I realize that many of my posts are about slowing down and being more mindful. That's because our lives have become so incredibly fast and overscheduled in the name of profitability. So here goes another one. Taking the time to eat slowly, especially at lunch time, and enjoying your meal goes a long way. Not only do you truly taste what you eat, even savor it, it also helps to keep your weight in check and aids the digestion, and then some. How so?

When you wolf down food quickly to get it over with and get on with the next task the brain doesn't have time to keep up with what's going on in the stomach, there is a communication delay. It actually takes the stomach about ten minutes to communicate to the brain that it has had enough to eat. Eating slowly permits mind and body (or mind and stomach) to remain in sync; when you eat too fast the stomach (and eyes and taste buds) get ahead of the mind and gobble up more than you need to feel satisfied. Hence, eating too fast can lead to weight gain. In addition, slowing down and chewing longer not only predigests the food and helps the body to assimilate the nutrients much better, it also aids the digestive process. And lastly, what about actually enjoying and savoring what you put into your mouth? May as well, since it's more pleasurable.

Slowing down for lunch during a hectic day - I know, "sometimes it's just not practical," you'll say - helps to refocus your attention from the scatteredness of multi-tasking back to one specific thing. It powers you down, gives you time to realign with yourself, and regroup for a more productive afternoon.