Well, now that I have your attention, this post is not about your local fast food establishment but Mindeful Eating. The holidays with all the hyperactivity of parties, shopping and family gatherings offer us the perfect opportunity to practice awareness.
I must confess that when it comes to food I am of the ''shoveler" species. I gobble my food in five minutes flat without pause or even a small sprinkle of polite table conversation - When it comes to eating... "get out of my way".
This week I decided it was time for a special project and strengthen those awareness muscles! I took my little experiment on the road and ate at few local restaurants and decided to practice Mindful Eating.
The meal - I don't think that describing the meal will lead to some grateful insight but if you must know it was meatloaf (yes I know but you were a vegetarian! more on that later), macaroni and cheese and creamy spinach. I started off the by taking some time off and being grateful of the meal itself. Specifically, being grateful on the amount of energy that it took to grow, harvest, pick, crate, travel, prepare and serve this meal. I think that this is an important step, 1) it acknowledges the life energy that goes into what we eat, and 2) it reminds us how lucky we are to be able to enjoy and appreciate this food and that there are others who are less fortunate then we are. I took a small bite at the time, chewed each bite for few minutes, paused in between bites, and then made some mental observations:
- The food tasted richer and seemed to have more of a complex flavor compared to my usual 'shovel' method. I took care and attention not to mix the food but eat a small bit of each at the time.
- Between bites and during the act of "eating" I felt more at peace and seemed to be more relaxed then usual.
- About a 1/3 of the way I was way full, and I noticed that I was drinking more water in between bites.
- At the end of the meal I felt at peace and actually good just by practicing awareness while eating. This is compared to my usual "hit and run" style of meal consumption that often leads me craving chocolate and a donut chaser.
