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Day 15: First two bites
Picture your favorite dessert on the table in front of you. Maybe it's a piece of your mom's homemade apple pie, a slice of turtle cheesecake, or a bowl of rocky road ice cream.
As you take the first bite, you swoon with pleasure. Wow, is this ever good! Excited to have more, you reach for another bite, marveling at how great it tastes.
More bites, then still more, and soon it's gone. But did you really notice the rest of the food? Initially, you appreciated its flavor and texture, but then you stopped paying attention and simply ate until you finished it off.
Power of the first two bites
You may not realize it, but the first two bites of any food will always have the most flavor. If you keep eating after that, you're just "feeding." Of course, if you're physically hungry, eating more of the food serves a purpose.
But if you want to appreciate the flavor, be aware that no matter how much you eat, the taste won't get any more wonderful than those first two bites. Instead of always taking in lots of extra calories, why not take advantage of the way your taste buds actually work?
With any food that you love, eat the first two bites very slowly, noticing details such as the cinnamon in the apple pie or the soft caramel swirl in the cheesecake. Close your eyes and delight in the taste. Allow yourself to completely absorb the texture and flavor of the food.
Is it worth eating more?
After you finish those two bites, decide if you truly need more. In most cases, you don't. Once in a while, a food will taste so phenomenal that it's worth the mountain of calories and fat grams it contains. But in reality, very few types of candy, cookies, or even cheesecake fit into that category.
Suppose you're eating one of your favorite desserts such as a chocolate brownie. When you really pay close attention to the taste, you may decide this one isn't as special as you'd anticipated. If that's the case, stop eating. Tell yourself you've gotten what you needed from it. Then either toss or give away the rest so you aren't tempted to eat something that just isn't all that great.
TODAY'S TASKS:
Choose one of your favorite foods such as carrot cake, and then focus on all the details and tastes of the first two bites. Let yourself appreciate the flavors.
After the first two bites, stop eating and get rid of the rest of the food. In your notebook, write down the details about this experience.
With each food you eat today, pay close attention to the first two bites. Notice how they taste in comparison to the rest of the food.
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