Be Mindful Of What?
Your mind is a funny thing. It is like the steering wheel to your body, it tells us. what to do and transports us to where it should go. They always say the mind is a terrible thing to waste! Our mind can wander and wonder or it can be used to solve incredible problems. It can steer us in the right direction or the wrong direction depending on where you let it go.
We live in an incredibly busy world. It is full of choices, stress, and food. Our mind helps us in the choices that we make and that includes food and how we choose to eat that food. This is where mindful eating comes into play. So what is mindful eating? Mindful eating is thinking about what you’re eating, where you’re eating it, how it tastes looks and smells, makes you realize if you are really hungry, and puts us into the very present moment. When you choose to eat mindfully you are thinking about the food, not about all the things that are floating around in your mind or the problems of your day. Mindful eating is thinking about your food, how good it tastes, how nice it is to sit and enjoy your meal at a table and away from distractions.
One of the biggest problems that we seem to have is not slowing down enough to even enjoy our meals. Many times we eat in front of our computer. When we do this subconsciously, or in our minds, we sit at the computer we are suddenly hungry. Do you remember the story of Pavlov‘s dogs? Let me refresh your memory.
During the 1890s, Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov was looking at salivation in dogs in response to being fed when he noticed that his dogs would begin to salivate whenever he entered the room, even when he was not bringing them food.
Pavlov (1902) started from the idea that there are some things that a dog does not need to learn. For example, dogs don’t learn to salivate whenever they see food. This reflex is ‘hard-wired’ into the dog. It is an unconditioned response (i.e., a stimulus-response connection that required no learning). So he began experimenting using bells. In his experiment, Pavlov used a bell as his neutral stimulus. Whenever he gave food to his dogs, he also rang a bell. After a number of repeats of this procedure, he tried the bell on its own. The bell on its own now caused an increase in salivation. Because this response was learned (or conditioned), it is called a conditioned response.
“So what?”, you might ask. We too have conditioned responses. When we sit at the TV we see those commercials we suddenly become hungry, we salivate just like those dogs, and we march into the kitchen to find some food. We might not even be hungry but our conditioned response is to eat in front of the TV just like all of those people in the commercials. Mindful eating is being aware of all of the aspects of eating rather than impulsively eating in front of the TV even if you are not hungry. The other conditioned response is eating in front of your computer, or at your desk. You mindlessly snack on foods which are processed and through the mechanical processing entice you to even more. You’re not hungry but you can’t stop your conditioned response is to eat.
Mindful eating is very important to your health and well-being. Thinking not only about the moment that you are going to eat the food, but how you will feel after you eat the food is a part of mindful eating. Let’s take greasy food for example, how will you really feel after you eat it? You are thinking it through and making an intelligent decision, using your mind to make the right choices of food. There are simple ways to avoid mindless thinking, and turn it into mindful thinking.
First of all sit down when you eat. At a table with a plate, and a fork, spoon, and knife. Make it a place you want to sit at. Get rid of the clutter, light a candle, and make your food look appetizing. Take the time to place the food on your plate in an appealing way. Leave your cell phone in your bedroom, and don’t turn on the TV. Play some nice soft relaxing music, and enjoy that moment of peace and relaxation at your nice table with your appetizing food. Only eat at that place, this will help tell you if you are truly hungry and help you not to over eat. Pay attention to your stomach don’t let your head talk you into eating food if you are not hungry. As you were eating your food embellish all of your senses. Look how nice it is, how good it smells, and think of how good this food is for your body because you made a good choice, right? Don’t do anything else but eat and enjoy that time.
This might require some changes in your habits, but you are changing a not so good habit pre-much better one. You will be surprised at how this will help you cut down on calories and make you realize when you truly are hungry, and you will enjoy the food so much more.
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