Wake up.
Shower.
Get the kids ready.
As we're getting the kids ready, we have the news on to check the weather, we're refreshing our Facebook feed on our phone, and scoffing down breakfast.
As we're at work, things get busy, and we don't really have time for a lunch break.
So, we eat our lunch in one hand while trying to catch up on e-mails with the other hand.
As we return home for dinner, the kids are wild, the dishwasher needs to be emptied, and there's a pile of laundry waiting to be folded.
We chow down on some dinner while balancing the chores and checking in with the family about how their day was.
Sound familiar?
What stands out to you?
Other than the busyness of life...
one thing stands out.
Mindless eating.
Distracted eating.
Quite often, when we eat, we're not actually focused on eating.
We have our phone in the other hand, the TV on in the background, or we're in a social setting.
Coach Trent did a presentation in our team meeting last week about this topic, and I think it's a habit a lot of us could benefit from working on, myself included.
Why do you think we eat more when we're out with friends or at a restaurant?
Yes, portions are usually larger, but a lot of it is we don't even realize we're eating so much.
We're chatting, having fun, music or TV is on the background, and we didn't realize that we just "picked" at 25 french fries.
In so many ways, especially in today's digital age, we could all benefit from being more mindful, especially when eating.
Being mindful when we eat allows us to enjoy it more, eat slower, and that results in less consumption overall.
For me, I'm practicing it this week with my first meal of the day.
I practice intermittent fasting, another topic for another day, but basically, I eat two meals a day, one at about 12noon time, and the other at about 7 pm.
Well, my noontime meal is typically my "breakfast."
It's usually timed after all my morning work is done from home, and it's my break before I head to the gym for the afternoon.
Typically, I would catch up on social media, and have the stock market on in the background, while mindlessly shoveling in my meal.
For me, there is really no excuse, because at that hour of the day no one is home to distract me, so it's the "lowest hanging fruit" to work on mindfulness while eating.
In comparison, at night, like a lot of you, we're trying to cook, get Kaden ready for bed, and get some chores done around the house, so it's going to be a harder adjustment to practice an undistracted eating environment.
Always start with the easiest one possible, that's the lowest hanging fruit.
Give this strategy and see if it helps.
1% Better.
Dedicated to Your Success,
Doug Spurling
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