Mindful Eating

I was first introduced to Mindful Eating as a holistic concept on a trip to the Sadhguru Isha Foundation outside of Coimbatore. While I am not a follower and do not endorse any individual following, I do believe in keeping my eyes open and taking the best of whatever is around me.

Mindful eating is a concept wherein you are forced to have a better relationship with food. It does not dictate what you should eat (that’s my job), rather how you eat. There are two main directives given. The first one being: A meal is to be given your entire attention. No multitasking over a meal. All food that you intend on eating must be on your plate before you eat it, and once you begin your meal, you may not serve yourself anymore food. 

The second one: Once all your food has been served, look at your food and think about it for a short amount of time before taking your first bite. Regardless of how hungry you are. 15-30 seconds should be ideal. This forces you to acknowledge exactly what you are putting in your body and over time allows you to question what you want to put in your body. 

I wholeheartedly accept that these practices are not easily integrated into the modern corporate life. Although I do believe we can definitely take a few pointers. Perhaps following this for breakfast and dinner is more viable when we tend to have more time to focus on food, if not for every single meal and snack through the day. The remainder times maybe give our food a 3-5 second acknowledgement before eating. 

I urge you to do this since it forces the mind to question what we are eating and why we are eating it. Every meal must have a purpose. Be it the most basic purpose of nourishment or be it in celebration or joy. Then think for yourself which reasons are acceptable for a meal and which are not. In my own experience, boredom and sorrow are two of the worst reasons to be eating. They sour your relationship with food and enable a negative feedback loop which can be painstakingly difficult to break out of.