to find myself captivated by the writing page after page. I plan to read it again, and use it often to keep me happy and healthy.

Have you ever been guilty of eating while talking on the phone, driving, walking, reading, working, e-mailing or watching TV? If so, you have probably noticed that the sandwich, protein bar--or whatever you were eating--vanished before you even realized you had begun eating it. And this makes you want to eat more so you can relish the taste (since you didn't enjoy the first one). This mindless eating is no doubt part of the cause of our obesity epidemic. Eating should be a sacred act, not part of our multi-tasking. World famous Buddhist author Thich Nhat Hanh teams up with Harvard's Dr. Lilian Cheung in this book which is sure to make you stop and think about your eating habits. The title says it all: Savor, Mindful Eating, Mindful Life. Part One is "A Buddhist Perspective on Weight Control." In the first chapter we are presented with "The Four Noble Truths of Healthy Weight:" that being overweight or obese is suffering; that you can identify the roots of your weight problem (and here we are given numerous questions to contemplate); that reaching a healthy weight is possible; and that you can follow a mindful path to a healthy weight. "Mindfulness is a way of living that has been practiced over twenty-six hundred years by millions of people to help them transform their suffering into peace and joy," say the authors. "Applying mindfulness to your suffering with weight gives you a catalyst that you can draw on at will to change your behavior." We are asked to write a "mission statement for healthy weight and well-being." In the second chapter we are challenged with the question of "When I eat an apple, am I really enjoying eating it? Or am I so preoccupied with other thought that I miss the delights that the apple offers me?" Uh, oh. Now we realize we aren't supposed to even THINK while eating. This is getting harder than ever. But an entire page directs us on how to do it. And guess what? The apple is thoroughly savored when eaten consciously. Best of all, we don't feel the need to eat another one. We are then ready to move on to another activity outside of eating. The third chapter lets us know that we are more than what we eat. Who we are includes three additional "nutriments:" sense impressions, volition (deepest motivations & desires) and consciousness, which are explained in full detail along with how to nourish ourselves with these nutriments. Chapter four is all about being in the present moment. Then in chapter five (titled "Mindful Eating") we get some nutritional advice, much of it good, though some of it a bit outdated. (They recommend grains though grains, even whole, are much at the root of diseases of civilization, with anti-nutrients such as phytates that bind minerals and lectins which cause leaky gut and autoimmune disorders. Also, they still blame colon cancer on red meat when recent studies show it is more closely related to blood sugar and diabetes.) The best parts of the chapter include a story of how they ate mindfu

I am an epidemiologist so enjoy studies of nutritional science based on large populations and have enjoyed Walt Willet's books also out of data in Nurse's Health Study. But the real problem in combating obesity and inactivity is that we do not need just to be educated on the healthiest approach but also that most of us need help in choosing it. I find the Buddhist philosophy to life and death actually really works here. A sort of "life is what it is let's not lose sight of our finite time here and savor it healthfully" philosophy is very comforting. I have not had the book long but since doing so find that I am eating when my body signals me, away from my desk and foods that are nutritional and tasty. Life's too short for otherwise and this book helps remind you of that. Highly recommended read.

This book is remarkable not just in its ability to bring together the complimentary insights of the Buddhism and modern science, but also for it's ability to do so in a way that is accessible to those who are neither scientists nor Buddhists. Though the book specifically speaks to the issue of healthy weight loss, it is much more than that: it is a broad-minded and open-hearted encouragement to all of us (whether we struggle with weight or not) to become aware of not just what we eat, but how we eat. Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Cheung look at our habits as a society and gently encourage us to see how eating is not just a habit we use to dampen our suffering, but also how eating can become an extension of our suffering. By offering us insights and practices -- both spiritual and practical -- these co-authors gently guide us toward a healthier and more sustainable way of engaging with our food. The practices and life changes they propose will not just benefit us as individuals, but also benefit us as a society, and as co-inhabitants of this planet. Wise, comforting, understandable, and DO-ABLE: this book is definitely worth owning whether you are trying to lose weight or simply trying to live a healthier lifestyle. The book contains many meditations offered by the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh which are each like precious jewels. The "Apple Meditation" (Chapter 2) alone is worth the cost of the book. Treat yourself.