Eating

[tumoessence]

I am wondering how your consumption of food quantity has changed through cultivation and the rhythm in which you eat throughout the day. Also how has that changed for you into middle age for those of you who have reached that area of life? Less food, more? With a family of four we have an evening meal but I hardly eat in quanties which I used to. Granted I don't do so much construction work as I used to as well.

 

Sorry the title should be "Not what, but..........."

Edited December 3, 2010 by tumoessence

[balance.]

I am wondering how your consumption of food quantity has changed through cultivation and the rhythm in which you eat throughout the day. Also how has that changed for you into middle age for those of you who have reached that area of life? Less food, more? With a family of four we have an evening meal but I hardly eat in quanties which I used to. Granted I don't do so much construction work as I used to as well.

 

Sorry the title should be "Not what, but..........."

 

 

Since beginning cultivation, I've made note of both a desire to eat less and a desire to eat well. Though I've never been one for junk food binges, cultivating has made the moderate consumption of all things good and wholesome to seem both obvious and proper... Vegetables constitute a far greater amount of my intake than before... I think, for me anyway, cultivating has made me really enjoy some of these dishes that I would've only eaten before because they were healthy.. It just feels right.

 

In terms of meals... Breakfast and dinner probably constitute my only big/full meals... Mostly I prefer to snack here and there... I like the feeling that comes from stopping eating before your full... Whats that old adage? Eat till your 80% full because the last 20% sustains the doctor? Anyway, instead of feeling heavy, I'll feel light and content and alert. In terms of how much I eat at breakfast and dinner, that largely depends on how I'm feeling and what I expended physically/energetically during the day... If I'm preparing for a particularly harrowing day, I'll up the portion size at breakfast... That goes for bigger meals at night too if I'm expecting the next day to be demanding physically... Front-loading... But I still won't gorge myself.. I'll just move a bit past my comfort zone.

 

 

I think it's safe to say that my "rhythm" of eating is defined largely by my practices... In the morning, I'll eat after I've done my routines.... and same thing at night... I'm sure most here will agree cultivating on a full stomach is distracting... But if I'm too hungry before practice, I will throw something down the hatch.. a small snack.. Just enough to take the edge off any distracting indications of hunger.. Fruit seems to do the trick.

 

... Seems to me less eating is just a side-effect of practice... I'm sure retention factors into that, as well as the body just operating more efficiently... More energy in general.. I also feel that deep belly breathing plays a big part in how much your getting out of the food and how well it all gets digested... But that could be complete malarchy

 

 

I can't yet comment about changes in middle age.

 

 

 

best.

 

 

 

 

balance.

 

 

 

* I should note that I was initially concerned about decreases in my food consumption, because I do maintain a very active existence, and I'd been accustomed to sustaining myself with athlete-sized portions... But I didn't wither away or turn into a skeleton (although I did loose some weight), nor find myself unable to continue maintaining my usual physical routines because of less fuel.... I think the important thing here is that I wasn't actively cutting back, but just rolling with the wave of natural change and internal inclination...

Edited December 3, 2010 by balance.