Do you regularly have sex just like that, while doing other things? No? Eating is more intimate than the supposedly most intimate activity there is: you take food into yourself and make use of it. You are what you eat! And yet you regularly eat just like that, while doing other things.
1. This is mindful eating
"Mindful eating" originally comes from yoga and, in the context of our daily nutrition, describes the mindfulness it takes. We adopt a conscious attitude and enjoy the here and now. Mindfulness and sex aren't really hard for us. But why is it during eating? And what's the difference when we eat mindfully?
When we eat mindfully, all our senses are with our veg: we see it, smell it and taste it. We sit down instead of walking to the office. We focus on our broccoli and not on Netflix. We chew and swallow instead of refreshing the Insta feed. We notice when we're pleasantly full and satisfied. Only through mindfulness can we really enjoy!
"Self-love" is on everyone's lips: we're supposed to love our body and mind. We buy bath additives and scented candles to sink into the water in bliss. Afterwards we cook our beloved soul food and eat it during a YouTube video. The mindfulness probably stayed in the bathtub.
2. Reasons why mindful eating matters so much
Did you know that 30% of your digestion happens in the mouth? Fat and starch from your food are broken down by the two enzymes lingual lipase and amylase. Chewing breaks your food down and stimulates saliva production. That matters because mechanical breakdown is what makes the absorption of micronutrients possible in the first place. Unless you're drinking one of our green juices , where all the nutrients are already beautifully available to us thanks to gentle cold-pressing, your teeth have to take on the job. Saliva also plays a very important role: it contains the enzymes mentioned above for chemical digestion.
When we're busy with other things, we wolf down our food far too fast. Your stomach could tell the type of salad by the flawless leaf shape, and on top of that you've swallowed a lot of air. Uncomfortable burping and bloating are guaranteed!
The more time you take over eating, the less you eat. Feeling full only kicks in 20 minutes after you start your meal. If you eat much too fast, you may well take seconds even though your body is already full.
Worked long hours, just on your way home in the rush hour and you also have to squeeze through crowds of people: when you're stressed, your body is on alert. Under chronic stress, more glucocorticoid hormones are released, which leads to increased appetite. Although you've eaten enough nutrients, you feel like eating. If you've got other things to do, the need isn't questioned and is satisfied quickly: the doner from the snack stand next to you smelled irresistible, too!
3. Why we've unlearned mindful eating
The many reasons are side effects of our modern lifestyle: we constantly try to do several things at once and forget the current moment. We haven't finished one task yet and are already thinking about the next: how are we supposed to be mindful under these circumstances?
FOMO (fear of missing out) is by now a familiar term for a newfangled, seriously bad habit. Social media teaches us to constantly worry about other things. So we try to enjoy our personal lives while being confronted on a digital level with the everyday lives of countless other people. Performance pressure, guilty conscience and a lack of mindfulness towards our own mind and body intensify.
If a bowl of our favourite sweets sits on our desk while we work, it practically empties itself. Biscuits are always there when you long for them. Biscuits don't argue and always give us a high. So we reach for them automatically when we want to cover up negative emotions and simply eat them into ourselves.
4. 3 tricks to get mindful eating back into our system
Sit down and concentrate!
Ever downed one of our soups in 30 seconds in the car at a red light because you left the spoon at home? Even though our tasty soups tempt you to enjoy them on the spot, that's not the point: sit down, enjoy your meal on your own four letters and take in what's in front of you with all your senses. Bet that with enough mindfulness you'll suddenly taste the apricot in our fantastic lentil soup?
Avoid eating in stressful situations!
Food is not a good plaster for your problems. If you're emotionally agitated or stressed, distract yourself with other things and try to relax. That could be a short walk in the fresh air, a chapter of your favourite book or a phone call with a friend. Only after that should you turn to your food mindfully and then enjoy it to the full.
What is your belly telling you?
What, it's 9:30 am and you're not hungry? Even though everyone else in the office is unpacking their breakfast? No reason to eat just out of social pressure: you eat when you feel like it! Set the size and timing of your meals according to your personal preferences and always pay attention to your body's signals. After eating is also a good time to think back over what you ate: how do I feel now? If you're mindful, you'll quickly notice, for example, a difference between a heavy, rich dish and a light vegetable stir-fry.
Do you regularly have sex, just like that, while you're getting other things done? No? Eating is more intimate than the supposedly most intimate activity there is: you take food into your body and make use of it. You are what you eat! And yet you regularly eat, just like that, while you're getting other things done.
1. This is mindful eating
"Mindful eating" originally comes from yoga and, in the context of our daily diet, describes the mindfulness it takes. We adopt a conscious attitude and enjoy the here and now. Mindfulness and sex aren't really hard for us. So why is it during eating? And what's the difference when we eat mindfully?
When we eat mindfully, all our senses are on our vegetables: we see, smell and taste them. We sit down instead of walking to the office. We focus on our broccoli and not on Netflix. We chew and swallow instead of refreshing the Insta feed. We notice when we are pleasantly full and satisfied. Only through mindfulness can we truly enjoy!
"Self-love" is on everyone's lips: we're supposed to love our body and mind. We buy bath additives and scented candles to sink into the water with pleasure. Afterwards we cook our beloved soul food and eat it while watching a YouTube video. The mindfulness seems to have stayed in the bathtub.
2. Reasons why mindful eating is so important
Did you know that 30% of your digestion happens in your mouth? Fat and starch from your food are broken down by two enzymes, lingual lipase and amylase. Chewing breaks your food down and stimulates saliva production. This matters because mechanical breakdown is what makes it possible to absorb micronutrients in the first place. Unless you're drinking one of our green juices or doing a frank. juice cleanse, where all the nutrients are already wonderfully usable for us thanks to the gentle cold-pressing, your teeth have to take over the job. Saliva plays a very important role too: it contains the enzymes mentioned above for chemical digestion.
When we're busy with other things, we wolf our food down far too fast. Your stomach could tell the type of salad from the flawless leaf shape, and on top of that you've swallowed a lot of air. Unpleasant burping and bloating are guaranteed!
The longer you take over a meal, the less you eat. Fullness only sets in 20 minutes after you start eating. If you eat far too fast, you may well go for seconds even though your body is already full.
Worked late, on your way home in rush hour, and you still have to squeeze through crowds of people: when you're stressed, your body is on high alert. With chronic stress, more glucocorticoid hormones are released, which leads to increased appetite. Even though you've eaten enough nutrients, you feel like eating. If you have other things to do, the urge isn't questioned and is satisfied in a hurry: but the doner from the snack bar next to you smelled irresistible!
3. Why we've unlearned mindful eating
The many reasons are side effects of our modern lifestyle: we constantly try to do several things at once and forget the present moment in the process. We haven't finished one task and are already thinking about the next: how are we supposed to be mindful under these circumstances?
FOMO (fear of missing out) is by now a familiar term for a newfangled, seriously bad habit. Social media teaches us to constantly worry about other topics. And so we try to enjoy our personal lives while being confronted on a digital level with the everyday lives of countless other people. Pressure to perform, a guilty conscience and a lack of mindfulness towards our own psyche and body intensify.
If a bowl of our favourite sweets sits on our desk while we work, it practically empties itself. Biscuits are always there when you crave them. Biscuits don't argue and always give us a high. So we automatically reach for them when we want to cover up negative emotions, and simply eat them into ourselves.
4. 3 tricks to take mindful eating to heart again
Sit down and concentrate!
Ever drunk one of our soups in the car at a red light in 30 seconds because you left the spoon at home? Even though our tasty soups tempt you to enjoy them on the spot, that's not the point: sit down, enjoy your meal on your own backside and take in what's in front of you with all your senses. Bet that with enough mindfulness you suddenly taste the apricot in our fantastic lentil soup?
Avoid eating in stressful situations!
Food is not a good plaster for your problems. If you're emotionally stirred up or stressed, distract yourself with other things and try to relax. That could be a short walk in the fresh air, a chapter of your favourite book or a phone call with a friend. Only after that should you turn to your food mindfully and then enjoy it to the full.
What is your gut telling you?
What, it's 9:30 am and you're not hungry? Even though everyone else in the office is unpacking their breakfast? No reason to eat just out of social pressure: you eat when you feel like it! Set the size and timing of your meals according to your personal preferences and always pay attention to your body's signals. After eating is also a good moment to reflect on what you've eaten: how do I feel now? If you're mindful, you'll quickly notice, for example, a difference between a heavy, rich dish and a light vegetable stir-fry.
