As recently as this morning, I had a meal. 2 eggs, a cup of fruit, 4 oz of oatmeal. I watched myself eat this meal and found myself go in and out of present moment awareness two or three times, despite the fact that I was not reading, talking, or watching TV.

In fact, the meal began ideally. I was sitting, savoring each bite, enjoying the colors of the food on the plate and the taste of the cinammon I’d sprinkled on the oatmeal and fruit. But, about have way through, I found myself engaging in an old habit: shoveling the food in to finish the meal as quickly as possible so I could go on to the next thing.

And suddenly, it hit me. I had been basically unconscious for about a third of the meal, and, with one third to go, I might be full – though I wasn’t certain this was true. So I stopped eating, took a breath, and relaxed. After a few moments, I realized I was still hungry and I completed the meal, once again enjoying each bite and simply being in the moment with my food.

To some of you this scenario may sound foreign or even a little ridiculous…

But, my guess is that some of you are like me, which means that from time to time (too often to keep count of) you inhale your food, and find yourself done eating before you know it.

Leaning how to let go of this unconscious form of eating and living, and helping others to do so as well has been the life work of Geneen Roth, author of many books, among them Women, Food, and God, which I happen to be reading these days.

Roth’s premise, as I understand it, is that the way we eat reflects the way we live and has much more to teach us than just how many calories it takes to add or reduce a pound. I remember skimming one of her other books years ago and being afraid of it. The freedom she espoused couldn’t work for me, I was sure. I saw it as ‘eat whatever you want whenever with no boundaries’ and that sounded to me like a sure recipe for a relapse.

But this time around, I found the part where the author explains that eating unlimited quantities is neither her path nor her recommendation. Rather, her approach is one of:
1. eating consciously
2. focused attention on what you are eating, every time you put anything into your mouth
3. focused attention on your body’s reaction to it
4. only eating when truly hungry and stopping when full.

Willingness to become that conscious seems to go well with a spiritual program of recovery that involves prayer, meditation, and deep reflection into one’s state of mind and heart.

Today I am reading this book to take my recovery deeper, to discover a new layer of connection between the way I eat and the way I live my life.

I notice, for instance, that when I shovel the food in, I’m hungrier for more emotionally, but mislabel it as being hungry physically. On the other hand, when I’m truly present during a meal, TV off, no book propped in front of my plate, and it is simply my meal and me, (or my husband and I enjoying a pleasant conversation) at the table, calm and relaxed, I feel more satisfied when I finish eating, and that satisfaction seems to last longer.

I have not replaced my program with Roth’s approach, but am adding her practices to my repertoire of the tools I use to build greater sanity in my life, one day at a time. Sometimes I trudge of course, and sometimes I glide.

The metaphor is apt, when I’m living my life unconsciously, just to get through the hour, the day, the week, to get to the next project, to get home, to get to the weekend, I feel less fulfilled. When I live each moment fully, the days fly and yet the time spent in each moment is full and satisfying, and is not moving overly fast.

Learning how to eat in the moment, fully present to my food and how my body is taking it in, appears to be another piece of the sanity puzzle in my recovery.

Try it today: Eat slowly, sitting down, with no outside distractions. One bite at a time, with full awareness.W hen your mind wanders, bring it back to the plate in front of you, not with judgment, simply with presence. Observe how it changes your experience of your meal and of your day.

Please send me a note to share your experiences with this and let me know if you would like me to share it with everyone or just keep it between us.

By the way, this form of eating is a beautiful practice to add to your self care, which is one of the Four Foundations of Family Recovery!

I’ll be offering a 6 week teleseminar on the Four Foundations starting Monday, September 13th through October 18th. It’ll be from 3-4 PM on the phone and together, we will explore the four foundations and look for ways to bring them alive in our lives. The course itself, including handouts, will cost only $49 for all six weeks! I hope you will join us!

To sign up you can go to paypal and pay directly to theempowermentcoach@gmail.com. Or, if you prefer, drop me a note at recoverycoachbev@theempowermentcoach.net to let me know of your interest and we can work out the details together.

Til next time, stay conscious and take care of YOU!

All the best,

Coach Bev

Beverly A. Buncher, MA, CEC
Family Recovery Coach
www.theempowermentcoach.net
www.12stepfamily.com
www.familyrecoverycoach.org
786 859 4050