Slowing Down While I Eat

For a long time I didn't connect my gut issues to anything I was eating. Food didn't cause unwanted symptoms unless it was gluten, dairy, or too much sugar. Years ago, I didn't quite realize how deficient my body had been, or how dysregulated it had become. I hadn't yet learned to notice.

Then my body gave me no choice. The reactions I was having made thorough chewing and slowing down a necessity, not a preference. Paying closer attention taught me something beyond just watching for reactions. Slowing down and being mindful matters even when I'm not tracking a symptom, because that's how a body is supposed to eat in the first place.

That attention turned into something more over these past few months. I've been introducing one ingredient at a time and watching for how my body responds. Thankfully the yes list has grown bigger than the no list. I've always eaten fairly clean, but now it's required, not optional.

What's changed the most is being even more of an ingredient label detective. In my mind's eye I see my magnifying glass come out. Rushed, distracted, and usually multitasking used to be the norm at meals. A meal was often the next task or one more item on my list of things to get done. I never thought about how my nervous system might be reading that as one more thing to survive instead of receiving nourishment.

Now I chew thoroughly, pace myself, and savor what I'm eating instead of racing through it. I rarely multitask or eat distracted anymore. Sometimes I check in with my breath before I begin to take a bite and while I'm eating.

All of this connects back to the vagus nerve that I've written about before. It helps the body shift out of fight or flight and into rest and digest. A body that's rushing, stressed, or distracted while it eats is not in a state built for digestion. No matter how clean the food is. Slowing down while eating signals to my body that it's safe to digest.

Now and then, I catch myself eating too fast, but I notice sooner. I come back to my breath and to the snack or meal in front of me. If your body has been asking you to slow down and you haven't quite known how to start, the Rooted Wellness page has more of what I use to support this.