"And we forgot the taste of bread, the sound of trees, the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name. My Precious."
– Golem, The Return of the King
Yesterday, I posted about retraining your taste buds in order to more enjoy a healthier diet. Along with those tips, you could also begin to eat or drink mindfully. This helps you slow down while eating, enjoy your food more and get some stress-relieving meditation time in. Eating mindfully is another way to meditate, and a lot more fun (I think) than trying to adjust my stubborn limbs into a lotus position. It is time to remember the taste of bread.
Pay Attention
Try to eat mindfully for good health as many times as you can, even if this takes more time for breakfast and dinner. Often, you don’t have much time for lunch and have to cram down as many calories as you can in order to finish your work shift, or you could decide to have a power nap. When you eat mindfully, you don’t want to be rushed. Do it when you can.
All eating mindfully for good health entails is that you pretty much only pay attention to what is in your mouth. It’s just ten minutes (or however long it takes) of you, the food and sitting. Take small bites. Chew your food. Savor every morsel. Just live in the moment of eating.
And, if you find thoughts about other things interfering with your eating mediation (and you will), then just gently try to push them out of your mind. "Oh, a thought. I’m eating now. Come back later. Good bye." You don’t have to clear your plate. Stop eating when you feel comfortably full, but not bloated.
A Slice of Bread
Most of us just gobble our food down so we can get to the desserts. If you eat faster, you often wind up eating more than your stomach can comfortably hold, so that gets turned to fat. Your food isn’t chewed well enough and so your body can’t extract all of the nutrition from it. Horse trainers stick large rocks in the feed buckets of horses who bolt their food too fast — I don’t quite recommend this for people, especially if you have wonky teeth.
So let’s start with just a slice of plain bread. Don’t put anything on it. Just get the slice of bread and enjoy. Enjoy the feel of it in your hand. Enjoy the smell. Enjoy the textures of the bread stroking your lips and caressing the insides of your mouth. Chew in small bites. You might find the bread has a lot more flavor than you expected. Try this same practice of eating mindfully with a cup of tea, one Hershey’s kiss (!) or a bowl of soup. When you can, expand the practice to breakfast and dinner.
Eating mindfully helps your health, but it also helps you appreciate your food more. It is also a good time to relax from your hectic day. Bon appetit.
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