ARE YOU CHEWING OR CHOWING DOWN? A MORE MINDFUL APPROACH TO EATING...
I found myself eating out of the refrigerator. I would say it was last week but it was more like yesterday. I caught myself and moved to the kitchen counter...where I caught myself again. And the thought hit me, albeit a not so not novel one for for myself and probably others - what if I would sit down at the table and consider the possibility of enjoying my food rather than inhaling it before getting back to work?
Most days I will take breaks to enjoy what I’m eating. And, being totally transparent, I have also mastered the art of eating on the run. I’m not proud of this skill. It wouldn’t even serve me if I decided to enter the Coney Island hot dog eating contest. But it does serve a particular purpose. It fulfills the fight or flight, expectation, on a time-frame, must complete something or risk possible mental or emotional death requirement that I placed upon myself.
Not how I really want to live my life. Unless moment to moment survival is my only criteria.
So here’s a list of things which I’m definitely going to do more of each day as I move further from a relationship with food, to my relationship to food. You may find this helpful. So, when I say “you” below, just know WE are in this together.
1. Eat sitting down. Not standing. Not leaning. Not on the couch or in your bed. At a table. In a chair. Not surrounded by papers, notebooks, computers, unpaid bills — just you and what you’re eating.
2. Focus on eating. This isn’t a time to read or scream at the news on the TV. The TED Talk also needs to wait as does the call to whoever you forgot to call back.
3. Prepare your meal or at least parts of it when you can. Avoid eating out of a carry-out box if possible. A quarter sheet of a paper towel is also not a plate. Naturally, depending upon where you work you can make certain modifications. Just make sure you keep the main meal the main thing.
4. Be grateful for your meal! This may include blessing it, thanking it, or taking a moment to be appreciative for how it ultimately found its way to your plate. Thank your body for it’s ability to turn what your eating into fuel and how it blesses your cells and organs. This doesn’t work so well with donuts but the person who made them is grateful to be employed.
5. Eat with other people. Your canine or feline animals are cool, and when you can, if you can, share a meal with family, friends, co-workers, or make a new friend at a common table eating establishment. Studies show that there is power in relationships, short and long term when families eat together and share their days with each other.
6. Eat mindfully. Know that you’re hungry rather than reacting to uncomfortable thoughts and emotions. Chewing your food, slowly, savoring your foods also assists in your digestion and can encourage you to deal more constructively with anything that might be upsetting to you.
7. Drink your ketones, REBOOT monthly, and listen to your body! This isn’t a pitch. This is a reality. Cravings and once huge appetites shrink. You become more mindful of what, and how much you’re putting in your body based on what it needs verses what you think you want to consume. I would say without a doubt my ability to release twenty-five pounds of fat and keep it off for nearly 4 years (unheard of for me prior to drinkable ketones) is directly related to my twice a day ketone supplementation. There’s also truly nothing better than the monthly REBOOT to be your best accountability partner on this life journey.
If you have other ideas, please leave them in the comments below for all of us to appreciate and implement. I’m forever grateful for this community and the way we get to support each other!
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