food is medicine: consume as such

You reach across the table to grab a piece of bread. You pop it into your mouth as you gaze at the hummus, anticipating your next swoop. Before the hummus hits the bread, you are already looking at the far left of the table, where the cucumber and tomato salad sits. I’ll get that next, you think.

With so much simultaneous stimuli in our everyday experience, it is easy to carry over that multi-tasking approach to every meal.
Yet every meal is a massive opportunity to slow down and notice what you are doing one thing at a time.

I have recently adopted a slow eating approach (slower than before), and it’s benefits are transcending into all aspects of my existence. Today I will share some of my fitlosophy on slow eating and why you may consider adopting a practice of your own.

First, I’ll let you know what slow eating is not.

Slow eating is not:

❌ restrictive eating

❌ counting calories

❌ must-have eating rituals

❌ fearful consumption

❌ following an elimination diet

Rather, slow eating absolutely is:

✅ full sensory enjoyment of food

✅ curiously observing eating behaviors

✅ loosely-held eating rituals

✅ grateful consumption

✅ your bioindividually-inclusive diet

As the title suggests, food is medicine and we need to treat it as such.

Slow eating is a way to go from 2x speed to 0.5 speed during a meal so you may really be in touch with what is hitting your tongue and entering your precious system.

When you eat “everything all at once,” like in the opening scene here, you can notice no one thing fully.

When you eat one thing at a time and notice—almost in slow motion, the chemistry taking place inside of you, you’d be amazed at how much wildly more adept you become at choosing your own diet.

You could continue to go the route of trying on the latest yahoo! “best diet for longevity,” your favorite Instagrammer’s “day of eating,” or even harken back to the ancient wisdom of a yogi’s diet, for example, but it still might not be a healthy fit for you.

This is why I suggest you give yourself the simple gift of slowing down to notice what you eat, how it makes you feel while you eat it, and how you feel after you eat it. Notice not judge. Notice not analyze. Notice not change.

How can you begin a slow eating approach? Here’s a simple 5-step guide.

1. Slow Down:
   There is no precise pace to eat at, simply eat with more ease and less of a rush. Remind yourself you are there to enjoy and be present.

2. Focus On The Experience:

   Tune into your senses. What do you smell? taste? feel? see? hear?

3. Be One With Your Body:

   Does that bite make your stomach bubble with joy? Burp with distaste? Do you feel yourself settling into the nourishment experience or getting frazzled? These are just two examples, but remember not to predict how you will feel; be with the experience your body is having. This is a profound breakthrough strategy for anyone who has faced food phobias or sensitivities, as old memories and old alarm systems gone awry may reflexively tell you to brace for a bad experience.

4. Indulge The Impermanence:

   Everything is temporary. Do you hear Buddha speaking into your ear? He is right (gender pronouns flexible, y’all). The tickle of that pear on your tongue will come and go in a flash and splash. The robust. superhero strength you feel after finishing a finger-licking (kiss your fingers and release the deliciousness into the sky) tasty chili will come and go by the next day. The point is not to cling to the joys in the eating experience, rather to appreciatively lean into each and every bite, knowing it is a momentary gift! You may find that this increases your sense of satisfaction during every meal.

5. Mark The Moment:

   It can be nice to have a small tradition you start and/or finish each meal with. Perhaps a few deep breaths. Perhaps with a moment of internal prayer. Perhaps with a scanning of the abundance before you. What the moment includes is far less significant than you noticing that you are shifting into a new experience.

Start with one meal and see if slow eating serves your health and wellness in any way. Continue to explore it if so.

With Abundant Heart,
Coach Abby