A Mindful Lunch Experience
How would you describe an ideal lunch experience for an adult during a workday? It’s a fascinating exercise to answer that open-ended question because many of us may not take the time to consider the qualities – the tangible and intangible – we seek. Take a few moments now to ponder… you could even jot down a few notes about what that experience would look and feel like for you. Explore a bit.
Next consider what your average workday lunch experience looks like. This includes noting details from the food itself to how you feel before, during and after eating, and from the pace at which you’re eating to what you might also be doing while lunching. How does your current, average daily lunch compare with your ideal? Can you make some small but significant tweaks to improve your lunch experience?
You might be breezing through your lunch and barely recognize that you’re eating while multi-tasking. You might be eating snacks or drinking beverages high in sugar throughout your day because your lunch isn’t satisfying. If this is the case, understanding how to mindfully eat is a great place to start improving your lunch experience.
Michelle May, founder of Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Programs and Training, offers insight and support that help an individual deconstruct their eating patterns to determine why they eat the way they do. This provides the basis needed for making sustainable and healthy change.
I had the pleasure of meeting Michelle at a conference last year where she led our large group through an exercise after lunch: an exercise on dessert. With her guidance, we all thoroughly enjoyed that dessert by engaging all of our senses, especially the sense of smell. It was quiet. We were focused. We paused. We may have even put down our fork halfway through because we were completely satisfied. It was an eye-opener on mindfulness in a very short time.
If you plan to rethink your lunch experience, see more information here: amihungry.com. Also note that frego can support your improved and mindful lunching by 1. adding a bright pop of color sure to uplift any mundane leftovers 2. making it easy to re-heat and eat 3. providing a mess-free way to take it go.
Be brave and test out some new mindfulness practices over your lunch hour. It’s sure to be a conversation starter among co-workers in the break room. Report back in and let us know how it goes or share any tips by tagging us @fregoliving and #frelunching