The Process of Choosing Food

For the last couple of months I have been fascinated about the psychology of food and exploring different theories on why, where, when, what and how we eat.  I have always been interested about food, but the topics that spark my fascination change.  Recently new authors and “theories” have crossed my path and I am starting to explore these viewpoints by examining my own patterns and looking at the choices I make.  I am the first to admit that I am near the beginning of my journey with exploring my relationship with food in a healthier manner.  Since I have had years of experience with unhealthy relationships with food and eating, I am going slowly and learning about other people’s journey.

One of a few books I have been reading lately is Mindful Eating – A Guide to rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food by Jan Chozen Bays.  I was interested in how information would be presented in this book as the author is a Medical Doctor and a meditation teacher.  I liked the idea of medical training mixed with meditation and the focus on being mindFUL instead of mindLESS.  Some of the books I have read in the past on mindless eating have pointed out behaviours I am aware are not healthy; however, they haven’t necessarily offered explanations for why the behaviour might occur in the first place.  I was hoping this books focus on being mindful would provide some new insights into the reasons people eat more then they need (or think they eat) and perhaps offer different solutions.  

It didn’t take me long to have words jump off the page and make me stop and think.  A wonderful quote stuck out and I read it and re-read it – “Mindful eating is an experience that engages all parts of us, our body, our heart, and our mind, in choosing, preparing and eating food” (Bays, 2009, p.3).   

After carefully contemplating the words on the page, I realized that I was so focused on eating food that I had missed the choosing and preparing.  I had started off the 2013 with a focus to explore food, so I started bringing my awareness to where in my house I was going to eat and what I was going to eat my food off of (aka new plates).   I suddenly realized with these words, I was missing the whole first part of eating – the choosing and preparing.  I was basically jumping to the end of the process, hoping for a change to occur.  I took a moment and became aware that I needed to back up to the starting point if I wanted to change my relationship with food and what I am eating.  For me, this was kind of like being hit with a 2 by 4 – there was a whole process here that needed to be explored.  I also realized that I just choose a spot to focus on without really thinking about where my passion might have started to fizzle.  I figured if I was going to really focus on finding my passion for food again, I needed to go right back to the beginning – choosing what I eat.  That weekend I was off to the Farmer’s Market to purchase at least some of my food.  Two weeks later, I returned to the Farmer’s Market again and had another realization.   

When I lived in Ontario I had a group of friends, we would regularly make a trip to one of the local Farmer’s Market and make a day of it.  We would pick up some veggies for the week and often some fruit, depending on the season.  We would take our time and chat as we walked stall to stall to check out the vendors – I never got the sense that we needed to rush through our market adventures.  We would typically get coffee as the first order of business – we considered ourselves lucky when the flavour of the day was Fireside coffee at St. Jacob’s market - definitely a highlight for at least 3 of us.  The market wasn’t just about having a coffee or picking up produce for the week; it was a time to walk away from the other obligations of the week and just hang out with my friends.  We would talk about what we could make, we would sit and eat breakfast, we would dream of having land to grow our own food.  Looking back, it wasn’t about a chore of getting groceries; it was about a process of creating food – developing a meal – connecting with friends.  

So now the challenge I face is learning how to create that experience of choosing food as an event, a form of connection and community here in Calgary!  Or perhaps the answer lies in determining if there is another way to gain mindfulness in choosing food and exploring new options.

I have spent some time thinking of a way to wrap up and conclude this post, but this really is just the start of my exploration journey.  I guess that is the point - this is a journey and there is no conclusion, just another step in a new direction!