Now, how are we s'posed to squeeze a comforting, relaxed meal in between all the chaos and excitement? Can we make up for our lack of quality time by making all the portions bigger? I don't know who tricked us into thinking that bigger is better in the first place, but I'm here to tell the snickety b*st*rd, GO HOME! You are not welcome here anymore.
This brings me to the next lesson in the fundamentals of healthy eating. In this lesson you will learn about the importance of, and get some tips on:
1) Scheduling time for relaxed eating
2) Learning to focus on the meal and to give up all the multi-tasking or extra activities that you might try to do at the same time as eating
3) As Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle taught us, taking small bites and chewing them thoroughly before engaging in the next bite
#1: Scheduling time for relaxed eating
Once you've made the decision to change your habits in the direction of healthy eating, the subsequent step you need to take is to take out your organizer, your iCal, your wall calendar, or, a scrap of scratch paper will do. The idea is to write out everything you do in your day so that you have a realistic picture of time. The more detail, the better. I first tried this last year when I was studying for my Master's in Australia, and really needed to kick a bad habit of chronic lateness. I knew that I was often a bit delusional about how much time a given activity takes for me, hoping that somehow a few extra minutes would magically turn up just when I needed them.
If you share this proclivity, try writing down every little thing you want to do, including things like fussing over your outfit or finding your keys, and estimate how much time each activity takes. The next day, carry a stopwatch and time each one, recording your results. Leave extra time than you had estimated for everything so that you have time to NOT RUSH. Act like there is no pressure to do anything on time. To keep from getting distracted, stick to the activities you have predetermined, for the most part, even if you have extra time.
At the end of the day, you should have a good idea of how much time you actually need for your present lifestyle. Now is the time to determine when you want to have meals and how long each will last. This kind of planning ahead will allow you to have that lovely relaxed mealtime from days of yore. The time you allot for meals will depend on your particular schedule, and what you are eating, but I do have some general guidelines for your plan.
Breakfast and lunch are the most important meals of the day as far as what your body needs. Typically, people don't want to spend much time eating breakfast, because they are in a rush to get to work, or perhaps aren't so hungry at the time they must eat before leaving in the morning. However, it is very important to have a satisfying meal to start your day - and it feels so good! If you must rise earlier than you care to eat, don't eat when you're not hungry, please. Prepare a breakfast you can take with you, or eat out if you must, but find a relaxed place to sit down and eat it peacefully.
To enjoy your meal and reap the myriad of benefits from good digestion, take the time to sit down at a table. Eating on the run, in your car, at your desk, or while you get ready, is not going to help you in any way. I can't stress this enough! Eating in a relaxed fashion is more important than what you actually eat. If you can schedule breakfast with your loved ones, housemate, or cat, all the better: sharing meals together is also extremely beneficial for healthy eating (and plenty of other reasons). Make sure to allow for time after finishing that last bite to sit for at least 5 minutes, while you breathe and set your intention for how you want the rest of your day to be. Go on, take the reins! And take your stopwatch so you can add whatever time you need into your daily schedule. I'd say 15 minutes is the minimum time to eat a healthy breakfast.
The guidelines for breakfast can be applied to lunch as well. Instead of eating at your desk, bring your bag lunch outside and eat in the sunshine. Bring some co-workers with you. If the weather stinks, find a place indoors BESIDES your desk where you can comfortably eat. A short walk after lunch can do wonders for your digestion, and for the rest of your day. Even 5 minutes is better than absolutely nothing! For me, a half hour is the minimum time for a healthy lunch, and if you share your lunchtime with others, allow at least 45 minutes.
Dinner is the least important meal circadian rhythm-wise, however, it is the most important meal for social reasons. Dinner is the most common time in which people can come together to share a meal, especially families, couples, and friends. The timing is rather unfortunate, as eating the biggest meal of the day shortly before retiring for the evening makes no sense for our metabolisms and can compete during sleep with restorative functions that refresh our organs for the following day. Ideally, finish eating before 7pm, or 8pm daylight savings time, and you will feel so much better, I guarantee it. If this isn't possible, just remember, the earlier, the better. If you must eat later, make it a smaller meal with less protein and fat (as those take longer to break down). Make sure to sit for 10 minutes or so after eating. I'd say to allow for a minimum of 45 minutes for a relaxed dinner, but if you eat with someone else, make it an hour.
A general guideline for timing meals: eat each meal at about the same time (differing between days no more than a half hour) every day. The spleen, which is in charge of digestion, LOVES regularity (I'm referring to the spleen as it is conceived of in Chinese Medicine theory).
#2: Learning to focus on the meal and to give up all the multi-tasking or extra activities that you might try to do at the same time as eating
Many people try to do any number of things other than eating during a "meal". My suggestion is, focus on what you are eating, and your enjoyment of it instead. Or compliment your meal with pleasing conversation with a friend, co-worker, date, or loved one. Before you eat, think about each part of the meal that you are lucky enough to take in as nourishment: say thanks to the spinach, the olive oil, the garlic, the cow, the people who picked the strawberries, the ocean for the salt. It feels good! You don't have to say anything out loud if you're embarrassed. I like to hold hands with my eating partners silently for a few seconds before diving in. It sets the tone. While you're eating, take in the different tastes and textures that so pleasingly rub against your tastebuds and land lovingly in your tummy. Breathe into your belly between bites, and exhale. If you're tempted to read, watch T.V., do work, or any other cerebral activity, remember that the attention you give these activities competes with your body for digestion power, and also prevents you from truly relaxing and enjoying your meal.
Another kind of activity that may completely destroy your appetite is arguing, or talking about anything that upsets you emotionally. Save this kind of talk for later, or eat later if needs be. Eating while upset will just make you feel sick, and you won't digest properly.
#3: Taking small bites and chewing them thoroughly before engaging in the next bite
Since most of us have gotten used to rushing, we rush the mechanics of eating as well. When we do this, big hunks of food find their way into our stomachs, and require a hell of a lot more work to break down! This work is an unnecessary and significant drain. Our spleens do not like this. We also forget to breathe, and by the time we feel full, we're well past full because our stomachs didn't have time to register all that was being thrown unceremoniously into them.
"Chestnut, the American hope in the annual Fourth of July competition, broke his own world record by swallowing 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes - a staggering one every 10.9 seconds before a screaming crowd in Coney Island. 'If I needed to eat another one right now, I could,' the 23-year-old Californian boasted after receiving the mustard yellow belt emblematic of hot dog eating supremacy." - from metro.co.ukHmm, will you eat another bite just because ya can? Maybe so. We are incredibly privileged, those of us in modern, technologically developed and wealthy countries. Even those of us who are poor probably eat more than folks in places where you can't go to the store (because there is no store). This guy, while impressive in his ability to not throw up, shows us a valuable image of what not to aspire to. Though we can stuff another bite in, it really won't do us a lick of good. Overconsumption is just gross, let's be real. Makes me feel like I may make up for what old Chestnut couldn't do.
As you can see, Chestnut took enormous bites, and lots of them, in a very short amount of time. Let's do the opposite: let's take small bites, even tiny if that helps you to shift your habits, and chew them completely so that each bite is pretty well pulverized before making the trip down to kingdom come. When you have eaten enough, your body will send you a signal, and you can then choose whether or not to overeat and feel uncomfortable. Eating too fast robs you of this choice. Overeating continually, over time, has a detrimental effect on the body: the spleen is overtaxed, and it follows that every other organ system pays the price. Often, indigestion and acid reflux greet us as our prize. Shitty prize if you ask me.
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I hope these first steps have given you all a good place to start in heading towards healthy eating. I"ll be getting more specific about particular foods in the coming articles, and will include some of my delicious recipes. Before you endeavor to change what you eat, please make time for and learn relaxed eating: your digestion, energy, and outlook will improve dramatically!
