Savor | Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung

I can't tell you the last time I sat down at the dinner table, at home, to eat food. Unless I'm in a restaurant meals are consumed at my desk, in front of the TV, in the car or while doing something else other than just eating. This habit was quickly formed after I left home and entered the world of university or "living on my own" as it's called. Growing up, we ate at the dinner table almost exclusively. I have very few memories of meals consumed in front of the TV, in fact, I can only come up with a few and those were birthdays.

Even fast food or delivery pizza was a meal for the table, not the floor in front of the TV.  But then I went off to college. The familiar round dinner table disappeared and so did eating at it or any table unless it was in the dorm cafeteria. I loved that I could eat and watch TV, it felt indulgent and fun. I didn't have to think about what I was eating or how much. I could just eat and catch up on episodes of Felicity. And then I moved into an apartment where meals moved from a narrow dorm room bed to a couch, and another apartment in nyc where I watched all seasons of Seinfeld while chowing down on Chinese or Indian take-out, and finally to our current (albeit temporary) home where the couch is the new table.

Occasionally I'll feel nostalgic and clear off the dining room table (which I can confidently say is always housing stuff) and have a sit-down meal. Those are the exceptions,the special occasions; what sitting in front of the TV used to be. And at work, it is no different. I surf the internet, catch up with blogs, return emails, tweet what I'm eating while I'm eating it (yes, I'm that person) and never really give much thought to the food.

And so when I was asked to be on the Savor|Mindful Eating, Mindful Life book tour I knew immediately, just from the title and description that this book was for me. Written by Thich Nhat Hahn a Vietnamese Buddhist monk accompanied by Dr. Lilian Cheung a director of health promotion and communication at the Harvard School of Public Health's Department of Nutrition, Savor taps into the very heart of what is causing many of us to struggle with weight loss.

Savor is not a traditional weight loss book, most of which are filled with tips for curbing cravings, eating less carbs/fat/calories, and eating processed diet foods or food substitutes. Savor provides a look at well-being and weight control through Buddhist teachings: the Four Noble Truths.

The First Noble Truth: Being Overweight or Obese is Suffering

The Second Noble Truth:You Can Identify the Roots of Your Weight Problem

The Third Noble Truth: Reaching a healthy weight is possible

The Fourth Noble Truth: You can follow a mindful path to a healthy weight

Each truth contains valuable information and I especially like the third one: Reaching a health weight is possible. The book reads "To be successful, it is very important for you to believe that you can achieve a healthy weight. ...Self-efficacy is simply the belief that one can carry out a behavior necessary to produce a desired out come. What we believe can significantly affect what we can achieve." Nothing could be more true.

Changing your habit energy. I love those words; everything is energy. Habits are energy. There is a Zen story about a man and a horse. The horse is galloping quickly, and it appears that the rider is urgently heading somewhere important. A bystander along the road calls out, "Where are you going?" and the rider replies, "I don't know! Ask the horse!" In this story the horse represents "habit energy", the force that pulls us along that we often feel powerless to change. We are running continuously, without thought. Being unaware can give "habit energy" more power, but each time you become aware in that moment, it loses strength.

Savor encourages mindfulness not only while eating food, but the process of what it took to get the food to your plate. What did it take to get the chicken to your plate, or the cereal in your bowl? Being aware of the source of your food is an important step in mindful eating.

Savor for me, is an awakening. It provides the tools necessary for mindful eating and living, both of which I've learned to tune out. It is easy for me to see how mindlessness leads to excess weight, so often I reach for foods that I don't even like for reasons other than hunger. I eat, while entertaining myself and never experience the food that I'm eating. I love food, I love preparation of food, but in my everyday life it is easy to forget why I'm eating in the first place. Reading Savor even without actively trying to, will make you become aware, awake and mindful.

For more information about Savor visit: Savor The Book.  Or purchase on Amazon.

You can also read A Conversation with Thich Nhat Hanh About Savor.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me for review.