Female and Forgetful by Elsa Lottor & Nancy P. Bruning

Author:Elsa Lottor & Nancy P. Bruning [LOTTOR, ELISA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780446560252
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2009-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Eat Smart

I know that changing what you eat, how you eat it, and when you eat it is not always that easy. It can provoke conflict and resistance amongst your family members, and within your own psyche. We’ve all got our food baggage, and our excuses. But unless we cultivate a healthier relationship with food, we will never eat smart, and we will never be able to use our heads to override ingrained habits and skewed priorities. Without becoming obsessive about it, if we care about our minds and memories, we’ve got to make good food a priority and give it the time and attention it deserves.

Food is not only one of life’s necessities, it is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Yet, instead of the life-giving pleasant experience that it could be, preparing and eating food has become just another bothersome task to take care of. Leah, the harried university employee, has noticed that “everybody eats, but they don’t eat together. We eat at our computers, we eat at our desks, while reading E-mail, and while talking on the phone.” She says,“I’m trying to break the habit of eating and working at the same time. A friend of mine suggested I pay more attention to cooking and eating with ‘grace.’ Of course, I haven’t yet figured out how to make the time to do it. But damn it! I’d love to come home at night knowing that my partner and I will share a meal. In Judaism, food is a blessing, and eating is a kind of ritual. The price we pay for cutting corners— not buying, cutting, preparing, cooking, and cleaning up afterward—is higher than we think. Whether it’s secular or sacred, making a ritual of eating is important for demarcating work and rest, for becoming conscious of where one ends and the other begins.”

So many of us perform so many mindless repetitive tasks on a daily basis that we just continue to eat in a mindless way. Just ask anyone what he or she had for dinner last night. Most people can’t even remember. Can you? Do you wolf down food and barely notice what or how much you ate? Do you overeat beyond the point of physical satisfaction? This is not nourishing your body with the attention it deserves. That’s why I recommend to my patients that they slow down. Give your brain the time (about fifteen minutes) to realize that your body has been fed and has a fresh supply of nutrients. Chew your food well. Enjoy eating. To do this right, it is best to eat without distractions like reading, television, and highly animated conversation. Take the time to focus on the smells, colors, textures, shapes, and tastes of the food you are eating. In other words, make eating a “mindful” experience.

And mind the clock. It may be chic, or it may be a habit, but many people eat too much, too late. When your body sleeps it must be permitted to do its housecleaning and maintenance, which is growth and repair.

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