“Earth who gave to us this food, Sun who makes it ripe and good. To you our loving thanks we give.”
– Christian Morgenstern
Nutrition doesn’t end with what we eat. How we eat is just as important as the foods we choose. How we eat impacts the type and amount of food we consume, how we digest and ultimately, how we feel.
As children, many of us were told to finish our plates in order to get dessert, or not to waste food. Maybe food was used as a reward. Of course, getting children to eat their vegetables is important, but this is the first lesson we get in ignoring our fullness and hunger cues.
Moving past childhood, we live in a society that promotes dieting, specific diets, or ways of eating for weight loss, health, etc. There’s always a new food hack coming out somewhere. Again, this teaches us to follow a nutrition formula rather than listening to what our body needs.
The focus is always on what we should or shouldn’t eat, without ever looking at how we eat or how to listen to and trust ourselves. This leads to restricting food, undereating, overeating, binging, emotional eating, eating too fast, and so on. Some of the focus should be on eating more mindfully and developing a healthy and respectful relationship with food,
Start by assessing your eating habits
For this challenge, the goal is to tune in to how you feel when you eat to reconnect your brain and your stomach.
First, get familiar with your eating habits:
- Do you eat quickly? Do you take your time to enjoy your meals?
- Do you eat while doing other things, like driving, working, or watching tv, for example?
- Do you overeat? Do you skip meals?
- Do you turn to food to soothe your emotions (emotional eating?)
- Do you stop eating when you’re full?
tips To help you with this challenge
Try some mindful eating practices. Here are some simple questions you can use for this challenge. Avoid judging yourself, and stay curious when you use these questions.
Before eating, ask yourself:
- Am I actually hungry? Or am I eating because it is time to eat? Or am I eating for any other reason?
- How is this portion for me? It is enough? Too much?
- How will this food make me feel?
While you are eating, ask yourself:
- Is my choice satisfying?
- Am I starting to feel satisfied?
- How would I feel if I took a few more bites?
- How would I feel if I stopped eating now?
After you are done eating, ask yourself:
- Do I feel satisfied? What does ‘satisfied’ feel like for me?
- How do I feel about any food left over on my plate?
15 minutes after finishing, ask yourself:
- Do I still feel satisfied with my meal?
- Did I overeat? Did I undereat?
- Do I need something sweet to finish my meal? If so, why?
reflect on your journey
How is this challenge for you? Is this something you can implement into your daily life? Does mindful eating come naturally to you? If you have or ever had an eating disorder, this may be triggering for you. If you need extra support, make sure to reach out to the appropriate person who can give you that support.