2621: How to Eat Mindfully and Actually Enjoy Your Food by Tina Williamson with Tiny Buddha

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[00:01:11] by Tina Williamson with tinybuddha.com. And I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator. Hey there, happy Saturday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or OHD where I act as your

[00:01:24] narrator of popular health and fitness blogs and always with a bit of my commentary at the end. Now don't forget we have a bunch of shows covering different topics. Just search for

[00:01:34] Optimal Living Daily in any podcast app to find them. But with that, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life. How to Eat Mindfully and Actually Enjoy Your Food by Tina Williamson with tinybuddha.com. Quote, Smile, breathe and go slowly. Tick not hon. It's Sunday night.

[00:02:02] A steaming plate of spaghetti is set in front of me. Salivating with wide eyes, I grab my fork and prepare to dive in. We know how this will end. I will say to my partner while patting my tummy

[00:02:14] and undoing my top button, tomorrow we will start our healthy eating plans. The scene raises a number of questions. Why can't I resist the urge to inhale my meal like an out-of-control Scooby-Doo

[00:02:26] binging on Scooby snacks? Even when my body is screaming, enough, you're killing me, I will still reach for another donut. Secondly, when did we become so unconscious that my Mandarin buffet gorge from the night before is a mere fog-like hangover? We are just plain food obsessed.

[00:02:46] You don't have to look far to prove this obsession. Walk down any fast food line street in any North American town and observe the unprecedented obesity. Look to our health crisis. Not only are millions of Americans suffering from eating disorders, but the

[00:03:01] hospital hallways are lined with people with heart disease, cancer, and an epidemic influx of diabetes. Look to our media. I shudder every time I hear someone say they love the show Man

[00:03:12] vs. Food. Have you ever been to a factory farm? In order to feed our gluttonous ways, factory farms are piling millions more animals into production spaces, causing harm to them, the environment, and humans. In short, we have a lot of sick people and a lot of animals suffering.

[00:03:30] Why is something we deem so pleasurable causing so much harm? We could debate many arguments as to why we have developed unhealthy food relationships, reasons such as two working families, fast food biggie sizes, lack of exercise, technology, and inexpensive junk food.

[00:03:48] But at the root of the problem is that in our fast-paced society, we have forgotten how to slow down and eat mindfully. When we regain consciousness and reconnect to Mother Earth, the ugly side effects of our food obsession inevitably dissipate. My very wise Buddhist

[00:04:05] teacher recently gave us a challenging assignment. The intention was to discover that everyday mundane tasks such as eating or washing the dishes don't have to be mundane at all. Our first challenge? Practice mindful eating. The results must surprise you. 5 steps to mindful eating 1. Examine your emotions

[00:04:28] It's nearing bedtime. The house is quiet and dark, my agitated mind illuminated by the dim fridge light. What am I feeling? Boredom? Anxiety? Anger? Sadness? Am I really hungry? After all, I did have dinner a mere 3 hours ago. The truth is my partner and I had an argument.

[00:04:49] I'm in need of comfort and my mind is fixated on the chocolate peanut butter ice cream in the freezer. But after 3 months of nightly indulgence and 2 inches added to my waistline, I've only compounded my frustrations, not abolished them. This is a perfect example of eating by emotion.

[00:05:08] Observing your mind makes it easier to recognize unhealthy eating patterns and make changes. Before you steal from the cookie jar, always ask yourself, does my body need nourishment or am I feeding my emotions? 2. Find a food you love and set the stage for success

[00:05:26] A natural, colorful fruit is always a good first choice. An apple was my first. Now, turn off all media, put your iPhone away and no talking. It might be hard at first to bottle your

[00:05:39] urges for idle chatter but be still, breathe deeply and fight against it. Start with 10 minutes. 3. Express gratitude Resist the urge to bite into your apple. Take a moment to consider all the kindness that went into growing this apple. This may at first

[00:05:59] sound absurd but this practice develops your own loving kindness and gratitude. Think about the mother who raised the farmer who planted the apple tree. Think about the miraculous ecosystem. Consider the apple pickers, the supermarket workers. Honestly, we could go on forever

[00:06:16] and what you would ultimately discover is that the kindness of the entire universe is in this apple. Now that's some food for thought but don't worry if you're not there yet. Maybe just start by expressing gratitude that you are able to eat in peace and comfort. Say a

[00:06:33] silent thanks. I've noticed that expressing gratitude centers me in the present moment, negative emotions dissipate and it reminds me not to take things for granted. 4. Savor the flavor While this may seem like an eternity with your bowl of sweet raspberries on

[00:06:50] the counter taunting you but in reality, it's only a mere minute or two. Still, if you can, hold off long enough to closely observe your food. Feel the coolness of the apple, examine the deep red color, smell the sweetness, allow your senses to explode.

[00:07:07] Okay, now we're ready. Slowly take a juicy bite, roll the apple in your mouth, savor the sourness, play with the texture and notice the intensity. Before you take another bite, chew slowly and completely before swallowing. Eat the entire

[00:07:24] apple this way, slowly, silently, mindfully. Unbeknownst to my co-workers, the Monday midday apple break in my cubicle has suddenly turned into a powerful experience. After practicing mindful eating, I'm also fascinated to realize that I don't even enjoy the tasteless processed

[00:07:42] morning granola bar that I scarfed down in the car. Mindful eating naturally results in a love of healthy foods. It's inevitable. And 5. Build the mindful eating habit We live in a busy world and there will always be days when we need to wolf down a slice of pizza

[00:08:00] on our lunch break but consider practicing this technique once a week and then once a day. Eventually, it will just become a habit. You'll become present. However, you should be aware there

[00:08:12] are side effects of mindful eating. The fine print reads, you may develop a love of natural foods, feelings of satisfaction, a sudden desire to be active, an ability to recognize your body's nourishment needs, weight loss, mood control, more energy, glowing skin, disease prevention,

[00:08:32] control over your emotions, living in the present moment and quieting the mind. Imagine the change we can invoke throughout the world if everyone practiced mindful eating. It's not too late to teach our children new habits. The positive transformation to our healthcare

[00:08:48] system, our own and our children's health and wellness and the entire animal kingdom is exciting and within grasp. We don't have to be food obsessed. Let's break the cycle.

[00:08:59] Doesn't it make you want to grab a ripe apple and give it a try? Go on. I'm about to enjoy an intense blueberry experience myself. You just listened to the post titled, How to Eat Mindfully and Actually

[00:09:15] Enjoy Your Food by Tina Williamson with tinybuddha.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. When it comes to weight management or weight loss, we may think mindful eating is not as effective as say going on a diet for weight loss.

[00:09:32] But researchers have conducted multiple studies looking at whether mindful eating can help with weight loss and guess what? It's been found that mindful eating is effective for weight loss and leads to similar results when compared to following a low calorie diet.

[00:09:48] How is that possible? Well, just like today's author Tina said, mindful eating slows down the eating process. It may make us more aware of our emotional eating or stress eating habits. We are also more likely to recognize when we've consumed enough food so that we stop eating

[00:10:06] when we feel satisfied and before we overeat and start to feel full. And we may tend to gravitate towards more nutritious foods. And since mindful eating doesn't force us to eliminate any foods like traditional diets do, it may be more sustainable over the long term. So again, as

[00:10:25] Tina said in today's post, just give it a try. You might actually find you really enjoy it. All right, that'll do it for today. I hope you have a great weekend. And of course, I'll see you back here tomorrow where optimal life awaits.