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When was the last time you ate a meal without any distractions? And by distractions I mean watching TV, checking your email, playing around on the computer, working while eating, etc.
Probably can’t remember can you?
That’s because meals for most people aren’t actual events in the day, they’re just part of their typical multitasking routines.
But that shouldn’t be the case. Meals should be events in your day, just like going to work or spending time with your family are.
Meals used to be a time for family gatherings and celebration. Every night when I was a kid my mom, brother and I sat together at the table and had dinner. It wasn’t always a home-cooked meal, but we always found the time to sit together and talk about our days.
Mindful Meals
Another concept I was introduced to while attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition is the concept of “mindful eating.”
What that means is slowing down and taking the time to really enjoy your food. It means chewing your food, putting your fork down between bites and savoring the food in front of you.
So often we eat without thinking, wolfing down our food, barely taking a minute to even breathe between bites.
Eating this way can cause indigestion, upset stomach, acid reflux and a whole slew of other health issues.
You probably think the digestion process starts in your stomach, but it actually starts in your mouth. Chewing and the saliva in your mouth breaks down the food and the nutrients in the food, to make them easier for your body to absorb and digest.
When you skip the chewing process and instead sort of chew but mostly just take huge bites that get swallowed almost whole, that’s when digestive problems arise.
The Solution
Chew. Put your fork down between bites. Be mindful of the food you’re eating.
By having some appreciation for the food in front of you (and for the fact that you actually get to eat regular meals, even though most of the world doesn’t), you’ll shift your mindset with eating.
Another bonus is that mindful eating and chewing allows your stomach time to send the message to your brain that you’re full, which means you’ll end up eating less. When you wolf down your food, your brain doesn’t have time to get the “I’m full” message until after you’ve eaten so much you’re stuffed (it takes about 20 minutes or so for the message process to occur).
Today, your challenge is to eat at least one meal mindfully. Sit at your table, turn off all distractions and focus on one thing and one thing only: eating. Chew slowly, savor every bite and enjoy.
That’s what food is all about!
Share With Us
How did the mindful eating exercise go for you?
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Good advice, I’m guilty of eating too fast. Promise to slow down today, and make myself more aware of what’s on my plate.
Good! Let me know how I went.
I’m totally guilty of mindless eating…almost always doing something else along with it, rather than just slowing down and focusing on the food. Good point about how important it is to fully chew your food to break it down for better absorption. Another thing for me to pay attention to!
Don’t worry, most people are. I’ve been known to eat an entire bag of chips while watching TV. If you practice mindful eating, you can avoid that scenario
Thank goodness our TV is in the family room, away from the dining room and the kitchen. We eat at the dining room table. My computer is back in my office, far from the table. When it’s mealtime, we eat. It’s just the two of us now, but when the kids were still home, we always had a family dinner. That’s the way I grew up. That’s the way I raised my kids. I learned about mindful eating from Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living.
Barb
That’s great!