If You are Going to Eat It, You May as Well Taste It
If you are a compulsive overeater, you may tend to shovel food down without even tasting it. Have you ever eaten an entire meal and still felt hungry afterwards? This is because you didn’t eat what you really wanted or didn’t take the time to taste what you ate. How often do you read, watch tv or talk with a friend while you’re eating?
When you’re not paying attention to what you eat, you usually don’t taste it and you’re less likely to enjoy your food. So you don’t feel satisfied after you’ve eaten. If you find yourself still hungry, or wondering what else you can eat, you probably were not focused on what you were eating.
Another symptom of not tasting the food you eat is weight gain. If you don’t feel full or satisfied, you may eat something else to take that feeling away. Gaining weight makes you feel bad, so to take that feeling away, you eat. It’s a double edged sword.
Focusing on what you’re eating, not doing anything else while you eat, and eating the foods you want, can stop the cycle of overeating.
Don’t listen to what society tells you (or even what I tell you). Learn for yourself with this Mindful Eating Exercise
Choose a favorite food (or, at least something you like). Before you take a bite, take a moment to look at it. Notice its texture, color, smell, size. Now, put it into your mouth, but before you begin to chew it, let it roll around on your tongue for a while. Notice what happens. Does it melt? Does it soften? Notice the flavor, the texture. Does it change?
When you are ready, begin to chew. . Notice everything you can about the flavors in your mouth. Let your taste buds really appreciate the morsel you have given it.
How was that? Did you enjoy it more than if you had just chewed a couple of times and swallowed? Do you feel more satisfied?
Eat more if you want.
You don’t need to eat everything this slowly. However, if you practice this often, you will start to have a new experience with food. I’ll bet you will enjoy food more and will feel more satisfied. Thus, you’ll eat less. Eat what you want; enjoy it fully; eat less. It does work.