This is old blog I wrote about eating mindfully. It surprises me how mindlessly we eat and that is a huge part of the problem: I have a very zen like swim teacher. I have been a pretty good swimmer but heard this guy could take me to the next level. My first lesson he asked me what I thought about when I swam. “Mainly work. And my kids. And the economy. And now that I think about, global warming, the collapse of the dollar, nuclear arms proliferation, children starving, lines of people at McDonalds.” Apparently this was the problem with my swimming. I was not concentrating at all on my stroke and body position. Now all I think about is where each body part is and how I flow through the water. I am immensely present when I swim now, and I feel like a fish. Which brings me to the topic: being present. I hate when people tell me to be present. Sounds so new age. Of course I am present, here I am. However, this swim instructor showed me that while I think I am present, I really am not. Our minds have an incredible ability to take us away, and when our minds are away, our body’s can get up to mischief. To learn to eat a new way, or learn a new exercise, being present is immensely important. I love to listen to wine snobs describe a wine. It is tangy with fruit forward and a leather after taste. Seems odd but I can tell you when they are swilling the wine in their mouth, they are definitely only concentrating on the taste nuances and are therefore present. The result is that they seem to enjoy the wine far more than I do. Usually I am just thinking “this stuff is really expensive!” We usually eat very subconsciously. We seldom even notice what we have eaten, and few patients can even tell me what they had for dinner last night. We eat in front of the TV, we eat while talking with friends, and we grab food on the run. We seldom stop to truly taste the food, and we never listen to our body’s reaction to the meal. As a result, we tend to over eat and feel sick, yet never really feel satisfied since we never took the time to enjoy the meal. Worse yet while eating we are certainly thinking, and usually our thoughts are not so comforting. We worry by nature, and our thoughts bring stress. “I really shouldn’t eat this, I am going to gain weight.” “I have to hurry I have so much work to do.” “Did I leave the gas burner on at home?” These stressful thoughts have physiologic reactions in our bodies. This can bring on increased eating for comfort rather than eating for need. I always suggest that my patients stop and take a moment before they eat: say grace or at least contemplate the origin of the food they are about to eat. I suggest asking yourself if this food was made with love, or processed by a lab. I want people to approach each bite as a wine expert approaches each sip. Chew slowly, feel the texture and have the food hit all of the taste buds. Put down the fork and enjoy the sensation of chewing and appreciating the tastes nature has placed in your food. Listen to your body’s response to the bite and how you feel as the meal progresses. This mindful eating leads to a more satisfying meal with less tendency to overeat and less tendency to want to eat the wrong foods. As with almost everything we do, if we could just stop thinking about everything else and be present and mindful with our meal, good eating habits will develop.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:36:12 +0000
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