In today’s society with the obesity levels at an all-time high and the pressures of social media telling us to skinny people forget to enjoy their food. Everyone wants to call themselves foodies because that is the “cool” thing to do, but they just eat certain foods that are popular right now. For example, how many gym goers actually look forward to and crave their protein shakes? Or how many people go to In-N-Out for the food without taking a picture to prove they were there? Now, I’m not trying to hate on the people that do this because if doing that stuff helps them live their best life then they should do it, but to me I choose to enjoy food, maintain a weight that I like, and feel good all at the same time. One of the keys to this is mindful eating.
In the video, he talks about how people overeat, eat without enjoying their food, eat unconsciously and with distractions. When you are not focused on your food and what you are eating you tend to overeat, especially if you are emotional. Have you ever been so crazy hungry that you scarfed down your whole meal as fast as you could and then continued to eat until it hurt, or just not realized you overate until after all of the food was gone? It’s painful, isn’t it? I hate that feeling and it usually makes me not want to eat for the rest of the day. This is where mindful eating comes into play.
In the video he offers four steps to eat mindfully. The first step is to observe what you are about to eat. Then the second step is to taste what you are eating. To do this you want to try to identify the flavors you are tasting. The third step is to bite. This means to chew the food and enjoy what it in your mouth. Taking the time to chew the food will also help your body to digest the food easier since it will be in smaller pieces rather than when you eat as fast as you can and forget to chew as much. The final step is to take a chill pill. This means taking the time to have a meal and relax while eating it, but if you don’t have the time still make an effort to sit down and focus on eating your food.
Mindful eating all comes back to slowing yourself down and focusing your attention on what you are eating. This process is based off of the Buddhist concept of practicing mindfulness, but many cultures around the world practice a similar thing to mindful eating. For example, consider the French people. Everyone has always wondered how the French people stay so skinny while eating bread and cheese all day, until the book called, “French Woman Don’t Get Fat” by Mireille Guiliano came out. In the book, she talks about how one of the ways that French people stay skinny is they take the time to enjoy their meals, which is what mindful eating is all about!
Although mindful eating might not get you exactly where you want to be with your fitness goals, I believe it can help you become a foodie. Being a foodie is all about enjoying your food and so is mindfulness! Anyways, I hope the video gave you some food for thought and that you try eating mindfully for your next meal. Comment below about your experiences with mindful eating!
Foodie 101 