Resolution 9: Eat Mindfully and Stop When Full

Eat  Mindfully and Stop When Full

As the busy women I am, I often eat while on the go: grabbing breakfast while in route to school and eating it as I drive to work or stopping to grab a quick meal between appointments and eating it as I scramble to get across town. Even when able to sit down to a meal, I commonly find myself multitasking as I eat. This past week I spent many a meal rereading Ethan Frome: my Nook propped open as I prepared to teach the novel this coming week while simultaneously eating my lunch. To bridge the expanse of time between lunch and dinner, which grows too long during Speech season, I often grab a snack to eat as I coach my students. In each of these instances I spend little to no time thinking about what I am eating--my mind is always otherwise occupied. For this reason, I took a quiz today that only strengthens what I already knew of myself: I am a mindless eater.

Dr. Jan Chozen Bays, an expert on eating mindfully, believes that a dietary "fundamental problem is that we go unconscious when we eat." To avoid gaining weight, according to the New York Times article "Mindful Eating as Food For Thought," most individuals only need to start thinking about what they eat; focus on what is being put into the body, for what reason(s), and how it satisfies the body's needs. Of course, for me this means taking time to eat without distraction--setting aside my Nook, turning off the television, and not eating while in route to my next obligation.

Additionally, I need to stop eating all that is on my plate. Simply because I grew up in a "clean-plate-club" world doesn't mean that as an adult I still need to feel as if I must eat all that is served to me. This is especially true when eating out, since at home I can control how much food is placed on my plate. Therefore, this week I take a cue from the French, and I stop eating when I feel a sensation of fullness. If that means taking home leftovers or tossing part of a meal, then so be it. If it is better for my health, I need to make it happen.



As for last week's goal of getting 8 hours of sleep, ironically I struggled to fall asleep most nights. Despite setting aside plenty of time each night for rest, I'd tuck myself beneath the covers, close my eyes, and proceed to not fall asleep. Possibly it was psychological, there is no easy way of knowing, but for whatever the reason I did not get the rest I had hoped for last week. I guess this is a resolution at which I will keep having to chip away.