Why CBT cook
Okay so you might have noticed that I have changed my name fro Mindful cook to CBT cook.
I hadn't realised how many mindful cooks there are in the world and I want to make sure I don't get mixed up with someone else.
My background in therapy has introduced me to the world of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and so whilst I am not sitting round meditating all day, I have begun to take much more notice of and real pleasure in the 'here and now'. Certainly cooking and baking in particular is something I have discovered enables me to tune in to the moment and tune out worries.
Cooking creates so many sensual experiences; smell, touch, sound( have you ever listened to a cake baking?) and of course taste, that it is hard not to become totally engrossed.
I wonder if like me, the days seemed much longer when you were little? The reason for this, experts suggest is that as young children we are very often experiencing new things and so totally focussed and engrossed in learning or experiencing whatever it is that we really remember and are aware of each and every second of our experiences. As we get older, and we've seen and done things time and time again, we can tend to do things on automatic pilot and as a result, overlook so much of what it is we are doing or experiencing. It stands to reason therefore that in so doing, we are at risk of missing out on pleasure, fun, deliciousness from the most simple action.
A few years ago, I spent a week on a training course where between 9pm and 10am each day we were expected to be silent. This meant eating breakfast in silence.
Now, I LOVE breakfast. I joke that it is the main reason for going to bed at night as it brings me closer to breakfast in the morning, but if I am honest, I normally eat breakfast with the radio on and a book or newspaper in front of me. So, the first morning when I piled my plate high with a mixture of cereals, yoghurt, a banana and two slices of toast( I said I like breakfast), and sat down opposite another delegate who offered no eye contact at all, I was forced to concentrate on my food.
What I found much to my amazement, was that my food tasted so much better than normal. I found that the more I concentrated on what I was eating, the slower I ate and the less I needed to make me feel full. If I am honest, I think I had forgotten how breakfast food tasted until that experience and I lament the number of bananas I have eaten on automatic pilot prior to that.
This mindful eating has lots of benefits and can be really helpful for anyone trying to lose weight.
Try it! Try eating one meal in silence, perhaps with your eyes closed for some of the time, but also try really looking at and noticing whatever it is you are eating. Why not use you fingers to feel the textures of the food, or try holding it up to your ear to notice what sound it makes when you squeeze it.
Just watch a baby eating finger food........do they look happy or what?
I hadn't realised how many mindful cooks there are in the world and I want to make sure I don't get mixed up with someone else.
My background in therapy has introduced me to the world of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and so whilst I am not sitting round meditating all day, I have begun to take much more notice of and real pleasure in the 'here and now'. Certainly cooking and baking in particular is something I have discovered enables me to tune in to the moment and tune out worries.
Cooking creates so many sensual experiences; smell, touch, sound( have you ever listened to a cake baking?) and of course taste, that it is hard not to become totally engrossed.
I wonder if like me, the days seemed much longer when you were little? The reason for this, experts suggest is that as young children we are very often experiencing new things and so totally focussed and engrossed in learning or experiencing whatever it is that we really remember and are aware of each and every second of our experiences. As we get older, and we've seen and done things time and time again, we can tend to do things on automatic pilot and as a result, overlook so much of what it is we are doing or experiencing. It stands to reason therefore that in so doing, we are at risk of missing out on pleasure, fun, deliciousness from the most simple action.
A few years ago, I spent a week on a training course where between 9pm and 10am each day we were expected to be silent. This meant eating breakfast in silence.
Now, I LOVE breakfast. I joke that it is the main reason for going to bed at night as it brings me closer to breakfast in the morning, but if I am honest, I normally eat breakfast with the radio on and a book or newspaper in front of me. So, the first morning when I piled my plate high with a mixture of cereals, yoghurt, a banana and two slices of toast( I said I like breakfast), and sat down opposite another delegate who offered no eye contact at all, I was forced to concentrate on my food.
What I found much to my amazement, was that my food tasted so much better than normal. I found that the more I concentrated on what I was eating, the slower I ate and the less I needed to make me feel full. If I am honest, I think I had forgotten how breakfast food tasted until that experience and I lament the number of bananas I have eaten on automatic pilot prior to that.
This mindful eating has lots of benefits and can be really helpful for anyone trying to lose weight.
Try it! Try eating one meal in silence, perhaps with your eyes closed for some of the time, but also try really looking at and noticing whatever it is you are eating. Why not use you fingers to feel the textures of the food, or try holding it up to your ear to notice what sound it makes when you squeeze it.
Just watch a baby eating finger food........do they look happy or what?
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