Day 30 - Effects of Distracted Eating

The second principle in The Awake Eating Method is Be Present and in counseling sessions this seems to be a concept that is met with a lot of resistance. People often ask, why must I change these habits? Are they really affecting my weight? I enjoy not being present when I eat. Isn't enjoyment a part of what you are trying to teach me?

The Be Present Step entails releasing distractions and coming to terms with what is happening in the moment, which is eating. It is the second pillar in a four-pronged system in creating a rock star eating experience - be receptive to your environment (followed by enjoying your food with no apologies and feeling the pleasure of the body). Here are some of the pointers for Step 2 out of the eBook:

• Release distractions: Turn off the TV, computer, radio. Close the book, magazine or newspaper. Pull over in the car (or any other machinery!). 
• Sit down. Snacking at the fridge or grazing off of a buffet is not creating a present moment awareness.
• Create a beautiful environment. Use candles, place-mats and people that you love as the setting. 
• Observe your food throughout the eating process. Look over the presentation, color, texture and amount. 
• Breathe. Let go of thoughts about the past or future and recognize eating for what it is; a biologically embedded moment for nourishment and self-love.

So, what is the big deal about our eating environment? Buckle your seat belts because here I go...

Most of us are asleep eaters who have divorced the beauty and pleasure of food for the interruptions and brief amusements of life. We are having affairs with constant diversions, taking us away from the innate pleasure and beauty of eating.

• 91% of us typically watch TV when eating meals at home
• 62% of us are often too busy to sit down and eat
• 35% of us eat lunch at our desk at work
• 26% of us practice regular 'dashboard dining' of eating when driving

When we are distracted we eat more and feel our body less. It is almost as though we are alien abduction victims who find that we are transported to the end of a family-sized cracker box.

Effects of Distracted Eating found in studies done by the Director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, Brian Wansink, Ph.D.:

• People who watch TV are more likely to be overweight than people who don't.
• The less TV people watch the skinnier they are.
• People who watch TV end up eating vastly more. In a study the subjects that watched TV for an hour (as opposed to a half hour) ended up eating 28 percent more popcorn.
• Children and adults snack more when watching TV and do so even when not physically hungry.
• Radio can distract us. People who listened to a lunchtime radio mystery ate 15% more than those who didn't.

Dr. Wansink found that the bottom line was that the more distracted we are the more we end up forgetting. In other words, the more we multi-task with food the more that our mind literally forgets that we even had it in the first place. His conclusions on distracted eating:

1. It makes us eat.
2. Forget how much we eat.
3. Extends how long we eat.
4. And we do all of these, even if we are not hungry.

Awake eating is about using the moments of eating fully to our advantage. It is a time to 'check in' and say hello to the body. The physical effects of awake eating are obvious. You become more attuned to your body's natural needs and desires (which are always sending you in the direction of well-being) and are able to acquire more enjoyment in the eating process, diminish cravings and eat the amount of food that is needed to create a healthy and beautiful body.

Have you ever wondered why you feel alone? Maybe you feel that this world is really just a scary and unwelcoming place? This may be because you disallow the observation of prime sustenance in the union of food and body; external and internal world; world and self.

When we become present we are transforming a mechanical, linear action of refueling into an act of nourishment. It is the difference between having sex and making love, walking to the post office or going on a revitalizing hike, laughing to blend in or laughing sincerely from the belly. Eating with your attention and awareness can literally transform the way you see your body, your whole being and the world around you because you are present to see the abundant substance that is there to feed you.

Personal Tidbit

Out at a sushi restaurant I felt incredibly self conscious about dinner with my daughter. I should have felt insecure about other things. I was snapping pictures left and right with murmurs and comments coming from the opposite table as the numerous flashes blinded the party. I could have felt apprehensive about the fact that I forgot to lock the restaurant bathroom door prior to our meal, perfectly adjacent to the dining area, only for it to be opened all the way by a gasping and nearly entombed elderly woman (with an expletive by me to boot) who seemed to have arthritis and could not manage to close the door (followed by another expletive).

What was on my mind was how little dinner conversation was present at the meal. I had this vision of how the meal should go, especially since we were investing in an 'eating out' experience. I imagined us laughing, giggling, talking about the meaning of life, all-the-while we are fully immersed in each others stories and anecdotes of the day. I tried to conjure up tête-à-tête by bringing up school or her recent playdate. I even resorted to asking about her career choices and long term plans (wow, I have become more like my father than I could have ever realized). As my daughter's chocolate cake was plated in front of her I realized how I had not been applying the Be Present step. That whole time thoughts were running amuck in my head and in addition to the elderly lady's table talking about my use of the Lord's name in vain, I was downright focused on everything but the food. That chocolate cake was a godsend to the meal. I saw my daughter, with no apologies, ignore me with every cell in her body as she savored and reveled in each bite. Good for her.

The interesting thing was that even though I had the highest quality food - I was ravenously hungry for nourishment by the time we arrived home. Is it a coincidence? No. I was not present so my mind had no idea what I really had received. Potential energy from food truly is reliant on our awareness. Distracted eating makes us focus on food later even if we are not hungry. We are trying to make up for the richness that we missed.

Nat