By Ruth Hadikin
Conscious eating is a very simple approach that can bring many important health benefits. Not only can it help our bodies, by helping us to become healthier and lose weight, it even benefits our mind. Why? Because, done with care and attention, conscious eating actually becomes a form of active meditation. We don't 'play with our food' - we meditate with it!
I was first introduced to conscious eating in 2001 by my coach at that time: Anya Mann of Conscious Journey.com. It helped me to make simple changes that have had a profound effect.
There are currently many approaches to diet and nutrition that are labelled as 'conscious eating' so to avoid confusion, it is worth mentioning what it is, and what it is not. It is not 'healthy eating'. It is not 'eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables'. It is a common mistake to think that eating 'consciously' means 'making a conscious choice to eat healthily'. It is not the same thing, so it is important to be clear about this and notice that there are some important distinctions.
There is nothing wrong with eating healthily, and making a conscious decision to choose healthier food. However it is still possible to prepare a very healthy meal, and then eat it unconsciously: with no awareness on your part of either the food, or your relationship to it. Many of us eat healthy food very unconsciously! So, even though it might be the healthiest meal in the world, based on the very latest research and current ideas about what is 'healthy', and prepared with the greatest of care, it is not conscious eating unless you are also giving your full attention to your experience, while you are eating it.
If you are having dinner and are busy with the conversation, and/or watching TV, and texting your Mum while you eat it - it is not conscious eating. Why? Because you are not giving your full present-moment awareness to the experience of eating itself. There is the distinction: conscious eating is not about what you eat, but about how you eat it. It is about your experience, not your diet.
True conscious eating means approaching the experience of eating with consciousness. It means bringing full present-moment awareness, attention and appreciation, to the experience of eating irrespective of what we are eating. You could be eating a fried egg with tomato ketchup, but you could still eat it consciously, slowly, and with your full attention. Noticing everything: how you feel about it, what it smells like, what it tastes like, what the texture is like, and how your body is feeling and responding to it, as you continue to eat. This is conscious eating.
When we eat consciously, with full present-moment awareness, we pay attention to our body's response to the food. We naturally begin eating more slowly, and we begin to notice when we feel full. We begin to notice which foods our body is wanting more of, and which ones it wants less of. This is a gentle, gradual, process - and nothing is ever forced.
We might begin by eating all the junk food that we like, and over time we will naturally adjust our relationship to it: so we may want less of that and more of something else. Over time we may gradually eat smaller amounts more often, as we begin to notice that our body has it's own rhythm, and we begin to honor that. Over time our body resumes a weight that is more natural for us, and our weight begins to stabilize.
Our eating patterns naturally change, not because anything is ever imposed from outside, but because we are simply listening to our own body's needs. Eventually we arrive at the point where we love giving our body what it loves, and we never allow it to feel hungry, or overfull: so we only ever eat what we like, whenever we like!
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