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“Eat, Drink, and Be Mindful,” advises Dr. Susan Albers, a DU alumna. She is the author of “Mindful Eating 101: A Guide to Healthy Eating in College & Beyond,” which aims to help students with their struggles to eat healthy and avoid gaining weight in college.
The release of Albers’ book is concurrent with National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which takes place this week until March 4.
According to Albers, mindless eating is an epidemic on college campuses, and over 70 percent of college students worry about gaining weight. The culture of campus living and stresses of college all play a role in the way college students view and use food.
Many students find it difficult to maintain healthy eating habits in an environment where peer pressure simultaneously encourages dieting and weight obsession with fast food runs and late-night binge eating.
In Albers’ book, she presents a way to avoid the widely feared “freshman fifteen” with her guide to healthy, mindful eating that is specifically tailored to college students. Adopting healthier eating habits leads to self-acceptance and an ability to better navigate the food-saturated college culture.
According to Albers, “The way you eat in college sets you up for how you will be eating for the rest of your life.”
By forming healthy relationships with food, students will avoid establishing the unhealthy eating habits that often lead to eating disorders, and will set the foundation for a healthy body and life well beyond college.
“A mindful eater is nonjudgmental, compassionate and above all aware of the taste, texture and process of eating. Being mindful means knowing exactly how your body feels at all times,” she writes. “You are so closely in touch with what is going on inside that you know the exact moment you are satisfied rather than stuffed or starving by learning the why, what, when and how you eat.”
In “Mindful Eating 101,” Albers explains that mindfulness includes being mindful of the mind, body, feelings and thoughts, and how all of these impact the ways we interact with food. Once people become aware of the messages their bodies give us, and get in tune with its needs, they will be able to use food for its correct purpose — to nourish the body, rather than to soothe emotions and issues that are unrelated to food.
As a graduate student of DU, Albers lived off campus and didn’t eat in the residence halls. But says that she loved to eat at Chipotle.
“It is a fairly healthy meal,” she says. “I would cut the burrito in half, eat half and take the rest home for later.”
The main piece of advice Albers wishes to convey to students is to pay attention to what they are eating. It is important to incorporate diversity into their diets, and avoid eating the same thing all of the time.
“Students don’t realize how much what they eat affects their memory, energy level, stress and sleep. Students who are fad dieting tend to do worse on memory tasks like taking tests,” she says.
“Mindful Eating 101” appeals to current and future college students, the parents of those individuals, as well as college administrators, faculty, residence staff and professionals.
Albers received a doctorate degree from DU’s Professional School of Psychology in 2001. She is a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Women’s Health Center, and specializes in relationship, eating and weight issues. She has a specific interest in college students experiencing eating disorders, body image and self-esteem issues.
Albers initially planned to work with children, but realized how prevalent issues of eating disorders and struggles with body image on college campuses were when she was providing counseling during her first practicum experience at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She decided to write her dissertation on these issues.
In addition to the research and studies she completed, she says she was able to understand eating disorders and related issues on a personal level from the insight she received from her best friend, who struggled with an eating disorder for many years.
Albers is a member of the Academy of Eating Disorders and the American Psychological Association. Her first book is called “Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Develop a Healthy Relationship with Food.” She has been featured in “O,” “The Oprah Magazine,” “Self Magazine,” “Today’s Dietician,” “Alternative Medicine” and several bridal magazines.
She has no current speaking engagements planned at DU, but will be presenting a lecture at Naropa University in Boulder on March 24 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Groups can also schedule Albers to present her “Eat, Drink & Be Mindful” workshop, which is designed to help those who are struggling with body image, self-esteem or eating disorders. Her presentation can be customized according to the group size and length needs.
More information about Albers, her books, speaking engagements and valuable resources related to eating disorders can be found on her Web site, www.eatingmindfully.com.
