Eat healthier and live longer.
What is the biggest problem with food that people suffer from today? It isn’t high cholesterol, it isn’t high blood pressure, it isn’t even obesity.
The biggest problem is that people are unconscious eaters, isn’t it? People simply do not know how to eat consciously. They either eat too much or try to starve themselves and eat too little. Food is the second, third or fourth choice on their to-do list. They don’t pay attention to it when they actually are eating it. And that is the biggest problem!
So what to do about it? There are a few things you can to do be a more conscious eater, which in the long run will improve your health, improve your budget and help you grow more awareness in general for the life you have flowing in and around you.
1.) Stop and think. Before you eat anything, take note first of how you are feeling. How long ago was it that you ate? If you ate just a half hour ago, chances are you need not be eating again (if you ate the correct foods). Observe and feel how your stomach is. Food can stay in the stomach for anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours, depending on what type of food. Fruits will stay in the stomach for 30 -90 minutes before moving into the small intestine. Meat, which should be avoided completely, can stay in the stomach for 3-5 hours before moving to the small intestine. So gauge your appetite with thinking, first.
2.) Eat when hungry. Emotional eating is the worst kind of eating. Learn to observe your body to know when you are actually hungry. Be aware of any feelings that may come up, like anger, anxiety, frustration or depression. Learn to recognize these emotions and substitute your emotional eating for another activity, like painting, playing an instrument or exercise. If you still have a TV and potato chip habit, then toss the TV and stop buying the potato chips! Which leads me to the next point.
3.) Shop with a list. When you are at the supermarket use a list and stick to it. If you have a weakness for buying something, like chips, buy carrots instead. Start to make conscious decisions about the food you are buying, this way you will not be forced to struggle with the bad eating habits at home, because the negative food will have been left at the supermarket! Consciously choose fresh lettuce over candy bars / apples over GMO corn tortilla chips / fresh plums over gummy worms and so on.
4.) Consciously chew. Many of the times when we are hungry we gobble the food down so fast, inhaling a lot of air and having half digested food that arrives into our stomach. When this happens, the stomach has to work even harder to break down the food that should have been digested in our mouths. 85% of digestion happens in the mouth, so consciously chew every bite. On average, there should be about 15-40 bites per chew, depending on if the fruits and veggies are raw or cooked. Remember, meat and cheese should not be options!
5.) Set a special place where eating only will happen. Many people eat in their car, on the subway, in their living room, even in their bed! Set a specific place where eating will happen there and only there. If you are at home, this is usually designated as a kitchen or dining room. No other rooms should be used for the purpose of eating. If you are at an office or work environment, designate a special place where you will have your lunch. By setting this specific place, as you prepare for the mealtime and start to go to that specific place, your mind will already start to send signals to your stomach to prepare for food. Therefore, by the time the food hits the stomach, the stomach will be prepared with the digestive enzymes and the process will go a lot smoother.
6.) Prepare your own meals. Be more conscious about purchasing ready made meal foods. Buying processed foods will wreak havoc all over the body, not only in the physical body, but also the emotional and mental body. Industrial made food is usually laden with refined oils and sugar which leads to physical addiction. Try to make as much of your own food as possible. If you are short on time during the week, then make the food on your off day and store it in the fridge or freezer during the week. Foods like rice or beans can be cooked to about 75% of their capacity and frozen, where they can stay for up to a month or longer. Ideally fresh is ALWAYS best, but this option is still better than purchasing the many terrible, industrial made processed foods that are on the supermarket shelves.
7.) Eat at the ideal times. The agni, or digestive fire, is the highest in the body from about noon to 1 PM. This means that your largest meal should be during these hours. The rest of the day is used for the body to dedicate to other parts of the body. For example, during the night hours our body starts to process the liver and purify the system. In this time the digestive system is sluggish and may not be able to perform it’s activity of digestion as thoroughly.
8.) Get physical exercise every day. Make sure you get some kind of movement every day, even if it is a brisk walk of 20 minutes. This will keep the energy moving throughout the body, not allowing anything to grow stagnant. Exercise also helps to control blood-sugar levels.