In the book, The Slow Down Diet: Eating for Pleasure, Energy, & Weight Loss, Marc David, founder of The Institute for the Psychology of Eating, outlines eight distinct practices and ideas to optimize our metabolism. It's not about what to eat, when to eat it, and how much to eat. Rather it teaches us to recognize, listen to, and honor the wisdom of our own bodies. I don't know about you but I had never been taught how to do this. It's been life changing for me. Powerful stuff, friends.
Because this is so different from much of what we learn anywhere else in the diet and exercise industry, I'll be taking the next eight weeks to give you an overview of of each of the "Powers" discussed in the book. My hope in doing this is to provide a new perspective on old topics and hopefully help you develop a healthier, happier, more enriching relationship with food.
THE METABOLIC POWER OF RELAXATION
Tell me if any of these scenarios sound familiar.
- You're rushing around in the morning trying to get yourself (and everyone else) out the door. You grab a piece of toast or a bagel on your way out and scarf it down as you drive.
- It's 9-10:00 a.m. and you're starving. You grab a snack and eat it as quickly as possible So you can get back to work.
- You have a long list of errands to do on your lunch hour, so you run through a drive-through and rush to eat in the car so you can get back to work on time.
- You're feeling accomplished for getting dinner on the table but hurry through it in order to get kids to practice, or to your meeting, or because you're eating late and kids need to get to bed.
- You're eating alone and it's boring so you get through it as fast as you can and get onto other projects.
- You have better things to do than sit down and take too long to eat a meal. Why waste half an hour or more eating when you can get it done in 10 minutes? That's much more efficient, isn't it?
This list could go on and on. The fact is that no matter what the reason for fast eating, we're not doing ourselves any favors with this habit. It can lead to digestive issues such as heartburn, cramping, gas, digestive pain, belching and even weight gain.
Here's the super short version of the science behind this. When we eat too fast our body interprets that as stress and activates our sympathetic nervous system. When that happens our body naturally restructures its priorities, and the digestive system slows down or even stops working temporarily. Stress triggers the body into survival mode. When we're fighting for our life, our body doesn't need to put its energy into digesting; that can wait for later. Although it's rarely as dramatic as life or death, stress at lower levels still triggers the sympathetic nervous system which, in turn, affects all kinds of bodily functions, such as nutrient absorption and excretion, production of cortisol, insulin, and other hormones, gastric emptying time, inflammation, and many more.
To put our bodies in the best possible metabolic state when we eat, what we need to do is activate our parasympathetic nervous system - our relaxation response. How can we do that? If you're a fast or moderate eater, work on slowing down with food. If you're already a slow eater (Yay, you!), focus on becoming a relaxed, slow eater. Here are a few practices to help relax with food.
1. Notice how fast you eat and what situations and/or feelings impact your eating speed.
2. Notice how your body feels before, during, and after you eat.
3. Notice where your mind is while you eat. Are you paying any attention to the food?
4. If you're eating with others, try to be the last one to finish.
5. Take smaller bites than you usually do and chew thoroughly before you swallow.
6. BREATHE. Before you have a snack or a meal take at least three nice slow, deep breaths (Ten is better but this can be harder than it sounds). In addition to initiating the parasympathetic nervous system, and therefore the relaxation response, deep breathing increases the oxygen in your system which is a critical element in burning the fuel that is your food. Think what happens to a fire that's oxygen deprived; it dies out. A similar thing happens when it comes to burning calories; less oxygen = less burning power. Here's a fun visual for you to help get that oxygen flowing.
In case you couldn't tell, the last one is my absolute favorite practice on the list because it has far reaching impact. A quick story to illustrate - Up until recently I worked in an accounting office. Tax season is to accounting offices what the holiday season is to retail stores. Crazy busy, frantic pace, and often high tension in the workplace. By the end of each tax season I was completely spent, feeling like I had no mental or physical capacity for anything other than basic functions needed for survival.
Then I learned the practice of deep breathing before eating.
My intention was simply to get myself to slow down and get into that relaxation response for digestion's sake. I got something much more from that practice, though. By doing the one simple thing of taking at least three slow, deep breaths before I ate, I found myself feeling much more centered and calm throughout the day. Add up the sum of all those days and the result was that at the end of tax season I felt as energetic as I had at the beginning of it. I was amazed.
There's real power in slowing down, even if it's only for a few moments. Will you give it a try? I promise it'll be more than worth your effort.
(Notice below that I finally got the Comments feature activated on the blog. Huzzah!)