Enjoy Your Food

One afternoon, I stumbled across a very good article in Good Housekeeping. The article talked about how your more likely to over eat if you don't enjoy your food. On thinking more about that, it is exactly right! How many times have you actually sat down to a meal and ate it slowly, savoring every bite, taste, sensation. In the fast pace, rush-rush world we live in now, almost everything is being made for convenience and ease. The more convenient and easier it is to make, the faster you can consume it and move on to the next thing. Sound about right. Never mind the fact that portions are so out of whack, a lot of times you end up consuming double what your supposed to. (More on this topic later!) Most of the time, even if you have a sit down dinner, it's spent wolfing it down due to hunger, boredom, or trying to move on to something else you have planned. A lot of times after a binge like this, you feel miserable, but you end up doing it again and again to yourself.

After I read that article, I started paying attention to how I ate. And yes, even now, a lot of times I'm trying to hurry through a meal to do something with my kids. But I do try to make a conscious effort to enjoy what I eat too. I took this concept one step farther. On a day I really needed some chocolate, but didn't have a lot of points, I decided to eat some of my Hershey's Chocolate Bar (3 squares for 1 point). But instead of eating as quick as I could, wanting the next bite before it was even in my mouth, I decided to take it slow. I decided to use as many of my senses as possible. I smelled the rich chocolaty aroma, the way it made me excited just to smell the richness of it. I enjoyed the dark brown color, with a little bit of shine, just enough to catch your eye. I traced the letters stamped on it with my eyes. I could feel the coolness of the chocolate in my fingers. As well, I could feel the chocolate melting a little on my fingers. Then came the part I was waiting for. All the examining of the chocolate, made me anxious to eat it. I took a bite, not a big one, just a nibble. I swished it around in my mouth. Let it melt on my tongue. Tasted the chocolaty sweetness as it coated my tongue and filled my mouth. With all the bites after that, I focused on the bite in my mouth, not thinking of anything besides that. To my amazement, I made those 3 squares of chocolate more than filled my chocolate craving and even filled me enough until dinner time.

Just because you are on a "diet" plan, especially starting out and feeling like you've cut back a lot on the food your used to, doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. If your body takes the time to make the hungry feeling hit you, you should take the time to enjoy the food you are putting in your body. Why eat it if your not enjoying!