Reviews

I have grown weary of the latest diet craze, of quick-fix diet books and self-help books that promise unrealistic yet tempting results. Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life is a refreshing take on weight loss. This beautifully written book not only provides practical recommendations for healthful weight loss and physical activity; it also provides guidance for living a more peaceful, mindful life. I am now recommending this book to colleagues, friends, and family members, and to anyone who wants to shop, cook, eat, move, and live more mindfully. Savor the book and savor the journey it will take you on as you pursue better health one breath, one mouthful, and one step at a time.

— Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RD
Program Director for Strategic Initiatives
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
Napa Valley, California

If Vietnamese Zen Buddhist master Nhat Hanh says the same thing over and over, it could be because not enough people have heard him, and those who have need a reminder. He speaks to both groups in this work, coauthored by Harvard nutritionist Cheung, urging mindfulness about what people put in their mouths. It's a diet book and a meditation book, an unusual hybrid that makes sense for Nhat Hanh because it applies his essential wisdom: pay attention; breathe. If you consistently do that, you'll eat less, and at least two-thirds of Americans surely need to follow that advice. This book adds a lot of eat-this-and-not-that rules, as well as exercise guidelines, delivering so much information the effect is a little overwhelming. But the core meditation instructions are quintessential Nhat Hanh, steely and loving. This could be the diet-and-exercise book for those who have failed using other methods and need a fresh approach. For Nhat Hanh's many fans, it is the sole wellness book they'll need to remind themselves to only pay attention.

Publisher's Weekly – Religion in Review

In this edifying and accessible book, the authors offer a Buddhist perspective on weight control and well-being. Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Cheung present the Four Noble Truths as a new frame of reference for dealing with obesity: being overweight is suffering; you can identify the roots of your weight problem; reaching a healthy weight is possible; you can follow a mindful path to a healthy weight. To seal the deal of weight loss the authors share "A Mission Statement for Healthy Weight and Well-Being."

Next comes a mindfulness exercise from Thich Nhat Hanh on eating an apple so that we are truly present with it and aware of its connection with the natural world and our own life. They go on to examine the impact of the senses on our weight, our habits of eating and physical activity. This is followed by an emphasis on mindfulness as a tool that can be very helpful in assessing the challenges and obstacles that face us when we try to change our habit energies...

— Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

SAVOR rises above the cacophony of nutrition and weight loss books by shedding light on the how of eating and living, and not just focusing on the what. It presents a fusion of Buddhist principles of mindfulness with up-to-date nutrition science, brought to you by authors who are world leaders in their respective fields. This welcome approach can open one's heart, mind, and taste buds to truly appreciate the central roles that food, nutrition and physical activity play in our individual lives and in our paradoxically fast-paced yet sedentary society. While the focus is on achieving and maintaining a healthful weight, these principles can be applied to other areas, to cultivate a more thoughtful and joyful appreciation for the foods we eat and the activities we do. This is truly a book to savor.

— Lawrence H. Kushi, Sc.D.
Associate Director for Etiology & Prevention Research
Kaiser Permanente

A very practical guide on how to incorporate mindful eating into a mindful living plan which will benefit the mind as well as general health and the waistline. The book examines the effects of unmindful consumption and food production on the delicate eco-systems of our planet and how we can change habitual patterns.

Women's Health Magazine

Successful long-term weight loss is 10% knowing the right facts and 90% having the right state of mind.  Even the best diet in the world will ultimately fall short, without the ability to look deeply within, set goals consistent with our greatest good, and live consciously. Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung, in Savor, have brought us a profoundly beautiful and powerful guide to mindful eating and living. I plan to savor this book regularly, and recommend it to everyone who eats. 

— David S. Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) Program, Children’s Hospital Boston and author, Ending the Food Fight: Guide your Child to a Healthy Weight in a Fast Food/Fake Food World.

As a primary care physician, many of the patients I care for are struggling with their weight and have poor nutrition.  Taking the time to savor food and eat mindfully is often low on patients' agendas.  SAVOR provides a toolkit (to help patients to overcome this hurdle,) and for health care professionals to guide their patients along the path towards improved health.  Beyond mindful eating, Hanh and Cheung provide the reader with a mindful living plan (to  develop and maintain general well-being.)  SAVOR is well-referenced and provides great resources for further study including books, community resources, websites.  I highly recommend SAVOR to lay public and professionals alike.

— Helen Delichatsios, MD, SM
Assistant Professor, Nutrition Educator, Primary Care Physician
Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital

This book is beautifully written, compassionate, and innovative, and is one of the most original and important advances to nutrition and weight control I have seen in years.

— Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D.
Director
Rudd Center of Food Policy & Obesity, Yale University

With chapters like “Are you really savoring your apple? An apple meditation,” “Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life” (HarperOne, 2010, $25.99 hardcover, 304 pp.) is not your average healthy-eating guide. A hybrid of Buddhism and nutrition, “Savor” blends the Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings with research done by Dr. Lilian Cheung, the director of health promotion and communication at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition. Divided into three sections, “A Buddhist Perspective on Weight Control,” “Mindful Action Plans,” and “Individual and Collective Effort,” the book introduces Buddhist ideology before delving into specific healthy living tools, including exercises for untying external (and internal) knots, a ten-week sample mindful-eating plan- even a breakdown of fats. ‘Savor’ may have us rethinking every bite, but maybe that’s just what we need.

Tricycle Magazine

Authored by an eminent spiritual leader and a renowned nutritionist, this work infuses science into wisdom and wisdom into science. It is a practical guide to eating mindfully and points the way to attain a healthier weight and a more satisfying life.

— Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D.
President
Institute of Medicine

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