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I wrote an article about mindful eating a little while back, that I found myself contemplating today. Mindful eating is all about awareness, slowing down, enjoying food, appreciating its origins, and paying attention to one’s body. That may sound like a lot of work, but in practice, it is actually incredibly natural and grounding.
In our perpetual rush caused by work, social and family obligations, we often sacrifice mealtime. That can be in the form of completely skipping the meal or simply wolfing it down. While these actions may save some time, there are many negative consequences attached. For one thing, in doing so, we rob ourselves of the joy of eating and the sense of wellbeing that comes with a nourishing meal. Secondly, such a careless and meaningless approach to food inevitably leads to weight gain. In missing out on the psychological nourishment that should come with food, it is no wonder that we keep reaching for more. In fact, with today’s alarming rates of obesity and overweight, it appears we are reaching for far more than what we need to be happy and healthy.
What sparked my thoughts today was an unusual hunger pang around 11am. Usually, I have lunch around 1pm and will eat while responding to personal emails, reading, or catching up on the news. This is probably a story many of you know well. My initial reaction was to ignore the urge to eat and wait until my usual lunchtime, but then it hit me that I was such a hypocrite.
So today at 11:35, I heated up some leftover Orange and Ginger Scented Bulgar, stir fried some veggies, and then took 30 minutes to eat lunch and truly appreciate every bite. Sitting Indian style on my terrace over looking Dubai creek, I felt an incredible sense of calm and happiness as I thoroughly chewed and rolled the food around in my mouth and felt it warm my belly. To be honest, I don’t think I missed out on any productivity and was probably more productive this afternoon than usual.
The message of the day is enjoy your food and listen to your body. When you are hungry, reward yourself with something nutritious and when you aren’t hungry, stop eating. If you have never given your utter and complete attention to a meal, without any distractions, you are most definitely missing out. I for one will be doing this more often.
Namaste friends.
In our perpetual rush caused by work, social and family obligations, we often sacrifice mealtime. That can be in the form of completely skipping the meal or simply wolfing it down. While these actions may save some time, there are many negative consequences attached. For one thing, in doing so, we rob ourselves of the joy of eating and the sense of wellbeing that comes with a nourishing meal. Secondly, such a careless and meaningless approach to food inevitably leads to weight gain. In missing out on the psychological nourishment that should come with food, it is no wonder that we keep reaching for more. In fact, with today’s alarming rates of obesity and overweight, it appears we are reaching for far more than what we need to be happy and healthy.
What sparked my thoughts today was an unusual hunger pang around 11am. Usually, I have lunch around 1pm and will eat while responding to personal emails, reading, or catching up on the news. This is probably a story many of you know well. My initial reaction was to ignore the urge to eat and wait until my usual lunchtime, but then it hit me that I was such a hypocrite.
So today at 11:35, I heated up some leftover Orange and Ginger Scented Bulgar, stir fried some veggies, and then took 30 minutes to eat lunch and truly appreciate every bite. Sitting Indian style on my terrace over looking Dubai creek, I felt an incredible sense of calm and happiness as I thoroughly chewed and rolled the food around in my mouth and felt it warm my belly. To be honest, I don’t think I missed out on any productivity and was probably more productive this afternoon than usual.
The message of the day is enjoy your food and listen to your body. When you are hungry, reward yourself with something nutritious and when you aren’t hungry, stop eating. If you have never given your utter and complete attention to a meal, without any distractions, you are most definitely missing out. I for one will be doing this more often.
Namaste friends.