The French are onto Something...

So, in chatting wtih people who have been to France and in reading different bits about the French eating delicious, rich foods with low obesity rates, it's got me thinking about mindfulness...

It seems the French culture is much more mindful about eating...slowing down to appreciate that delicious morsel of cheese or making sure to sip their glass of red before having another bite is so different than how us North Americans have been trained to eat...I have attached a link of a Blog post from another Blog, but note I am note condoning the skinny piece in this; instead, I really see mindful, happy eating at the core of this article and I like it!

http://optimumnutrition.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/how-do-french-eat-what-they-want-and-stay-slim-healthy/

Think of this:
Many struggling with obesity are likely not mindfully eating; there is likely many big portions of unhealthy foods going in their belly's. OR some type of trauma and extreme sadness and stress in their history leads them to emotionally eat-again, lacking mindfulness.

Likewise, someone regardless of their weight, who is constantly counting calories-depriving themselves one day and then starving as a result goes to buy a Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal from McDonald's-is also not being mindful of eating. Being pre-occupied with what one ate the day before, to today, to what they should and shouldn't eat on the weekend is certainly not being in the present moment.

I suppose I should throw in a definition of mindfulness for those not so up to speed on the term. So what exactly is mindfulness?....Here is what a famous teacher on mindfulness meditation has to say:

"Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally"-Jon Kabat-Zinn.

 I love this term and this idea for all areas of life, really...Our North American culture is NOT mindful. In fact, we are quite the opposite (I realize that's a sweeping generalization, but I believe it's mostly true...)...We are constantly rushing around and looking for convenience and the next best thing. Mindfulness to me means slowing down and enjoying many moments, and not punishing ourselves with worry about the past or future...This crosses over into the worry around how many inches we hope to save by eating this extra-low fat mega diet salad or how many mega diet salads we'll have to eat by allowing ourselves pizza...

It all just seems so unhealthy and scary to me. I thought about how my blog topic may be lame; let's be honest-I don't have too many followers and not all of the reading is exactly light and easy. But then, when I reflected back on the last week and how each day I heard people stressing about calories, what they ate, what they fed their children, how many inches they hope to loose, how many inches they have lost, and how they just joined a new and improved gym, I realized my passion about this is still prominent enough to blog-it-out.