Author Archives: Dr. Sukol

Words of Thich Nhat Hanh

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I have had a daily meditation practice for just over six years now. I started with one-minute meditation, which I have taught to many people over the years. I like to think of it as a good way to start. One minute is not very much time, and I have generally found that just about everyone is willing to dedicate a single minute to meditating. It’s really just a minute: you breathe in for 5 seconds, and then breathe out for 5 seconds. That’s your warmup; now do it 5 more times. That’s it. One minute. You’re done.

When I first started meditating, I did not really know the reason or the purpose. I just did it to see what would happen. I only knew that I liked listening to what people who meditated regularly said about their experience. So I thought I’d try it for myself. I don’t know what I expected. Next time I’ll talk more about how those first years went. This week I want to talk about the words of a man named Thich Nhat Hanh. Continue reading →

In Thanks

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The only thing I want to do today is to say thank you. We have been utterly overwhelmed not only by the events of the past month, but as much, if not more, by the outpouring of love and support that has found its way to our entire family.

Less than a week after my husband’s older brother died, our daughter-in-law was diagnosed with lymphoma. Continue reading →

Every Little Bit Counts

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I have some amazing news to share. A recent study published in the journal Diabetes Care observed a reduced risk of diabetes (type 2) in older women who walked just 1000 steps more every day. You can access those findings here. This week’s post might, at first glance, seem a little dry to you, but if you’ll stay with me for a couple of minutes, I think you’ll find an important observation here that may resonate deeply. It’s not about diabetes, or even walking for that matter. It’s about success. Continue reading →

Dieting: It’s Not for the Birds and It’s Not for You

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This week I’m sharing a conversation that I have had with a lot of patients lately. They want to weigh less, they know that it’s better for their health, but they cannot figure out how to make it work. I tell them that making it work requires a frame shift, a change in the way you think about food. When we talk about what that means for them, I see the lights go on in their eyes and their expressions. It’s slightly magical, every time. They leave with renewed faith and self-confidence, not to mention relief. It was never about dieting. It was about the food. Continue reading →

Remembering What You Want

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In the weeks prior to starting medical school, my brother-in-law gave me a small card with a calligraphied message: Discipline is remembering what you want. I soon affixed it to the wall of my new study carrel, where it remained for a long time until, years later, I passed it along to a friend who needed it more than I.

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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Simple Pea Soup

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Two of my kids live thousands of miles away, seven time zones to be precise, in Jerusalem. We talk by phone a lot, and we do our very best to visit whenever we can, pandemic notwithstanding. But it’s far for sure, and one way I keep connected is to allow their cooking to inspire my own. We often touch base on Friday mornings and I love when they tell me what’s on the stove. My daughter-in-law is a fabulous cook, as is my son, and they regularly make magic happen in their kitchen. Last week, with popcorn popping in the background all the way from Jerusalem, I got to hear about the happy reception my son’s very special chocolate-drizzled popcorn had received from friends the previous week. And the split pea soup bubbling on the stove got a quick honorable mention. But that was enough to pique my interest, so I went “shopping” in my own cabinets to see if I had any peas. And I did! I used the crockpot because I love being able to set it and leave, but you can also make this on the stove if you like. It took about 2 minutes to collect all the ingredients and 10 minutes to prep the vegetables, and that’s it. It’s hard to imagine a bigger payoff for such a small investment. Continue reading →

Your Health is Where You Want it to Be

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Good morning, and happy Sunday! I want to tell you about a conversation I had with a patient this week. She was someone I’d never met before, and, like many before her, she was absolutely flummoxed about what to try next. She had already done everything she could think of to lose weight. I think you know this story. I’ve told it many times before, and you may even have experienced it yourself. Maybe you’ve been on practically every diet, eaten cabbage soup, denied yourself your favorite foods, carved out time you didn’t really have to get more exercise than was comfortable at the time. Of course none of this was sustainable. You can’t eat cabbage soup for breakfast forever. So what’s next? Next comes balance. Continue reading →

How to Make a Life

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Connie and her husband Duane were my parents’ closest of friends for upwards of 40 years. They drove to Cleveland from their home in the hills of northwest New Jersey to crawl into bed with my father in his last days, to whisper their love for him, to share some memories, and to be, as always, the best friends they could be. My parents shared thousands and thousands and thousands of memories with Connie and Duane throughout the years. Their shared love for their Afghan hounds and Belgian sheepdogs, their joyful July 4th celebrations, hundreds and hundreds of weekly Sunday dinners, restaurant meals, New Years Eve parties, Thanksgiving graces, glasses of light red Beaujolais, local and national dog shows, chaffeuring one other, Zooming together, housesitting, and endless games of Trivial Pursuit. How do you make a life? How do friends and neighbors become transformed into family? This is how. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Cashew Cream

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This very easy recipe takes food from simple to spectacular. Put cashew cream on your grain bowl or veggie bowl, and you’ll take it from everyday to amazing, good to great, ordinary to extraordinary, standard to spectacular. You can use any kinds of veggies, whether steamed (broccoli, cauliflower), roasted (carrots, asparagus, onions), stir-fried (snap peas, mushrooms, sprouts), or even raw (tomatoes, cucumbers). And it’s also perfect for grains like brown rice, bulgur wheat, or even quinoa (which I know is not technically a grain). We eat a lot of vegetables in my house, and the leftovers usually get eaten. Recipes like this one are a big part of the reason why. Continue reading →