Eat Less

I don’t know if it’s just me but I’ve been coming across a lot of literature these days on Eating less (and ironically as I’m typing this I’m enjoying a cup of green tea). Health benefits aside, it’s one of the more fundamental spiritual practices to enlightenment.

Here are my more favourite quotes on Eating Less:

– Imam Ali, AS has famously said, “Don’t make ur stomach a graveyard for animals.”

– From the Hadith of Ascension, Allah SWT advises Prophet Mohammed (SAW) directly:
O Ahmad! Beware acting like a child who, upon seeing what is green and what is yellow, he loves it, and when he is given of what is sweet and what is sour, he is deceived by it.” The Prophet said, “Lord! Lead me to a deed whereby I seek nearness to You.” The Almighty said, “Make your night a day and your day a night.” The Prophet said, “How so, Lord?” The Almighty said, “Turn your sleep into prayer and your food into hunger.”

– From Imam Ja’far as Sadiq’s Hadith, to Unwan al Basri
“As for the three pieces of advice on self-discipline – firstly do not eat that which you have no appetite for, for this brings about idiocy and stupidity. Secondly do not eat unless you are hungry. And thirdly when you do eat, eat only that which is lawful (Halal) and begin in the Name of Allah (SWT), and remind yourself of the tradition of the Prophet (SAWW): “There is no vessel that man fills worse than his own stomach”. So if you must fill it, then allow one third of it for food, another third for drink, and keep the last third for air.

Benefits of eating less:

It’s surely a difficult thing to do. I’m personally so used to eating till my brim, that I find it difficult to judge whether I’m still hungry or not. And then when I do know that it’s time to stop, my hand feel like a tonne. My hands feel just way too heavy to lift and push my plate away. Yet it feels extremely light to go ahead and make the most of another delicious helping. What’s worse is that in many households it’s actually a culture that when one’s invited, the host is expected to stuff the living daylights out of the guest. It’s then when he’s perceived to be a good host.

I’ve been trying to practice eating less, although difficult the rewards are worth it:

– Increase in your willpower:
Just like anything else in life, the more you practice at something the better you get. Similarly, the more your exert your will against your ravenous desires, your willpower gets stronger.

– You feel just right:
After a few minutes of holding yourself back you realise that what you ate was just right for your. And now your full as well as active enough to carry on the next/future tasks.

– Your meals are more balanced:
When I have a light dinner, I experienced that I’m exceptionally hungry for breakfast and hence can treat myself to a larger meal then. We’re obviously more active during the day and the heavy breakfast gives me the energy that I require. A heavy dinner, simply piles on more cellulite.

– Importantly the satisfaction of doing the right thing for yourself, and not taking the easy convenient more delicious option.

– Ofcourse you will immediately experience an increase in your spiritual levels too.

– The final benefit I’m listing here is that eating less is one of the key factors indicated in the study on what it takes to live up to a 100. You can learn about the other lifestyle criteria in this TEDx video here or the Blue Zones website here.