Day 38 - Step 3 in The Awake Eating Method: Savor

Savor. To appreciate fully; enjoy or relish. When was the last time that you allowed yourself to completely revel in the sensations of eating? Step 3 in my exclusive program, The Awake Eating Method, is all about that.

How do we have a healthy relationship with food? Is it possible to love the pleasures of eating without consuming our way into a food-induced coma?

Here is an abbreviated version of the instructions for the Savor step. For more detailed ones, purchase the e-book here.

• Take note of the taste, texture, temperature and aroma as you eat. Become a food critic at every meal asking yourself what you love and appreciate about its every detail.
• Chew the food thoroughly until it is mostly a thick liquid. 
• Take small bites so as to not overwhelm the mechanics of your mouth.

The benefits of the Savor step are vast! When we properly chew (or masticate) our food it has far reaching effects on every area in the body. The food that was once whole and unable to be used is now broken down into small enough bits that the body can absorb, transport and use it for everything from creating energy and getting rid of toxins, to building tissue or muscle.

Because you are eating slowly and savoring every bite your body's hormonal system has enough time to send out signals of satiety or fullness. You have clearer and more precise signals that tell you when you have provided enough. You end up eating less, enjoying more and losing excess weight.

The sense of taste is not just for pleasure. It is also a instinctual regulator of your body's nutrient needs. The sensations that you experience while savoring send an inventory of your intake, setting the stage for a intuitive memory system that can be used as a compass later on. It is like a record bank that gets the message to the body that sweetness, salty, savory or creamy is on its way - and to subsequently alter requests that have been put into motion.

In session, applying the Savor step can be the most complex and challenging topic. The feeling that most clients get is a sense of anxiousness and overwhelm at the thought of being receptive to the joys of food. They think that it is because they love food so much that they are not experiencing the weight or the health that they desire. Yet this could not be further from the truth. The belief that you should not enjoy food is precisely what is starving you and making you have insatiable hunger.

During counseling sessions here are some of the necessary topics that I cover to fully implement the Savor step:

• Make peace with food. It can be hard to savor when you have a long list of beliefs, rules and regulations around food. You must empty the cup of your mind to truly savor objectively and with power.
1. Deprivation Effect: The mere perception that a food is banned or forbidden can trigger overeating and binge eating regardless of calories.  
2. There are no good or bad foods, just foods that create different experiences.
3. Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. This has been researched and is coined, food habituation. The more we are exposed to a food the more it loses its appeal.
1. Write a list of foods that you love.
2. Circle the items on the list that you have been restricting or that are forbidden.
3. Choose one item from the list and go buy it at the grocery store or order it in a restaurant.
4. Apply The Awake Eating Method. Check in with yourself to see if it really tastes good. If you really do like it, continue to allow yourself to buy and order it. 
5. Make sure to keep enough of this forbidden food around so that you know it will always be there if you want it.
• Challenge the food police. The food police can be friends, family, the media and your own inner psyche that shouts negative thoughts, phrases and guilt-provoking indictments about what you are eating. 
• "Our beliefs about food (both individually and as a society) resemble dietary laws of a false religion - we pay homage to its dieting and rules, but it doesn't work." - Evelyn Tribole, RD
• Clean the slate of your food beliefs. Every snack or meal is a brand new opportunity to savor and feel what that food means to you. 
• Observe, do not judge. Trust yourself to discover the foods and eating experiences that you need to thrive. Your body is always sending you in the direction of well-being, you just have to listen. 

Today I will be interviewed by my dearest friend, Gina Renee, L.Ac. (check out her information-packed website here) on KNRY's Health Talk. Listen in at 4:05 PM on AM 1240 on the Monterey Peninsula or listen online at www.knry.com. The topic will be all of the above - how to savor and enjoy the beauty of food to receive stellar results!

Nat