He doesn't get why I'm so happy.
Food Psychology 101: Change how you eat and you’ll change how you think!
At least, that’s what the Wisefool (my alter ego) believes. I know this makes no sense whatsoever.
After all, what does eating have to do with thinking? What does food have to do with the mind?
Answer: everything!
How and what you eat is very telling of how your mind works. That’s because your thoughts and emotions influence your daily actions. And vice-versa.
Take eating.
When you change your thought process, you’ll change your daily food habits. Conversely, change your conduct around food and you’ll change how you think. The first is hard, the second is easy as pie.
Changing your thought process is like trying to nail jello to the wall. Hard and messy. There’s an easier way—food!
The easiest way to change how you think is to change how you eat.
Ha! Who knew?!
Then again, all this is sort of like feng-shui, which says “change your home and you’ll change your mind.”
What does it mean to “change how you eat?”
After all, what’s there to eating? Open mouth, eat food, you’re done.
Changing how you eat is not about changing the mechanics of eating, but about changing your experience of it. Think about your everyday food. What do you experience when you eat your daily grub?
Are you enjoying it or you just filling up? Do you find pleasure or is it empty gratification? Are you sensually engaged with your food or are you “dead” to it?
Does it matter?
Absolutely!
It matters because how you experience your food determines how your body will metabolize it. In other words, “how you eat” more directly influences your health than “what you eat.”
Besides, how you relate to food is a reflection of how you relate to life at large.
Got no time for your food? You won’t have time for the people in your life either. Don’t pay attention to the food you eat? You won’t pay attention to your wife either.
Or as the Wisefool would say, “Show me how you eat and I’ll show you who you are.”
Ok, so you’re a mindless consumer. So what?! So is everybody else. Our whole economy is built on a model of consumption, after all. Why stop consuming and hurt the economy?
Good point. But I say, forget the economy and save your soul. The economy will take care of itself.
Mindless eating leaves you in chronic discontent. Which means, you’ll look for happiness in life—but never find it. Is that what you want?
I didn’t think so.
Food is something you do day-in and day-out. Three times a day. You do it from the time you’re born till the day you crawl into your grave.
Food is the most fundamental relationship you have in life. Not only that, food is the most intimate relationship you’ll have in life, period. Break it gently to your lover though. 
After all, what other activity do you engage in where the object of your affection enters your body—and becomes you. It becomes your very flesh, bones and tissue.
None—except food.
Wanna change your life? Change how you eat. Because when you change how you eat you’ll change how you think.
Here’s to you!
Image Source: geiri3d.klaki.net
This post was written by...
Srinivas "Sage" Reddy has written 23 posts on Ask Sage.
I'm the founder of AskSage.us. I'm a Life Coach, writer, philosopher, blogger, foodie, tinkerer, musician, wisefool and author of the new book Eat for Joy: the 4 golden rules of food.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I enjoyed this video and seeing you Srinivas! What you say is so true. Growing up in an Italian American household, my dad used to say “You must cook with your heart” That’s the beginning. The many different dishes on a typical Sunday and Holidays took hours to eat. So I learned very young to savor the food.
Since those days, I became a vegetarian (dad rolling in his grave) and I learned how to eat for energy, not to fill the belly. Using my conscious mind from picking out something from the store, cooking it with love, and enjoying and savoring the flavor lead to feeling the energy of the food.
Most American diets consist of junk food and fast food. There is no time to even give a thought to what is consumed except how fast you can do it.
Not for me!
Food to me is an exchange of energy. I don’t like eating dead things because there is no energy in it. I do, however will eat fish if it is caught by me or someone in my surrounding area and delivered to me alive.
Oh…I should stop here before I write a novel, I am so passionate about this subject and it is a joy that you are passing on this information to help others.
Thank You
Donna
Donna Merrill invites you to read..Mari Smith and Guy Kawasaki March 28th Event
When I was younger, I had a friend who was studying to become a rabbi. We were talking about Kosher food and I told him that I didn’t understand the need to restrict ourselves to certain foods as it made no particular health sense. Something he told me that day affected me for the rest of my life. “It’s not because of heath reasons that I eat Kosher food, although they do exist, but because it sets my mind in a special frame of mind and allows me to have control over what I eat, and this decision impacts on just about everything else I do in life.”
So yes! Change the food you eat, and you will also change the way you think!
Stevie invites you to read..I Am My Ego And My Ego Is Mine
Excellent story, Stevie. Restrictive food practices such as “kosher,” “vegan” etc can actually help us become more aware of what we’re putting into our bodies.
Srinivas “Sage” Reddy invites you to read..Trust But Verify
Completely true, what we eat influence us, it influence the way we think about food and the environment. If we have more greens either we are weight watchers if not we’re concerned about a more healthy diet. You write some very interesting posts which I feel are very unique. I’ll look forward to read more of your other posts. Great read!
Thanks for your thoughts here, Dr. Suarez. Certainly, what we eat influences our mental health. But in our excessive focus on “what” we eat, we often neglect “how” we eat whatever we do. Changing how we eat has the power to change how we think.
Srinivas “Sage” Reddy invites you to read..What The Heck Is Law Of Attraction?
This is the best advice I have ever read. I have eaten unconsciously for years and had no idea there was any other way. I feel like a gorilla coming out of the mist, even better, out of the MESS. I can feel when I am hungry.
Life altering experiences are in store for me and I thank you from the bottom of my stomach and my heart. THANK YOU for writing your book, Eat forJoy !!!
Like you, Jeanne, I am transforming. When the kids were in the house I didn’t even have to think about food. I prepared food from scratch because it was cheaper that way. And we ate regularly because the kids’ tummies dictated that. Now my husband and I eat maybe 2 meals a day and we eat whatever. I’ve been seeing a natural doctor which helps sometimes. I am a mess! It seems all so overwhelming that one doesn’t know where to start. So seems too good to be true that I should just focus on enjoying my food again. So I raise my glass to you, Sage!
Ann,
Just being aware of your eating habits is a great step. You can start with “how you eat.” Enjoy!
This has been on my mind alot lately. I have been on the go, grabbing instead of sitting down, and it is beginning to show on the scale, and worse, how I feel. Painful joints are returning. I will be watching for your advice. Great article!
Thanks for your comments, Janet. We do that a lot in America: eat on the go. At the end of the day, food’s only as good as our presence to it. If I’m not there for my food, no matter how good, it’s just “stuff.” And we end up paying a huge price for it.
All I think when I eat is how great it smells,feels in my mouth and in my stomach! I really cannot think any other thought until I am finished. Are you saying I should be thinking more?
You already know how to eat, Norm. You strike me as the old-fashioned type. And that’s a sincere compliment, mind you. You know, back when people used to work when they work, eat when when they eat, sleep when they sleep. Dear sir, we can learn a lot from you.
That said, there are plenty of things you could learn about your relationship with food. We’ll explore them in the coming days. Stay tuned.
Sage,
I have avoided this “mindful” movement in the west because of it being the hottest new thing. Another way for Americans to be “cool” when they are not being authentic. Well forget that business I need to be more aware of what I’m putting in my body because like you say my soul is the victim here. Now the question becomes, where do I start?
You make interesting points, Adrian. I don’t see mindfulness as being in conflict with being authentic, but understand your sentiments. Where do you start? Well, start the next time you sit down to eat anything. Start by being a little more aware of your eating habits. Cheers!
Adrian,
Sage makes an important point. In order for any one of us to change we need to be aware of where we stand currently. So I hope you have been taking notes about your current habits. I suggest you do it for two weeks and no longer. 4 columns; record the date, what, when, and how you ate. Once you assess that you are ready! Enjoy the book and start transforming!!
Happy reading~ Becca
And be sure to return here with additional questions…
Becca,
Thanks for being willing to dialogue with me in my process. I have done what Sage and you suggested and Wow! I didn’t realize how mindless I can be! I’ve read and am working on the first rule. I have been experimenting with whether to eat based on hunger or the clock and run into pro’s and con’s for both. Do you foresee a problem if I was to keep my meals regular throughout the week then on weekends cut myself some slack and go by hunger?
Hmmmmm. Interesting read. I never made that connection between how I eat and how I think. Certainly food for thought.
Matt – better late than never, right? I’m glad you’re pondering on this.
Hmmmmm. Interesting read. I never made that connection between how I eat and how I think. Certainly food for thought.
Thanks Matt. As they say, better late than never.