When it comes to healthy eating, the focus is always on what to eat, without much concern for how to eat or when to eat. On the how, you’ll usually get a sarcastic response such as ‘chew it and swallow it’ and in response to when, ‘when you’re hungry.’ But it’s not quite that simple…
Today we’re discussing how to eat. And, unlike what to eat, how we should eat is universal.
We’ll first focus on what you don’t want to do.
You don’t want to eat your meals whilst still sat at your desk trying to get work done or whilst dealing with a screaming child, or worrying about something that’s happening tomorrow. You don’t want to be rushing through your meal because you’ve got to be somewhere in 5 minutes.
Eating shouldn’t be done like it’s an inconvenience. If you do eat like that, it’s a sure-fire way to indigestion, constipation, more hunger, cravings, gas, bloating, low energy, weight gain and ill health – all of the fun stuff.
Instead, you need to take your time, you need to be in a stress free, happy environment, with people you care for, with no distractions. This way your body is ready to digest your food and use it optimally. If you eat slowly, in a relaxed environment, alone or with people you enjoy spending time with, you’ll enjoy a lot of benefits:
– You’ll eat less and still be as satisfied
– You won’t be full of gas after your meals
– You’ll have more energy for when you actually need it
– There’ll be no indigestion or heartburn
You’ll be much, much better off.
Practically, this means budgeting an extra 5 or 10 minutes for each meal. It means going somewhere quiet to eat instead of scoffing it down at your desk. It means spending more time with family and friends, which I’m sure you’ll agree is a nice caveat.
I challenge you to do this for the next week. When it’s meal time, forget everything else and focus on eating. Do this without changing a single item of what you’re eating. Changing how you eat it will make a very noticeable difference to your health.
Get to it.