This week's challenge is proving very difficult! It seems I have unconsciously become a hoover in relation to food. It's on my plate one second, gone the next …
Over the past few days, I've noticed several things about the way I eat:
- I hardly chew! Chomp, chomp; down the hatch.
- I'm always focused on my next bite, not the one that's in my mouth. While I chew, I get my utensils working, loading up the next mouthful. Before I've even finished swallowing, I'm shovelling the next bite in.
- I'm overloading. Far from cutting food into dainty pieces or biting off a small amount, I smash in as much as I can at a time. Five bites and that muffin is gone (it was good, but I barely had a chance to notice it).
- I eat to soothe. As a mother of a nine month old who still wakes frequently overnight, I'm rather sleep deprived. The sleepier I get, the more I crave comfort food. I eat when I'm not hungry, just to fill that certain 'something' that, along with a good night's sleep, I'm missing.
- I rarely notice the multi-layered experience that food presents. Far from simply offering a party for the tastebuds, food touches all five of the senses. Taking time to appreciate the way food looks, smells, feels, and even sounds (well, sometimes) is something I rarely do … time to change that.
- I eat whatever's in front of me. If I fill my plate, I finish it. I might even go back for seconds. I don't have a problem with that per se, but I have observed that I only register that 'I'm full' feeling long after I've overdone it, probably because I'm eating way too fast.
Phew! What a lot to become aware of. Now I've noticed all that, I can catch myself in action. Little by little the old habits will be replaced.
Now, off to eat another muffin … this time a little more slowly.
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