There’s ALOT of talk in blogosphere and the world of “intuitive eating” and even dieting about “mindful eating,” but how do we become more “mindful” in the first place? The first step always starts with awareness.
This is worse than texting and driving (for your health)
1 in 5 drivers confess to surfing the web while driving.
Another 1 in 4—involved in a car crash—were texting at the time.
And a staggering 77% of teens say they find it easy to text while driving.
The bottom line? Texting is not good…for anyone on the road.
This, we know.
And, yet, it still happens.
However, while we universally acknowledge texting and driving do not go hand-in-hand well…Something no one is really talking about is the combination of texting (and web-surfing and TV watching and other distractions) + food (i.e. meal times).
Ever wondered why the tub of popcorn at the movie theater is the size of a big bowl in your home kitchen?
People will eat…it all.
Distraction of the screen + bottomless popcorn = More money in selling bigger sizes (of everything) at the theater concession stand.
Or have you ever eaten lunch at your desk—working through lunch—only to turn reach down to your tupperware with your fork, and realize your whole salad is gone—poof!?
#ithappens
Mindless eating. It happens when, as busyness and screens and distractions would have it, we become disconnected with our bodies and our food.
It happens when, instead of tasting our food, chewing our food or checking in with our hunger and fullness, our minds run 90-miles=per-hour, focusing on everything else but our food.
The problem? (after all, wouldn’t thinking about our food less actually be liberating?)
Stress.
When we don’t chew our food. Breathe before meals. Slow down. Taste. Savor….we run the risk of stuffing that food down the hatch and losing touch with reality (our bodies and ourselves).
Enter: Health Hazard 101
The gut is the gateway to our health and when we eat our meals—distracted, disengaged, stressed, bored—we give our digestive tract a run for its money.
Constipated?
Bloated?
Not sure why your poop schedule is off?
Gassy?
More tired than usual?
Ideal digestion occurs in a parasympathtic state (i.e. “rest and digest”) and when we throw things off by making food our #2 priority—and our screens #1—we forget a little bit about that process of eating.
The bottom line?
Rest. Chew. Pause. Taste. Engage (in your meal and fellowship). And…feel the difference.
Repeat.