How To Eat Issue 2: Environment And Company

Last issue Eating All the Right Foods And Still Getting Nowhere we talked about how so many people have the intention to eat well, to lose weight, gain energy and rid themselves of digest unrest.

But.

The world is a confusing place, with all the diets and all the rules. Would you agree?
It all causes overwhelm, and people go round in circles, and subsequently fall short of hitting their goal.

The purpose of me writing is to not to add to the overwhelm. It is to offer a completely different approach to eating. And that is to focus on how you eat opposed to what you eat, because the two are equally as important, and the former is often overlooked.

First up we talked about your Mental Attitude, if you missed it and you are keen to catch up, you can head to the blog at here.

This week we are talking about Environment & Company, remembering that the thoughts I share are those of and Ayurvedic perspective.

Ayurveda does not have a fragmented approach to health and nutrition – it is not about proteins, carbs, fats and micro nutrients. It is about the interrelatedness of the person and their environment. Their environment relates to their whole self – both internal and external. It means everything around you, both personally and professionally. Is also means many other things, but for today, let’s focus on….

Environment and Company

In a nutshell this includes who we eat with, the space where we eat, and the climate and season we are in.

It is very simple, with a few things to consider.

The company you hold, what energy do they bring? What kind of foods do they eat? How do they eat? What do they talk about?

Sounds a little judgey, but it’s not meant that way. It is a reflection point. Because, in essence these things matter, they matter to you - and your digestion.

Let me tell you a story.

Zac and I meet for lunch every single day. One day Zac was fired up because of something that happened just before we ate. He brought that fiery energy to the meal, he was angry, tense and his conversation was distracted and unpleasant.

I stopped him and said “if you are not in the mood to share a meal, if you are not in the mood for anyone, then next time tell me you want to eat alone, and I will eat elsewhere. Because I do not want this energy around my food. We are eating. This is lunchtime”

He looked at me, quite surprised and said “Okay, yep. Got it”.

The nervous and endocrine systems control the digestion and assimilation of nutrients. Therefore stress and the mood you are in (and the mood of those around) will impact your ability to digest. It is important to be mindful of this, and to even hold off eating if stress is high or the mood is off.

Now what about the space you are in? Is there too much stimuli, is it comfortable, is it clean?

I do not know how many times I have had to tell my kids to sit down after they have eaten. They have this incessant need to jump up and either start kicking a ball or doing cartwheels (yep, we have an open shed house, the potential for indoor sports is real). And most of the time Zac and I are still enjoying our meal, the distraction of arms and legs going everywhere is disruptive.

That is an actual fact by the way and not just me being highly-strung (just to clarify 😉).

When the senses are overwhelmed, your energy becomes scattered. This then takes the focus away from the digestive system making the food you just ate very hard to digest (which is the beginning stages of dis-ease, and something I will get to in future posts).

So here are some points you can ask yourself to get you thinking about your space:

How do you feel where you eat?
Do you or anyone else bring stressful conversations to the table?
Do you listen to music? Is it loud? What kind of music is it?
Is the TV on? Or radio (with commercial ads etc)?
Do you use your phone? Or read a newspaper or book?
Is the space clean? Do you eat at a table? Is the table cleared and clean or cluttered?

The idea is to remove as much stuff as possible and focus on enjoying your food. That simple.

Now let’s quickly talk about environment and climate.

There is a lot to mention about what to eat in relation to seasons and climate, but remember we are talking about how to eat. So with that said, here is a few quick tips.

According to Ayurveda your digestive fire (your ability to digest) is ignited most when the sun is at the highest (for ease, let’s say midday) and you therefore should consider eating your largest meal then, leaving easier-to-digest and smaller meals for the early morning and before bed. The elements can be disruptive also, so it can be helpful to note, that if eating outdoors:

Are you warm enough?
Is there a chill?
Is the wind aggravating?
Or is it quite the opposite, is the sun warming and soothing, is the chill refreshing?

And even when inside, it's a good idea to make sure you are comfortable, not to hot, not to cold, but just right.

At the end of the day, there is no set rulebook, the essence is to take note of your surroundings and how they are making you feel, and decide if they are disruptive or supportive.

We want to choose supportive.

And that’s a wrap guys, I feel I have chatted long enough. Thanks for sticking around.

Next up: Food Quality (and it't not all about looks).