's motd Wed May 18, 2010

[Guest guest]

SLOW HAND

Wednesday, 19 May 2010

You remember that song, Slow Hand, by the Pointer Sisters, don't you? (If not, check it out on iTunes. It's a really sexy number and I think you'll like it.) I thought of that song today because it seems, nowadays, the opposite is true. Everyone seems to be in such a rush! In fact, the whole world seems to be in a rush.

I mean, think about it. You rush to get out of bed, rush to get dressed...then rush to work. We rush to check our cell phones, to text people and to get our computers going in the morning. Yeah, we have to check those E-mails every few minutes, don't we? You rush through your workday so you can then rush home. (If only all of that activity counted as exercise but...it doesn't!) And you know what else? Some people even rush through their workouts! (Now that's no good!)The worse rush of all though is when we sit down to eat our meals. Rush! But a lot of people don't even sit down to eat. They eat their breakfasts while getting dressed for work or in the car on their drive to work. They eat lunch quickly right at their work stations. Now that's gotta be pretty. A keyboard covered with taco sauce from that beef & bean burrito they just had! At home, they rush to get something on the table so they can sit and eat dinner...in a rush.

Do you know how many people rush even when they're having a Lifesaver candy? Oh, you know how it is. You're supposed to roll that little cherry Lifesaver around inside your mouth as it gets smaller and smaller, melting in your mouth. But a lot of people simply put that Lifesaver into their mouths, savor the flavor for a few seconds then c-r-u-n-n-n-h...bite right into it and it's gone! Hey, slow down...where's the fun in that?Oh, I used to be the same way. I didn't eat...I just shoveled food down my mouth. And while I was eating a fork-full of something off my plate, I was already eyeing what my next bite of "something" would be. And after inhaling a meal, then and only then would I drink my beverage. (No wonder I had a heartburn all the time when I was obese.)Now listen up...you need to slow your eating hand down whether you're left-handed or right-handed. I've read that left-handed people eat faster than right-handed people. (And wouldn't you know it...I'm left-handed!)

When you're having breakfast, sit down at the table. Make it look nice for your first meal of the day. Place your utensils and napkins out and don't watch television. Concentrate on enjoying your first healthy meal of the day. And when you put some food on your fork, chew and swallow before taking your next bite. And as you chew, put the fork down...it's not going anywhere! When you eat lunch at work, get away from your desk. Maybe you can even have lunch outside with Mother Nature for a nice change of scenery. As for dinner, eat slowly for that meal, too. After a few bites, drink some water. It'll help the food go down and digest properly. And by the way, when you slow down your eating, you're also helping your metabolism. So the next time you have a meal, I want you to think of me sitting right next to you. Now, unfold that napkin, place it in your lap and get ready to enjoy your meal by eating with a...slow hand.Love,

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 19 May 2010 05:01:07 -0500, Sue in NJ <sue_in_nj@...> wrote:

SLOW HAND

Wednesday, 19 May 2010

When you're having breakfast, sit down at the table.  Make it look nice for your first meal of the day.  Place your utensils and napkins out and don't watch television.  Concentrate on enjoying your first healthy meal of the day.  And when you put some food on your fork, chew and swallow before taking your next bite.  And as you chew, put the fork down...it's not going anywhere!  When you eat lunch at work, get away from your desk.  Maybe you can even have lunch outside with Mother Nature for a nice change of scenery.  As for dinner, eat slowly for that meal, too.  After a few bites, drink some water.  It'll help the food go down and digest properly.  And by the way, when you slow down your eating, you're also helping your metabolism.  I agree 100% (for a change, lol) with RS on this.  My husband and I still do it the old fashioned way, we sit down to eat, use our good china at home, drink good wines with dinner, no matter what.  When we both worked at the school, we use to go sit in the janitor's room to eat our lunch and get away from the phones and the commotion.  Even in my worse eating periods, I never ate walking around in public or standing in the kitchen.  We also never eat in front of the TV or the computer.  I think making the meal time a time to focus on the flavours and the process of eating really help me keep food and eating in perspective.  When it is all jumbled up into distracted mess, I lose the ability to know when to stop eating and my signals of being full.-- Ann H.My blogs are on my profile: elisaannh