Who doesn’t love to eat? It seriously brings me so much joy.
Food is more than fuel for our bodies. It’s a way we relax and connect with others.
But at the same time, so many of us have a hate relationship with food as well. We overeat. A small indulgence becomes a pint of ice cream, and then we end up beating ourselves up for our gluttony.
A lot of health experts contribute this to mindless eating. They say instead of eating to savor the taste, we eat to numb out. A little is good, so a lot must be better.
Many people aren’t even conscious of what they are doing until the bag of chips is half (or all!) gone.
Others of us are aware the whole time that we’re overeating, but struggle to stop. The end result is a mix of sadness and guilt. Not a lot of room for joyful eating!
My husband Rob and I had a pretty interesting conversation about this a couple of months ago, while in of all places- Las Vegas.
We were enjoying an amazing lunch at Serendipity on the patio overlooking The Strip. I looked up and saw a beautiful billboard of Giada De Laurentiis, the gorgeous (and super slender) host of numerous shows on the Food Network.
I made a comment that it is crazy to me that she eats so many amazing things and still stays so slim.
He made a very insightful comment, as we were countless spoonfuls into our Deep Fried Snicker Sundae.
“She probably just has a bite or two of the really indulgent stuff and stops”.
Hmmm, what a concept.
And admittedly, not a new concept at all. My sister is very slim, and that is how she does it as well. She says she got this advice when reading a book by Bethenny Frankel:
Taste everything, eat nothing
My sister loves to nibble. When you watch her eat, you can tell she loves the food. She gets really excited about it, but she doesn’t see the need to go back for the 10th bite. Bite two was amazing, so she’ll leave it at that.
I think that when I am eating mindfully I am always much better at this. Instead of eating while I’m on my phone, of flipping through a magazine, I put the distractions away and just really taste the food. I always end up eating less.
A couple of years ago, I read a wonderful book that was really insightful about mindful eating and our relationship with food.
It’s called The Yoga of Food: Wellness from the Inside Out by Melissa Grabau. It gives great advice. When I utilize the technique she recommends, I always find myself eating less but enjoying the food more.
I hope to incorporate her techniques a lot over the next few days because I’ll be surrounded by food. I’m going to the International Food Blogger Conference in Sacramento.
There are going to be so many amazing exhibitors and presenters offering samples of their exceptional food. We are even having a dinner on Saturday that I know will be over the top.
So my goal for the next few days is to take it all in.
Taste the food and be present. When I have something amazing, don’t rush to grab another sample, just enjoy what I have.
And the next time I go to a restaurant, I want to remember how good I feel when I’m NOT a member of the clean plate club. I love when I walk away from an amazing meal, knowing I had the right amount and I’m satisfied, not full.
So, I will most certainly try to channel my inner Giada De Laurentiis and just enjoy a little of everything over the next three days. Going back for thirds doesn’t make the food any better, but it almost always makes me feel worse!
