Photo by Lara604 on Flickr
Eating Too Fast
Hungry again? People zipping through the day often find themselves hungry and thinking “but I just ate an hour ago!” If you find this happens to you or if you cannot even remember what or when you ate perhaps you are eating too fast. It seems eating fast has become a natural part of our hurried lives. Yet when we look closely it is apparent this speed may be only a part of a detrimental way of living; mindlessly.
If our minds cannot remember the foods we just ingested I venture to say that our taste buds did not have a chance to catch the experience either. Eating is for nourishment to be sure and part of being nourished is experiencing taste. Without the taste buds engaged the satisfaction in the meal is completely missed and more food is needed (at the same meal or soon after) to continue to meet this need for satisfaction.
The Slow Down Eating Cure
The wonderful thing about slowing down your eating is that it really doesn’t end up taking more time out of your day as you have satisfaction the first time around and are not nagged every hour for something more. While there are many ways to begin noticing the speed at which you eat and the mindset you are in, my favorite is the raisin-eating exercise. Simple and to the point so why not give it a try!
Raisin-Eating Exercise
- Set out on a plate 3 raisins
- Get comfortable and turn off your phone
- See the raisin -really see it before you eat it
- Smell the raisin
- As you begin to eat each one notice your body working to move the raisin to your lips
- Proceed to eat the 3 raisins as if for the first time, slowly
- Notice your speed, level of relaxation, any feelings or thoughts arising
- Journal or mentally note these thoughts, feelings and conditions
Some ideas and thoughts to consider
- Where did these raisins come from
- How many hands did they have to pass through to arrive on your plate
- What did each one taste like
- How did it feel in your mouth
- Were you in a hurry to swallow
- Desiring the 2nd raisin with the 1st still in your mouth
- Was the raisin how you remembered it to be
This is a powerful exercise to bring our awareness to what we are actually doing when we are doing it. With practice this awareness can be brought to all our meals and so much more joy, satisfaction and nourishment will be available to us.
Bon Appetit!
I’d love to hear your experiences with your 3 raisins, feel free to comment below.
Nourishing by Heart 