Written by Diva Center Diamond Provider, Dr. Mario Mancini
During any holiday season is when mindfulness becomes a necessity if your goal is optimal health. Mindfulness means paying attention. Instead of zoning out and eating without thought, really sit there with moment to moment awareness. It’s not easy but it’s truly worth it. Practicing mindfulness prevents us from overeating which is one of the biggest challenges to deal with when food is presented in large displays. As you practice mindfulness you will notice that you can enjoy the food without overindulging. That’s the key, that is, to enjoy and not overindulge. Let this be your mantra and at the forefront of your mind when placing anything in your mouth, especially during the filling holiday season.
So how can you be mindful when eating? A great place to start is to utilize your senses of seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling. Now wait a minute! Of course I see the food, smell, taste and feel it. Well maybe you do, but not with full color attention. See the art of improving your mindfulness like connecting the dots and adding intense color to your senses. Instead of glimpsing at the food, smelling only the strongest scent and tasting only the most obvious flavor, look deeper as if you’re a detective. Observe the food as if you’ve never seen it. Really smell the many subtle fragrances never noticed before. When placing the food in your mouth feel the pressure it creates. Notice the subtle experiences we call flavors that burst in your mouth. Now let’s pick that delicious dessert. Instead of warming up and inhaling your first slice with the intention of eating another, stop for a moment. Simply stop and turn on your senses at full color and full magnitude as if you just turned up the volume 10 notches. Fully enjoy the dessert as if this is the first time eating it.
Realize that eating one slice will taste the same as eating the 2nd, 3rd 4th, etc. One piece is the same as the whole. Coming to terms with the fact that all foods that are outside your optimal fuel (foods that are strictly for the care, maintenance and improvement of your mind/body health) are simply to be enjoyed by the senses and not for survival. When you maintain the mind set that fun foods are strictly to satiate the senses and not for health, you will truly enjoy that holiday dessert. Desserts are simply to be enjoyed by the senses and that’s it. Don’t confuse foods like cake, candy, sodas, etc. with foods that provide nutrition. This difference cannot be overlooked. Think deeply about this.
Your mission, if you choose to accept being healthier, is to SLOW DOWN and magnify smelling, seeing, feeling the texture and tasting the food you eat. So with this new perspective on fun foods and survival foods, appreciate each for what they offer, that is, pleasure for the senses and nutrition for the body.
