Have you ever eaten a meal and realised you didn’t actually taste or smell it?
We have created a culture where watching tv, scrolling on social media or replying to emails during meal times is the norm. I am guilty of this myself. I’d get to the end of a long day and want to ‘switch off’. I love cooking and spending time in the kitchen but my routine is then to eat in front of the tv. I find I can get half way through a meal without realising what I’ve had. This then causes me to overeat because I’m not listening to the cues from my body telling me I’m full because my mind is somewhere else (usually in the middle of The Big Bang Theory)
Not only can we overeat but our bodies struggle to digest what we’ve had due to not chewing properly. In addition eating quickly can cause bloating as you swallow more air than usual. The results are that you are left feeling unsatiated, bloated and overtime it can eventually lead to weight gain.
This can all be simply avoided by being more mindful and eating away from distractions. Turn the tv off, leave your phone in the other room and get back to conscious eating.
