-ATHLETE HEALTH TK

NEWSLETTER COPY Mindful eating teaches people how to eat until satisfied while thoroughly enjoying food without distractions. Mindful eating involves paying close attention to physi ological hunger and separating that from external cues or emotional cues that can trigger eating. The individual focuses on appreciating the entire experience of eating without restriction. Mindful eating is associated with less binging, restricting, emotional eating, body image issues and higher self-esteem.2, Mindful eating can be prac ticed with any foods including sweetpotatoes. A person can choose from a single food, sweet dessert or savory dish while practicing mindful eating. Practicing mindful eating. November MINDFUL EATING

Sweetpotato SLIDERS

TALKING POINTS y Mindful eating (also referred to as intuitive eating) helps athletes and active adults learn to by recognize the difference between physiological hunger and emotional cues as well as environmental stimuli that may lead to overeating and binge eating. Mindful eating helps people examine when they are eating due to stress, boredom, habit, environ mental cues or other reasons not related to hunger. y Once a person identifies why they are eating (e.g., if they are really hungry or using food to cope with something else in life) and their eating cues (i.e., time of day, sight of the vending machine, etc.), They can work on better habits so they do not habitually turn to food when they are not truly hungry. y Mindful eating helps individuals recognize external drivers of energy intake and tune into the sensory properties of food as well as hunger and satiety signals. y Mindful eating is associated with less binging, restricting, emotional eating, body image issues and higher self-esteem. Currently, there are no published studies in competitive athletes. Therefore, it is not clear how following this ap proach affects performance in those with or without eating issues. 2, 3 y Mindful eating is an approach that does not involve a structured meal plan, diet, counting calories or macros. y There’s little evidence that mindful eating influences energy intake and food quality. 1 y In order to practice mindful eating a person can sit down without distractions and pay full attention to the food they are eating. It’s important to assess hunger before and after eating. Next, eat slowly, bite, chew slowly, and savor the smell, sight, taste and texture of the food. After eating one should feel satisfied but not stuffed. Mindful eating doesn’t happen overnight – it is a process and it takes practice.

Ingredients

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1 pound lean ground beef 93% lean, 7% fat

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper ¾ tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp fresh basil chopped

1 sweetpotato cut into ¼-inch strips

¼ cup low fat mayonnaise

1 lime zest and juice

Directions 1. Mix together ground beef, salt, black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil. Divide seasoned beef into 4 even sliders. 2. Press each slider into the sweetpotato strips, pressing firmly to ensure each side is coated and sweetpotato adheres well. 3. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. 4. Cook sliders for 5 minutes on each side, until sweetpotatoes are golden brown and sliders are cooked through. 5. While sliders are cooking, make the basil mayo. Mix together 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ cup low fat mayonnaise and the juice and zest of 1 lime. 6. Serve sliders hot with the basil mayo and any other slider toppings including lime wedges, lettuce, sliced tomatoes and sliced onions.

TEACHING TOOLS The Mindful Eating tool can be downloaded here: y Mindful Eating Teaching Tool

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