Sophie's Challenges

Sorry, I need to get the hang of how to use this.

DAY 1: I was surprised at how hard it was...sometimes hard to chew something at least 40 times, sometimes hard to keep it where it didn't head to the back of my throat where I swallowed by reflex, sometimes hard to keep my mind from wandering. I definitely can't read something while doing it.

I felt like I was seeing what 'present' really means when I interacted with every bite as if it were the only thing on this green earth. When I did that, I found that I was full & satisfied after eating 5 or 6 pecans, and that you can actually chew a pecan 40 times and really enjoy the taste.

For dinner, I was just having leftovers and there wasn't much there, but I found I could only eat half of it. My stomach usually feels a little weird after I eat so I expected that, but I didn't have that at all. What really surprised me was that I ate earlier than normal and I expected to get hungry again before I went to bed, but I was completely satisfied, no hunger, for the next 5-6 hours.

Where I forgot several times was in drinking...I'm really used to grabbing my water and just drinking it. I didn't remember to chew it most of the times that I drank it.

DAY 2: I'm seeing that my habit is to wait until I'm pretty hungry to eat, and then I wolf my food down. I really had to make myself slow down and chew, at least 40 times, and put my fork down while I chewed...then I felt like I was being the boss. After that I switched to eating before I was starving. But I'm amazed at how long I stay full after eating. I still forgot with my water more than I remembered, though...I have to work on that.

I got some pudding as a gift, so I ate some of it...it was quite a challenge to chew pudding 40 times, but I have to say that as I interacted with every bite of it, that pudding was so good I hated myself! That was amazing.

nice work Jodie. Thank you.

Chewing water IS a challenge. Also chewing soup...

Today was so interesting in terms of chewing my water... it was kind of an amazing experience. I noticed I've been dutiful about drinking my water, gulping it down regularly to stay hydrated. Today, taking one sip at a time and chewing it, I noticed how smooth and refreshing it was in my mouth, and how pleasant it was, how nourishing and hydrating and life-giving it felt....I know this sounds so cheesy, but I can't describe it any other way...I felt like the water was a gift, a gift that it's available to me and a gift that I can give to my body. That was a really cool experience.

With my food, I really felt like I had to be the boss today...one mistake was I waited until I was really hungry again, and I wanted to wolf it down how I normally do. I had to consciously slow myself wayy down, and breathe, and chew. I also had to make myself not check an email or read, or even watch the little birds running around outside, all of that was distracting - I actually had to close my eyes. I noticed different tastes in my food than I've noticed before, and I found that once I was able to shut off the outside world and focus in, I was really enjoying eating. As hungry as I was I couldn't finish what I was eating, which is always a surprise to me, and again my stomach felt fine, no 'weirdness' like I normally get.

Wonderful.