How My Body Processes Food

I'm deeply involved in the practice of observing myself and my behavior, including all my thoughts, words and actions... especially related to my body. I've been noticing that it's not so much the food I eat that makes me feel "heavy" or "light" but the way I eat the food.

These seem to be big factors for me in how my body processes the food I eat:

Why I'm eating...
Am I really hungry? Is it out of habit? Is it self-punishing (like overeating can be)? Do I "need" to eat it? or, will I be fine if I don't eat it?

How I'm eating...
Am I devouring the food as fast as I can? or, am I eating it slowly, chewing my food completely?

How I feel while I'm eating...
Am I in a good mood? Am I feeling happy? Am I feeling upset, stressed or in a bad mood?

Let's take a piece of pizza... for me, I notice that if I'm not really hungry but am eating out of habit, and I "need" to eat it, or else I'll have a tantrum, and I devour it faster than you can say "pizza," and I'm feeling stressed while eating it... my body feels really heavy after, and I don't feel so good. If this happens several meals in a row (no matter what food I'm eating), I gain a few pounds and my clothes fit a little tighter.

On the other hand, take that same slice of pizza... and I'm eating it because my body is hungry (not my "emotional body"), I don't "need" to eat it, I'm eating it slowly and enjoying every bite, and I'm in a good mood while eating it... my body generally feels light and happy after (well, as light as you can feel after having a lot of cheese).

In my experience, my body feels light and I don't put on extra weight when I'm eating pizza, or anything else, while I'm genuinely hungry, eating slowly and chewing my food completely, and feeling good, in a happy mood.

wow, there's so much to the human body and all the factors that play a role in how it processes food... so interesting...

xoxo
Niki