September 2024

Mindful Eating

• An Herbalist’s Perspective on What Makes a Good Diet
• Slowing Down
• What Are You Craving?
• Alchemy In The Kitchen

In my clinical training, my teacher, Thomas Easley, shared a story about a client he had years ago. The client, who was severely overweight, came to him with diabetes and heart disease. As part of the intake meeting, Thomas asked about his lifestyle; he said he was a traveling sales agent. Thomas followed to ask what he was having for lunch, and the client said it was mainly McDonald’s and that he would pick up his meals in the drive-through window and eat them in his car. Rather than lecture the client on the benefits of a healthy diet, Thomas recommended one small change: instead of eating in your car, go into the restaurant, order your happy meal, and sit by a table to eat it.

Two years later, when Thomas was standing in line for an ATM, a man approached him. Thomas didn’t recognize him at first, but the man reminded him of who he was: the traveling sales agent. He told Thomas that when he started to sit by a table having his “happy meal,” he suddenly had an epiphany. The food he was eating tasted like sh**t, so he stopped eating fast food and started to bring his lunch to work. He found a place to sit by a table and enjoy his meals. The client lost more than 100 lbs and reversed his diabetes and heart disease, all by mindful eating.

Mindful Eating – Slowing Down

Don’t force it; Embrace it

Eating and breathing are two activities where we take in the outside world. The hurried mindset influences the way we eat and breathe. Most people’s breath is shallow and fast, and they have a habit of shoveling food into their mouth before the last bite is fully chewed and swallowed.

Any yoga teacher will tell you that your breath is the door to your mind. Shallow, fast breathing leads to a stressful mind. At the same time, taking time to sit with your breath and feel the natural wave of inhaling and exhaling sends a message to your mind: you are safe!

In no way do I suggest that you change your natural breath. Instead, I suggest that you trust your body to know how to breathe and mindfully observe what is already there without needing to change your breath in any way.

Observing your breath allows the body to return to its natural rhythm. Stress levels are automatically reduced when your body is back at its natural ebb and flow.

Mindful eating

What is true for your breath is also true for what and how you eat. When you eat fast or on the go, you are not mindful of how the food feels in your body.

I don’t believe that there is one diet that fits all. Rather, if you slow down, chew on your food, and tune in to the sensation that the food elicits in your body when you eat and following a meal, you will know what foods are healthy for you.

To practice mindful eating, you will need to let go of the rational mind and the stories it feeds you, with pan intended, and start trusting your enteric nervous system, that bundle of nerves in the solar plexus that communicates what we sometimes call our gut feelings.

Tips for mindful eating:

Avoid distractions: – Commit to eating all your meals while sitting by a table and avoid distractions such as electronics.

Add ceremonies – Ceremonies are a profound way to help you come into the present moment and create an atmosphere of peace. I like lighting a candle, saying a blessing, or reading a poem.

Create beauty – Arrange food on your plate in an aesthetic way. Nutrition enters the body through all the senses, including our eyes, and feeds us body and soul.

Pause to smell – The senses of taste and smell are closely connected. The smell of food enhances its flavor. If something smells foul, it means that the food might be toxic to the body. Before you dive in, take the time to enjoy the aromas.

Chew well – The breaking down of foods in the mouth is an important part of digestion. Let yourself fully enjoy the texture and flavor of the food you eat. Incomplete chewing reduces digestion efficiency. Chewing your food is not a chore you should try to practice but rather part of a mindset of slowing down and experiencing the present in its richness.

Take a breath—While chewing, make it a habit to put down your silverware and focus on what is presently in your mouth rather than your next bite.

Charles Eisentein writes:

“We overeat not because we enjoy food too much but because we do not enjoy it enough!”

 

Eating is a whole-body experience. When you eat, you nourish the physical body through macro and micronutrients, but you also nourish the soul through the aesthetic, aroma, and flavor of the food. When your soul becomes malnourished because you don’t fully engage with the foods on your plate, you will require larger portions with stronger flavors to satiate your hunger.