Review
“Among Buddhist leaders influential in the West, Thich Nhat Hanh ranks second only to the Dalai Lama.” — New York Times
“Hanh and Cheung explore the convergence of nutritional science with Buddhist teaching and find complementary insights. Together, they provide approaches that help to heal both the individual and societal illness that is being manifested as an epidemic of obesity. Everyone can learn from this book.” — Walter Willett, M.D., author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy and Chair, Department of Nutrition Harvard School of Public Health
“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.” — From the foreword by Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D. President, Institute of Medicine
“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. Please savor it.” — David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, 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.
“This is a uniquely insightful and positive program for wellness; a book of tested wisdom; practical action; and intellectual, emotional, and spiritual nutriments.” — Booklist
“...Not your average healthy-eating guide. ‘Savor’ may have us rethinking every bite, but maybe that’s just what we need..” — Tricycle Magazine
“In their new book, “Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life,” Lilian Cheung, a nutritionist at Harvard, and Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist teacher, give important advice to dieters about using Buddhist techniques of mindfulness to control overeating.” — New York Times
“Even if you already have your weight under control, implementing the exercises in this book is bound to enhance the presence and sensuous pleasure of your eating.” — Basil & Spice
“The book is recommended not only for those seeking practical advice on how to control excesses leading to overweight but also to anyone wishing to bring balance into his or her everyday life.” — New Age Retailer
“Together, Cheung and Hanh offer a primer on psychological and spiritual health, as well as a practical nutritional guide to healthier eating.” — Harvard Magazine
From the Back Cover
Common sense tells us that to lose weight, we must eat less and exercise more. But somehow we get stalled. We start on a weight-loss program with good intentions but cannot stay on track. Neither the countless fad diets, nor the annual spending of $50 billion on weight loss helps us feel better or lose weight.
Too many of us are in a cycle of shame and guilt. We spend countless hours worrying about what we ate or if we exercised enough, blaming ourselves for actions that we can't undo. We are stuck in the past and unable to live in the present—that moment in which we do have the power to make changes in our lives.
With Savor, world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and Harvard nutritionist Dr. Lilian Cheung show us how to end our struggles with weight once and for all.
Offering practical tools, including personalized goal setting, a detailed nutrition guide, and a mindful living plan, the authors help us to uncover the roots of our habits and then guide us as we transform our actions. Savor teaches us how to easily adopt the practice of mindfulness and integrate it into eating, exercise, and all facets of our daily life, so that being conscious and present becomes a core part of our being.
It is the awareness of the present moment, the realization of why we do what we do, that enables us to stop feeling bad and start changing our behavior. Savor not only helps us achieve the healthy weight and well-being we seek, but it also brings to the surface the rich abundance of life available to us in every moment.
About the Author
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. His lifelong efforts to generate peace and reconciliation moved Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. He is the author of many books, including the classic Peace Is Every Step and The Art of Power. He lives in France and travels worldwide leading retreats on the art of mindful living. Visit the author at www.plumvillage.org.
Lilian Cheung, D.Sc., R.D., is a lecturer and director of health promotion and communication at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition. She is a coinvestigator at Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity and is also the founder and editorial director of The Nutrition Source, www.thenutritionsource.org, the Harvard School of Public Health’s nutrition Web site for consumers, health professionals, and journalists. Cheung has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh since 1997.
