I once tried to explain the concept of eating mindfully to my son, as I watched him devour a plate of spaghetti.
He looked at me like I’d really lost my marbles and with a voice full of disdain said “Mom, I think I know what I’m eating.”
However, eating mindfully goes beyond knowing what’s on your plate.
It’s about recognizing when you feel satisfied, rather than eating to the point of feeling ill.
It’s the difference between acknowledging that you’re indeed holding a plus-size bag of potato chips and realizing before you’ve eaten the entire bag, that you:
A) Don’t care all that much for the flavor
B) Aren’t particularly hungry
C) Could have stopped after the first handful
That’s what we call being aware, as well as mindful of what we’re putting in our mouths.
A frequently cited example of mindful eating, asks that you focus on a single raisin.
The idea is to really taste it.
To notice it’s sweetness, the chewy texture – even the wrinkly brown color, before you pop it into your mouth.
You might even realize – after years of eating raisins – that you don’t even like them that much, or that they’re much too sweet for your taste buds.
Moments like that create a huge aha!
