Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode with the Quiet Living Room, a podcast by Quiet Social Club bringing you tips, ideas, and conversations on the science of wellbeing and the things that make up a holistic and healthy lifestyle in a busy world.
Some of the topics we have looked at so far on our wellbeing journey are gratitude, resilience, digital mindfulness, self-compassion and positive affirmations. Today, we have also prepared something very special for you. Today's topic is quite unique in that it is relevant to every single one of us. No matter what your life path looks like, what you enjoy doing or what your daily schedule looks like, today we are talking about something we all do, every single day. And that is eating.
At Quiet Social Club, we bring together ancient wisdom and modern science to create self-care rituals, products, and experiences that allow you to unplug, reset and recharge wherever you are, whenever you need. And that's why we are so excited to share today's episode with you in which we will talk about how to use the powers of mindfulness to enhance something we all do multiples times each day, nourishing our body with food.
Mindful eating is about slowing down and becoming present for our meal, something we all do far too little these days. If you asked your grandparents about the way they had meals, they would probably tell you that each meal started with setting the table and sitting down together as a family to enjoy your meal, maybe they even said a little prayer.
These days, an increasing majority of us have our meals on the road, in front of the TV, in bed, whilst scrolling our social media feeds or standing up, in a hurry. It seems that we have forgotten that it is via our food that we take in the nutrients that our body needs to function properly.
Thousands of years ago, the philosopher Hippocrates already said: let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Mindful eating turns your mealtimes into a moment of celebration again and so in today's episode, we not only want to introduce you to the benefits of mindful eating, but we also want to do a little exercise with you that will help you experience your food in a whole new way. In a much richer, more colourful way.
During mealtimes, we have the rare opportunity to amplify the experience of mindfulness through all our senses. Sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound all come together when we eat mindfully, allowing us to enhance our mealtimes and also just give ourselves a moment to just be.
Science, also, is increasingly clear about the benefits of mindful eating and how it can reduce stress, improve digestion, and help us adopt healthy eating habits, yes perhaps even support weightloss.
There are four tips we want to share with you to get started on your mindful eating journey. And after we have shared these tips with you, we invite you to get a piece of fruit, dried or fresh or a piece of dark chocolate, and we will do a little mindful eating exercise that you can take into your next mealtime with you. And if you apply the method that we will introduce to you during your mealtime, you will have at your fingertips a mindful eating technique that is guaranteed to turn your mealtimes into a mindfulness ritual, any day.
So tip number one is: Choose foods that nourish you and make you feel energised after eating them.
Mindful eating actually begins the moment you choose your ingredients. Mindful eating is all about appreciating the food and the way it nourishes your body with the necessary nutrients our body needs to be healthy, so for your first mindful meal, we invite you to choose nutritious and healthy foods that can amplify this experience. In the link below, you will find the link to a Pinterest board we have created with some excellent plant-based recipes to get started. We invite you to prepare your first mindful meal yourself, and really be present for this experience. Really enjoy the colours, the smells and how you feel during the cooking process.
Our next tip is also a very important one, especially in the area of habit building: Tip number 2 is to have a designated place for mealtimes. When we eat in front of our laptop, or on the road, this usually happens quickly and in a distracted way. We're not fully present for our meal, so chances are we might even eat more than we need to feel full. Choosing a designated place for your meals allows your body to get into "its time to eat" mode and this can help support healthy eating habits. Your mindful meal can be as short as 10 minutes, if you are present for it. But bear in mind that there is increasing scientific evidence that the satiation effect takes 20 minutes to kick in, so portion control is also key.
Tip number 3: Enjoy your meals device-free.
Our devices are an amazing tool, and they allow us to enjoy many conveniences, but they can also be very distracting. When we don't focus on our meal, when we're not present for what we're eating, the feeling of satiation takes longer to set in, which means that we will eat more. Our devices can also be the cause of stress and anxiety, imagine a stream of notifications or emails and messages coming in whilst you're trying to enjoy your food fully. By enjoying your meal device-fre - which means that you don't have any devices like our phone, tablet or laptop with you , you can be fully present and focus on the eating process. And not having our devices with us during these important times is just an amazing way to take back our time for these few minutes.
Tip number 4 is one you have probably heard before but its so important, so we made it tip number 4. This last point is all about the way you eat. Chew properly, eat slowly, don't make your portions too big. Enjoy your meal for what it is: something that is vital to your body functioning properly! Take time to appreciate all the different flavours and the tastes!
If you want to know some more tips on how to incorporate mindfulness into your mealtimes, you will love our mindful eating workbook. Just follow the link in the description below and download the free workbook with helpful tips and prompts for turning your mealtimes into a daily mindfulness sanctuary.
And now let's apply the things we just learnt about mindfulness in a little exercise that makes use of your five senses to experience your food in a mindful, present way. This exercise is an introduction to mindful eating, and will be a strong basis for your next mealtime, so pause this podcast for a moment, grab a little snack, like a piece of fruit, it can be a fresh or a dried fruit, or even a piece of chocolate and get comfortable and come back when you're ready.
The method we will use for our mindful eating exercise is called VAKOG. For those among you who were there for our mindful walk, you will have already gotten to know parts of this method in an outdoor setting. VAKOG stands for the different senses: Visual, auditory, Kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory. And whilst VAKOG is a great way to connect to our body and the present moment in many different situations, because of our senses active involvement in eating, VAKOG lends itself very well to mindful eating.
We begin our mindful eating practice by taking a moment to connect to our breath and body. Sit comfortably in your chair with your back straight, and place your feet firmly on the ground. Take a deep breath in, and breathe out. Bring your awareness into your body and scan your body for a few moments. Notice any thoughts, sensations, or emotions that might be present in this moment. You might be feeling hungry or full; perhaps you are thirsty. Notice these sensations without judgment, simply building awareness for the information your body provides.
Now, bring your attention to the item of food. Place the item into your hand and observe it like a child, that is seeing the food for the first time. Observe its colour, its texture, its shape, and its size.
Imagine all the things that happened to get this item of food from its original state as a seed in the ground to now being in your hand, the sunshine and water that helped it grow, the people who harvested it, the people who brought it into a market near you,
Lets take a moment to appreciate and give thanks for all the people and the envrionment that brought this food into our home today.
Now, take another deep breathe in and out, close your eyes and notice how the food feels in your hand. Move the item around a little and notice its texture. Is it warm or cold? Is it bumpy or smooth?
Bring the food close to your nose and take a deep breath in. What do you smell? Have you experienced this smell before? Maybe there is a childhood memory that you connect to the food?
Take another deep breath in and out and now take the item of food and place it in your mouth, without chewing yet. Let the food to just be in your mouth for a moment, and notice how it feels on your tongue. Do you notice any physical sensations in your body? Perhaps saliva building up? Or your stomach growling? Now take one bite and notice the flavours that build up with every bite. How has the flavour changed to when it was just placed on your tongue?
Chew slowly and deliberately and notice how the item of food slowly disappears or melts away. Notice the moment you feel the urge to swallow!
Once you have swallowed, take another deep breath in and out and imagine how the food is now travelling down to your stomach, how your stomach will break down the foods nutrients and turn them into valuable energy for your body.
Stay like this with your eyes closed for a moment and just enjoy the experience you just had. How we appreciated the food with all our senses and really discovered new tastes and textures we hadnÄt previously.
We hope you enjoyed this introduction into mindful eating. Make sure to check out other resources we have on our website and podcast to bring small midnfulness rituals into your everyday life. We wish you a great week ahead and look forward to seeing you next time!