Today I want to you to play a little game.

 

It’s called the Raisin Game, it’s pretty simple but here is how it works.

 

I want you to lay out a few raisins, if you don’t like raisins try some other dried fruit such as cranberries or even a few pieces of fresh fruit.

 

Set a distraction free zone, no kids, no phone, no TV, no music just you and your raisins.

 

This is where the fun starts!

 

I want you to eat each raisin one at a time.

 

But first pick up the raisin, what does it look like? What do you feel? What do you smell?

 

Eat one raisin, what does it taste like? What is the texture in your mouth? What does it make you think of?

 

Do this with each raisin trying to be as mindful as possible about what you notice.

 

Okay are you done? How fun was that? Probably the coolest thing you have ever done right? You’re probably on the phone right now telling all of your friends about your magical experience.

 

Well if you didn’t have fun that’s cool too, but I think this exercise has tons of value.

 

In all seriousness was your eating experience a little different? Did you notice things that you may not have if you were shoving raisins in your mouth while doing 5 different things?

 

Unfortunately this is how many people eat today in such a fast passed world. We are not truly in the moment when we eat, we are so zoned out when we eat that we don’t enjoy the experience as much as we should.

 

This lack of focus also tends to lead to overeating. Before we know it we just ate a whole sleeve of Oreos while watching the latest show on Netflix, or we had 3 bowls of pasta because we were on the phone with our best friend for an hour and didn’t realize what we were doing.

 

Now you don’t need to make every meal as critical and thought provoking as the raisin game. But try being in the moment when you eat.

 

Try to limit distractions think about what you are eating, what you really taste, what it smells like, and most importantly ask your self am I hungry?

 

Not only will this help you slow down and avoid over eating but it will also make your food more enjoyable to your senses.

 

Just like we always say, try focusing on one habit and one habit only before moving up the ladder to the next. If your struggling with your nutritional habits and feel like you need a little extra coaching please give us a call at 203-914-6396 or send us an email at info@coreprinciples-sc.com

 

-Coach Pat