When was the last time you ate?

Do you remember the taste of the last food you ate? Most of us will answer this question using a varying degree of adjectives ranging from ‘good/tasty’ to ‘bad’. But do you remember the actual taste or the item that you picked first to eat from your meal? Barring a few, almost all of us have become a victim of the growing culture of ‘distracted eating’.

As pointed out in my previous post, our brain is like a monkey – a terrible master, but a wonderful servant. So, when you grab your lunch/dinner, the monkey mind distracts you. And as a master of your actions, the monkey mind takes eating far away from being an active process.

The concept of Distracted Eating has long been forbidden. However, we continue to practice it religiously, to date. Distracted eating is defined as the intentional consumption of a meal while engaged in a secondary activity to the extent that the significance or memory of the meal is diminished or forgotten entirely.

Distracted eating leads to increased intake, obesity, and other gastrointestinal diseases. Eating has become a passive act, often done quickly. This can be problematic since it takes your brain up to 20 minutes to realize you are full. Not to mention, you miss savouring the flavour.

In most of the early Indian households and Dharmshalas, you would find people sitting in Sukhasana (cross-legged position) and eating their food consciously.

So, what should be done? Here are a few things that you should follow:

• Don’t rush your meal
• Chew your food 32 times
• If you find something tasty, eat it as little as you can
• Stop when you’re full

To begin with, it’s a good idea to pick one meal per day to focus on these points. Once you get the hang of it, mindfulness will become more natural. Then you can focus on implementing these habits into more meals.

Food is a blessing. Don’t let your blessings dissipate due to digital distractions.