Mindful Of Me
Hey guys! Long time, no blog! Aaaah, I know. There is so much going on in this gray-haired head of mine. Where to begin??? I don’t want to blog your eyes off, so I’ll just break this up over a few posts. Alright, let’s start with good stuff…
The Enjoy Your Food Challenge was fun! This week-long challenge brought great opportunity for me to focus on what I was eating and learn to savor my meals. I didn’t realize what a foreign concept this would be to me. It brought to light how often I eat on “auto-pilot”. Yeah, like EVERY meal. Shovel, shovel, shovel…then, it’s gone! But, setting the timer forced me to pay attention – noticing the colors, smells and feel of food. It was quite an experience! I found myself being so much more satisfied at the end of a meal rather than searching for more. I will admit, toward the end of the week and especially days when I was busy, that 20 minute time frame seemed like an eternity. There were a few times I caught myself thinking, “Just hurry up and eat this so you can ____(insert some kind of task).” I just wanted it to be over. Mindlessness at its finest working there!
Another benefit to the challenge was the ability to connect as a family at dinner time. Normally, when the husband isn’t traveling for work, we always sit down to dinner as a family. Everyone rattles off what their day was like as we eat and jokes around. However, as soon as the plates are clean (usually less than 10 minutes!)… we all jump up and run our different directions!
With this challenge in play, I would set the timer when all were seated and even if the eating was finished before the 20 minutes, I encouraged everyone to stay and linger at the table until the timer would signal the meal had ended. There was resistance at first! But by the end of the week, we realized it was a great way to keep the conversation going. Sometimes, we even played a “question game” ( i.e. “Do you like your name/ would you change it?” or “If you could design your room any way you wanted, what would it look like?”) which made for some fun conversation!
All in all, besides the food awareness piece of it, it was a beneficial challenge for the entire family. Since the challenge ended, I haven’t kept the timer going, but I have tried to stay mindful during my eating. <—- failing miserably. 
Consistency, or lack thereof, is becoming the common thread in my life right now. And there is no other reason than I am my own worst enemy.
But, TODAY, I have set my intentions for the day, both verbally and written. Nothing earth shattering or life changing. Just a couple small, concrete, do-able intentions that I can follow through with and that are good for me.
Yes, TODAY… I will be mindful of me.
Have a great day, everyone!
What will you do today to be mindful?
Questions? Email me! aloserforlife@gmail.com
12 comments
I like to stay mindful too! I feel like a good night’s rest is so important for me to stay focused.
I love this. It is so easy to put everyone else’s needs before mine…and I lose sight of being mindful of what I need. Thanks for the reminder!!! Hope you are doing well!!!!!
I have been thinking a lot about you when I sit down to eat! I’m certainly not always mindful (and I don’t always take 20 minutes to eat – far from it at times…), but your challenge always pops into my mind when it’s mealtime!
I like your intention for the day! It really is one day, one meal at a time…
Nice idea to set the timer and extend the family time chat. Those are priceless moments with your girls.
I have been eating in front of my computer a lot lately as I find myself alone at meals times! Not a good habit to engage in!
Love your intention today and it’s one that would be good for all of us.
That is so cool that you found a side benefit to have family time while doing this exercise!
I have to think hard about snacking and why I am snacking as far as being mindful. Sometimes it is hunger and other times my mouth just wants something in it!
It’s ALL good…noticing when you’re not noticing is being mindful
Today I will do one thing at a time while I tackle by gigantic “to do” list. No multi-tasking so I will actually complete the tasks. Whatever doesn’t get done today will get done another day.
Life moves so fast sometimes my head feels like it might spin off. I overwhelm myself with the amount of things I want to accomplish each day.
When we visit my husband’s country in southern Africa it always takes me a few days to get into their slower paced mode of living. I actually find it boring at first. Then as I ease into the rhythm of simply being, noticing life around me, chatting with neighbors and friends, eating as a family…I remember how much I living that lifestyle. They have definitely mastered the art of enjoying life.
My mindful practice has been focused on stress and stress relief. It is amazing what can happen and how things can change when one is mindful! I have to say, I agree with Karen, noticing when you’re not mindful? That’s being mindful in it’s own way.
I love that idea about the timer, I have to try that! Remember that it’s new to you so you, but you are doing great.
I think that being mindful of what we eat is something that has gotten shoved out of the way in the interest of time. Meals used to be family bonding time , with Sunday Dinners being the queen mother of all times to linger, connect and just separate from the rest of the world. I think in a similar vein as your journey towards more mindful eating, I seem to be focusing on doing less but with more ..mastery ? expert ability ? awareness? Not sure how to classify it, but it is about going back to the basics and being more aware of the how and why of these things. The other day I was watching Julia Child hard boil eggs , discovered a new to me way of cooking and peeling them, and so my son and I dropped everything , followed her guidance and made the most wonderful hard boiled eggs ever. We sat there celebrating this amazing discovery, and it got me to thinking that perhaps along with forgetting about mindful eating, we have also totally lost simple, mindful cooking skills. The two go hand in hand and meet up with a walking buddy called health and all that other stuff. There is something very deep in all this.
I just wandered to your blog and I really do think it is terrific. I really enjoy your honesty. I think I may join in and give it a try, I love the idea of a timer. I participated in a short demonstration of Intuitive eating, which is basically the same concept. The presenter had us eat a piece of chocolate, it took 2 minutes with no chewing allowed!
Keep up the great work! I will definitely be saving this blog
Here here!