THE ART OF MINDFUL EATING
"Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale." - Elsa Schiaparelli
In the health and wellness industry, food is often positioned as a temptress. We’re supposed to act standoffish to our food; eating only when it serves a purpose. Not enjoying it too much, not going up for seconds, not giving into our body’s cues for hunger.
Eating is an art. Food is part of life. It’s part of community, growth, and happiness.
Growing up as a teen in the 2000s, size zero catwalk models were the body goals all my peers and I aspired for. For years I demonized pasta, bread, cakes, chocolate, juice – the list goes on.
As I got older, this demonization of food shifted gears, but never dissipated. I became vegan, I tried gluten-free, I tried time-restricted eating.
It has only been the recent years that I’ve looked back on this and realized all these methods are under the same guise: to make food less enjoyable.
Enjoyment isn’t overconsumption
Part of becoming your healthiest and happiest self involves enjoying food. But I want to make a distinction between overconsumption for the sake of immediate gratification, and enjoying what you eat.
You’re not restricting your intake of food by opting for a chicken rice bowl instead of pizza. You’re choosing to nourish your body in the face of immediate gratification. That doesn’t mean you can’t have pizza occasionally, but it is about practicing discipline and then when you do choose to eat the pizza – you do so mindfully, truly enjoying it, without guilt.
How can you eat more mindfully?
Stop attributing moral characteristics to the foods you eat. Eating a salad doesn’t make you better than someone eating pizza, nor does eating pizza make you more “free” than the person eating the salad.
Enjoy what you eat, when you eat it. Regardless of what it is, enjoy it. Food is nourishing; that can be for the body or soul.
Food isn’t a reward or a punishment. You shouldn’t punish yourself by restricting carbs or reward yourself with late-night candy.
Listen to your body – your internal hunger and fullness cues are there for a reason. Listen to them!
Avoid engaging in conversations about food morality. E.g.“I ate so much omg I feel so bad. I can’t eat for the rest of the day.” Don’t go there!
Take your time cooking, eating, and digesting. It’s not a race. Eating is a major part of life and it’s there to be enjoyed.
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