“When you eat, eat.” –Marc David
Week three is packed with incredible information. It’s DENSE. But the main work for week three is awareness while eating. It’s definitely related to slowing down, and yet it’s different, isn’t it? But first let’s talk a bit about week two — focusing on quality food.
Notes from Week Two
The big surprise. And I mean BIG.
Last week, coinciding with the week of focusing on quality, I started a whole foods cleanse, cutting out all commonly known irritant foods, focusing on whole grains (no gluten), vegetables, fruits, nuts, and quality oils. I’ve done this kind of eating before for pretty long periods of time, and I love the way it feels. There is one big difference this time.
I stopped drinking coffee.
That fact, in and of itself, is a big surprise. The first thing I asked for after my daughter was born was coffee? The midwife handed me Clara, and I asked for a cup of coffee. I love coffee, and I’ve never been successful at leaving it behind. I may not this time, either, but for some reason it feels easier.
And the benefits have been dramatic – in just a week.
Like I said, I’ve eaten this way before, but before I was always beset by horrible sugar cravings that drove me to the cookie isle and eventually back to the warm embrace of coffee. After all, what’s a cookie without some coffee to wash it down?
In any case, the biggest and most amazing surprise of this week is that I’ve not had any sugar cravings. Without coffee, my blood sugar has stabilized dramatically. My predictable mid-afternoon and late night cravings accompanied by lags in energy have vanished. In addition, I’m sleeping better and I’m far more patient with Clara and I’m a lot more “on” for my clients and my work. It’s amazing.
This has been an epiphany for me. My yoga and meditation practice feels cleaner – I have no other way to explain it. I am far less foggy mentally.
I wouldn’t have guessed that eliminating coffee would do that, but I feel well prepared to begin week 3, which is all about awareness. One of my favorite topics.
Bringing awareness to the act of eating
“When we bring awareness to our eating experience, it’s a wondrous metabolic force.” -Marc David
In this chapter, Marc David cites a number of studies that support the necessity of being present when eating. My jaw was just hanging open when I was reading some of this stuff! Incredible! The cliff-notes version is that our brain must experience our food (taste, pleasure, aroma, etc) to fully digest and metabolize our meals.
I’m sure you’ve had the experience of eating while watching a movie or TV and then still feeling hungry, even though you’ve eaten a ton of food — but without paying attention? Yep, there are studies that support that if our mind isn’t engaged at the table, we have to eat more because our minds don’t recall eating.
I have done this COUNTLESS times in front of the computer. I’ve also had the experience of not enjoying my food and still being hungry after eating a full meal. And boy, that sucks.
Eating to the point of Energy
Like I mentioned, Week 3 is packed with information.
Building on awareness at meals, Marc David provides an exercise to work on this week called Eating to the Point of Energy.
Eating to the point of energy is less than full of food — it’s that point where you leave the table with more energy than you arrived with. It starts with an intention to eat only to the point of energy. During the meal, it requires staying connected and present to your body — checking in with your “gut wisdom” throughout the meal. It ends with leaving the table light and energized.
This is not a new concept. We’ve heard it before, eh? “Eat to satisfaction.” “Eat to a +2 on the hunger scale.” “Don’t get too full.”
But I love the idea of eating to energy. It doesn’t feel diet-y at all to me. It’s about trusting and listening to my body and that just feels like magical common sense.
So this week, I will continue to eat whole, clean foods, continue to eat slowly, and incorporate greater awareness into my meals.
Want the whole story?
Week 1 of The Slow Down Diet: Breathe
Week 2 of the Slow Down Diet: Awake at the Plate
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Hi Nona,
from a cross-cultural perspective…we have TONS to learn from the Italians on the food front. Here are few things that quickly come to mind. Keep on the look-out for more. I’m sure you will see the book’s wisdom playing out all around you in Rome.
1. Eating in courses. By eating one item at a time, in a fixed order at every meal, every day over a lifetime, Ialians naturally take longer to enjoy a meal and focus on the texture, taste and aroma of each individual dish. Even when they order a “one plate lunchtime special” that have recently been introduced at many self-service places, they eat each item on the plate separately, in its proper order, so as to not confuse their tastebuds, and properly digest the meal.
2. the science and passion of ingredients. Each dish deserves its particular type of tomato, shape of pasta, combination of flavors. An amazing amount of attention is paid to getting the right things together in the right order. Paying attention to the details adds to the pleasure of the final product — and greater satisfaction at the table.
3. a very limited number of items in any one dish. Not sure if the book will get to this one, but Americans tend to use way too many different spices and ingredients in any one dish– that confuse our taste buds (and probably our brains) making us want to eat more, because we can’t figure out what’s in it. Just basil is enough!! or just origano, or just rosemary — the Italian way. and no throwing cheese sauce on top of everything just to confuse our already confused tastebuds. In the end, everything tastes the same — leading to low satisfaction and eating more.
4. kids are not allowed to roam around in the kitchen, opening the fridge to make themselves snacks and meals. They may not grow up to be as independent and self-reliant, but they do learn to respect the kitchen as a sacred place and meal-times as meal-times. When my husband works late, it would never even cross his mind to eat something at his desk. He waits to have a proper meal, sitting down at the table at 10:30 pm.
all for now, although I would have many more… Love to hear yours!! E
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