If you look at the six basic questions of adopting the When Way—the who, what, when, where, why, and how—then it’s clear this book covers most of them. The who is you, obvi. The what and the when are, well, the title of the darn book. The why—although individual for everyone—probably involves becoming healthier, fitter, or happier. That leaves us with two questions: where and how.
Now, you may initially think that those questions don’t need addressing. After all, the “where” can be boiled down to a laundry list of typical places that include kitchen tables, driver’s seats, and movie theaters. The “how”? Sort of elementary, right? Food to plate. Plate to utensil. Utensil to mouth. Mouth to belly.
That, however, is exactly the problem.
We don’t think about the where.
We don’t think about the how.
We don’t think when we eat.
Truth is, eating has become such a vacuumlike process that the wonderful sensory experience that comes with it is generally lost to 99 percent of us during 99 percent of our meals.
Why does that even matter? A couple of reasons, actually. But perhaps the main one is this: Mindless eating—that is, the unconscious act of bulldozing in bite after bite without being aware of how you feel—is one of the reasons we overeat, and is the root of many health problems. Mindful eating, on the other hand, is about slowing down, focusing on food, not being distracted, and appreciating what you eat not only through the fullness of your belly, but also through the physical satisfaction relayed via your senses and emotions.
A recent analysis of 19 studies showed that mindful eating was effective in improving eating behaviors and producing better weight-loss results.1 In a study presented at the 24th European Congress on Obesity, people who practiced mindful eating lost about three and a half more pounds than those who didn’t.2,3
In addition, a 2017 study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions followed 1,000 adults for five years. At the beginning, nobody had metabolic syndrome (the condition signified by such problems as high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and high blood sugar). But five years later, those who ate fast (fast pretty much equals mindless) were about two to five times more likely to develop the chronic disease condition.4
So, although our main goal in this book is to get you to shift what and when you eat to maximize the way your body processes food, we also believe you should know a bit about the “how” and the “where” so that you’re (1) allowing your body to really feel your food and (2) giving yourself a chance to enjoy the unique flavors and spices and tongue-tingling joy that can come when you stop and smell the flours (whole grain flour that is). The following are seven easy ways to get started.
MAKE PLACE A PRIORITY
There’s no doubt that your life is in Autobahn mode: go, go, go. And that often means you have to eat on the run, grab what you can, and wolf down the quickest thing you can find just to keep you going throughout the day. Although we certainly cannot implore you to tell your boss or kids that you’d like to have a leisurely meal right now, we can give you a general eating goal: Focus on the food and the people you’re with. Not traffic. Not your work. Not why the heck Aunt Edna posted that weird Facebook video involving a cat petting a baby duck.
To achieve this, your first step is getting away from a desk or the car when you can (and the second step is unfollowing Aunt Edna). If you already do this, great. If not, take one meal a week to consciously pry yourself from distractions and just focus on the food. You can increase the number of meals each week; they can be alone, they can be with family, or they can be with friends. The point isn’t to sit by yourself or stay silent; it’s to eliminate distraction so that you’re not ignoring your food so much that you eat too much.
FOCUS ON SATISFIED, NOT FULL
When you’re eating without thinking, your eyes want more than your belly can handle. That’s because it can take up to 20 minutes for food to be digested enough to trigger the hormone responses that alert your brain that you’ve had enough.5 When you slow down, however, you’re more in tune with the amount of food you need. Your goal is to top off your tank, not make it overflow. When you’re not buried pupil-deep in your phone, you can notice how you feel—and you’re more likely to stop eating when your hunger has subsided. That’s a totally different feeling than eating until you’re full. And that one minor adjustment—over time—can be the game changer when it comes to keeping your weight down (and avoiding the problems associated with weight gain).
YOU CAN PRACTICE IT
One of the points of mindful eating is to teach you that healthy food has its own set of delicious tastes and satisfying qualities. (This fact has been masked over the last few decades with lots of overly sugared processed foods that have collectively taught us that you have to eat a silo worth of sweets to be happy.) Frankly, this is one of the hardest things to learn; people rarely say they’d rather have a radish than an oatmeal raisin cookie.
But here’s the thing: You can practice mindful eating. Researchers suggest doing it with a raisin and following these instructions: Place a raisin in your mouth; don’t chew. Close your eyes. Let the raisin sit on your tongue. Taste its flavor. Feel the texture, shape, and firmness. Begin to slowly chew. Notice how your tongue, teeth, and jaw move as the raisin changes in your mouth. Try it today. Practice it tomorrow. Integrate new foods. It only takes a few seconds, but the effects—if you keep it up—can last a lifetime.
REALIZE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TASTE AND SMELL
Taste and smell go together like almond butter and blueberries. In fact, smell is so much a part of taste that it’s evolutionarily vital; it once acted as an early warning system. When people detected something was poisonous with their nose before they put it in their mouth, a life was saved (necessary in an era before labels included skull and crossbones on packaging).
Because of this, some of what we taste is actually influenced by smell. When food is placed in the mouth, some of the molecules actually move up into the back of the throat and into the nasal cavity. Your individual taste buds—and how they interact with food—certainly play a role in how you perceive food. The bottom line is that food should be experienced slowly, with all of your senses interacting with each other to fully appreciate what you’re eating.
EXERCISE YOUR SMELL MUSCLES
OK, so maybe you’re not going to go to the gym and do three sets of 10 nose sniffs. But you can exercise and improve your smelling ability in a similar way. Research suggests that you can do this by sniffing a variety of different aromas for 30 seconds, two or more times a day, using essential oils. Don’t have essential oils lying around? Then pick distinct items you like, such as spices, coffee, berries, citrus, and herbs. For even better results, vary the items after a couple of months.6
Other studies suggest that you also take the time to smell different things around you and try to describe them as a way of becoming more attuned with a sense you may not pay much attention to except in extreme scenarios, from fresh flowers to foul feet. (By the way, some research shows that a leading cause of loss of smell is trauma, like car accidents.7 That’s because the part of your brain that receives smells can be easily damaged. So, yeah, we never thought that “wear your seat belt” would be a good eating strategy, but it is.)
Other ways to improve your sense of smell:
Drink lots of water. Dry mouth can inhibit smell.
Eat zinc-rich foods, like spinach, kidney beans, and seeds. Zinc deficiencies are associated with loss of smell.
Go for a brisk 10-minute walk before a meal. Many people report an improved sense of smell after exercise. Bonus regular exercise can help prevent loss of smell.8
EAT PURPOSEFULLY
Eating shouldn’t be a reflex; it should be characterized by thought and purpose. When you control the pace and duration of what you eat, you will allow your body to taste the flavors—and feel satisfied. Patience isn’t easy if you’re a speed eater, but you can tap the brakes with these tactics:
Put your fork or spoon down after every bite. This forces you to slow down, rather than shovel in. We’re not going to mandate a grandma-endorsed 45-chew rule—but yeah, you should make an effort to chew each bite a little longer than you normally would.
Take one bite of one food and then a bite of another food (rather than eating all of the chicken at once and then all of the quinoa). This allows you to move between flavors and prevent your sensory nerves from getting bored.
EMBRACE THE SPICE
Our number one way to be more mindful about flavors is to, well, be more mindful of new flavors. Don’t rely on sugar, salt, and fat to provide your meal satisfaction; instead, go to the spice aisle (or the produce aisle for fresh herbs) and try new ones. You can use them on roasted veggies, grilled fish and chicken, and more. Our favorite spices are chili flakes, lemon zest, rosemary, fresh garlic, and basil. Some off-the-radar spices that you can also try include merkén, Aleppo pepper, harissa, za’atar, and shichimi togarashi.