I have a question. Where do you eat?
On a couch when you are watching movies?
In the car when you go to work?
On a bench in a park when you are talking with friends?
I was used to eating in those places. I was actually not enjoying the food. I mean I didn’t taste the food I was eating. I wasn’t focusing on the food at all.
I didn’t realize that until I started to plan to eat at a dining table.
Not only I plan what I eat, but also plan where I eat.
When I eat, I always sit on a chair and focus on my meal.
I used to have some morning snack on the way to work. A sign of convenience store was the sigh for me to buy food. I had coffee and cookies in the car.
Now convenience stores are just the places to pass by. I don’t go there to buy snacks anymore.
Also, I always made popcorn while watching movies.
I ate sugary dessert when I was meeting my friends.
Those were the signs for me to eat, too.
Susan Peirce Thompson PHD doesn’t eat anything until she gets to the table. She doesn’t put any food in her mouth even while cooking. She says No BLT. No Bites, No Licks, No Tastes.
People usually make excuses to put extra food in their mouth. That BLT is the perfect opportunity for our tricky brain to make us overeat.
My rules are not that strict. I taste my food while cooking, but I try not to overeat the food. I know BLT is dangerous. When I am very hungry, I don’t do BLT.
Anyway, it is so much better to sit and eat, because I can taste the food better, smell it more wonderfully, look at it more excitingly and feel like my food is nourishing me. I enjoy my food physically, mentally, and spiritually.
In the past, I seemed to be so busy. I always ate while I was doing something else. I was telling myself I was the person who did not have time to sit and eat. My mind was constantly messed up and always thinking about food.
Recently, I am more peaceful.
My working schedule is exactly the same, but I stopped saying “I am busy.” Instead, I say “My mealtime is precious.”
I have more time to do constructive things. I learned that I can be happy to eat 3 delicious meals mindfully while I am sitting.
Thanks for reading.
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