My Iphone and Eating - A Lesson in Mindfulness

Two nights ago when my hubby was working late and I had just put my baby to bed, I came downstairs and fixed a plate for dinner. I then started eating, got my Iphone, turned on some music, checked my email, went on Facebook, and was checking a text message... and then my phone died.  My kitchen was silent. My heart skipped a beat for a minute when I thought of all the great information I was about to miss on Twitter; and then I realized that I was WAY too plugged in. I had spent an hour cooking (granted, half of that was watching it simmer) my favorite veggie soup, only to not taste it as I shoveled it in reading status updates like, "I just went to target!" It was a reality check for me. Chill out and focus on my food. I opened a window and tried to mindfully eat and focus on the present moment. It’s  difficult to do, but it reaps major rewards when you get the knack of it.

When we eat mindLESSly, we tend to overeat, emotionally eat, and gain weight. 

We are so electronically plugged in our society - multi-tasking is a no brainer for most – especially parents. 

What is mindfulness? 

To be mindful, means to pay attention - on purpose - to the present moment - non-judgmentally. It is a powerful technique in calming down anxious, busy minds. It brings us into the present moment - so we can fully experience it, and not let it pass by so quickly. 

 Here's a short video from Jon Kabat-Zinn - bestselling author and the founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. 

Going back to my busy eating moment the other day, let's focus for a moment on mindful eating. 

What is mindful eating?

According to Susan Albers, Mindful eating is not a diet. There are no menus or recipes. It is being more aware of your eating habits, the sensations you experience when you eat, and the thoughts and emotions that you have about food. It is more about how you eat than what you eat. 

Time to check in with yourself for a moment –

Do you…

·        Find that you often overeat well past feeling full?

·        Not remember what your meal just tasted like?

·        Graze on food without really tasting it?

·        Skip meals – not paying attention to your hunger signals?

·        Emotionally eat when you are stressed, anxious, bored or tired?

If you do any of these, learning easy and quick mindfulness techniques could be a powerful tool towards better health.

Challenge: Try mindful eating at dinner tonight.

1.     Turn off the t.v.

2.     Turn off music

3.     Put your cell phone, Ipad, computer away.

4.     Notice how the food smells.

5.     Take a bite of your food and don’t say anything. Close your eyes if you need help focusing. Notice how the food tastes.

6.     Chew at least 20 times.

7.     Swallow and notice.

8.     Repeat.

This sounds simple. It’s harder to do than you think. You may not be able to do it more than a few times, and that’s fine. It gets easier with time.

Your food will taste differently and you will possibly, over time, feel more relaxed and improve your relationship with food. It will help calm your mind and bring you into the present moment - because, really, that's all we have. 

Try it and please let me know how it goes for you!

-         Meghan