This is Day 15 of Live a Healthier Life in 21 Days Challenge, Jan 2012 run. Subscribe to the free newsletter for lifetime access of personal development articles and future challenge announcements like this one.

Hello guys! Today is Day 15 of our 21-day challenge to live our healthiest life ever. We are now in Week 3, which is the final week of 21DHL!

Last week, we evaluated our relationship with food (Day 12) and explored some of our triggers for emotional eating (Day 13). As a continuation of that, today's task is on conscious eating, to rebuild a healthy relationship with food.



I cited conscious eating as the 4th tip of How To Stop Emotional Eating, A Crucial Guide, Part 2: Rebuilding a Healthy Relationship with Food. (If you have not read the guide, be sure to bookmark it and read it when you can.)

Quote:Unconscious eating is a norm in our society today. We eat with zero awareness of our food. Because of that, we don’t know we are full until we have eaten way more than we should. This makes us numb to the sensations in our stomach, which then results in erratic eating habits thereafter, because we confuse emotional eating triggers with hunger cues. (see #1).

I was no different. In the past, I could eat a whole bunch of food and feel like I had not eaten anything, because I was eating unconsciously. I had chewed and consumed the food, but mentally it didn’t register.

On the other hand, the first few meals after my 21-day fast were some of the most conscious meals I had up until then. The sight, the smell, the taste, the texture – I experienced my food on so many levels deeper than I normally would. It was an eye-opening experience.

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Practicing conscious eating will help you to (a) be more in tune with your hunger cues, so you don’t overeat unconsciously (b) be more conscious of the role of eating / food in your life, which supports you in building a healthy relationship with food.

Do you normally eat consciously or unconsciously? Let us make an effort to eat consciously today. Here are my personal tips (again, from How To Stop Emotional Eating, A Crucial Guide, Part 2: Rebuilding a Healthy Relationship with Food:

1. Don't mix eating with other activities. Before you eat, put everything aside, be it your laptop or mobile phone. Concentrate on eating and eating only.
2. Know what you're eating. Examine the ingredients. Look at the nutritional content. Educate yourself on what you're feeding your body. Read Step #6: Educate Yourself on Food, Nutrition and Health.
3. Before you eat, feel the sensation (of hunger) in your stomach.
4. Examine the food you are about to eat. Look at the colors. Look at the composition of ingredients. Smell it if you desire.
5. As you eat, do so one bite at a time. With each bite, chew very slowly and deliberately. Relish the taste of food in your mouth. Feel the texture.
6. At the same time, be aware of how your stomach feels. Feel the sensation of hunger fade away slowly with each bite. Feel your stomach being filled up as you eat.
7. Then, stop when you feel halfway full or you have consumed enough calories for the meal.

Even if you’re eating with friend(s), you can still eat consciously. Don’t chew and talk at the same time. Every time you take a bite, focus your attention on your food, and concentrate on chewing, savoring the taste, and digesting the food. When you are done with the bite, put your attention back to your friend(s). Listen to what he/she has to say. Say what you want to say. Do that in turns and you’ll be fine.

Day 15 of Your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan

What are your tasks listed for today? Do them with excellence and report them in your 21DHL Journal.

Also, read your group mates' 21DHL journals and cheer them along! Pick a few members' journals and make it a point to post meaningful replies there.

Update Your 21DHL Journals

Once you are done for the day, update your 21DHL Journal. You are also welcome to update your 21DHL Journal multiple times throughout the day. Post all your results for today's task and your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan directly in your journal.

If you have any questions specific to today's task, post them here.

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

This is something I have tried to do a lot more of lately. I used to eat a lot of meals in front of my computer. I would eat and at the same time watch a video or read something. This is something I have done for a long time though. I now usually eat most of my meals at my kitchen counter or in my living room.

A lot of people almost do seem like they are in a lower consciousness when they are eating. It's almost like they are less lucid. Then when they stop eating they are a little more conscious. This may be why people keep eating foods that make them feel terrible. They eat but don't really pay attention to what's going on in their body. Feeling tired or a little sick after a meal is just a normal part of life.