![]() ![]() You may be pulling out the homemade sandwich at the wheel, but the great likelihood is that it’s something else. Eating while driving, for example, is often (but not always) coupled with lower-quality food choices, like convenience food. I also want to add a side note that there is also a bigger picture here. To create more mindful eating experiences, I highly recommend that clients find ways to squeeze in those meals before or after the drive, if possible. ![]() It’s difficult to give full attention to eating while you’re driving. The problem, however, is that driving requires a requisite amount of attention. But if we take this to its fullest logical conclusion, the reality is that we probably really never need to eat in the car, other than long road trips. Sure, there are times when it’s practical. Here are some tips for building a less distracted relationship with food: Eat in the car less often. Instead of making rules, focus instead on increasing the number of times you experience undistracted meals, and don’t worry about cutting out every single “bad” habit. Instead, create an attitude of filling up your well-being bank account with positive food practices. However, if you’re running on empty, even the smallest misstep can throw you off balance.ĭon’t focus on doing things perfectly, or having a rigid set of practices that are right or wrong. When you have a robust bank account, you can handle withdrawals because they don’t deplete you. Instead, I encourage clients to see their well-being as a bank account – the more deposits you make, the better you’ll feel. I simply want to invite you to examine your eating practices, and to be aware that the more you can create undistracted eating experiences where you can fully be present to your food and listen to your body, the more you will be in touch with your natural self-monitoring system and actually enjoy food. I’m not saying that eating while you’re driving is wrong, or that you should never do it. What I don’t want is for someone to read this post and think, “I can never eat while driving, ever again.” I see clients sometimes decide that a food is a “trigger food” (which is fine), but then feel terribly guilty any time they inevitably eat the food or something like it (which is less fine). In other words, I find that (in general) we find it easier to adhere to food ideals if we can make them “right” or “wrong.” However, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. I want to write this post carefully, because something that I see in our 21st-century food culture is a tendency towards moralism around food. In other words, we miss out on so many of the sensual aspects of food by allowing distraction to creep into our already-rushed eating life. It’s possible to eat a meal and to not see our food beyond a quick glance, to not taste our food beyond biologically registering that it’s vaguely tasty and pleasing, and to not smell our food beyond its cursory presence. In the pace of life today, we spend large quantities of our day distracted, and this extends to our eating experiences. Last week, we talked about one aspect of mindful eating, the hunger scale – how you can monitor your own levels of fullness while eating simply by tuning into your body’s signals.īut using the hunger scale as a tool pre-supposes a crucial sticking point – that you are eating in a place (and in a manner) that allows you to slow down and listen to your body. Driven to Distraction: Mindful Eating Habits in the Modern World ![]()
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