Conclusion: Eating Comme les Français

I have concluded my experiment of mindful eating Comme les Francais for one whole week. It wasn't always easy. And there were times when I cheated slightly- a phone call here, a television on there- but for the most part I was strict with this experiment of eating with pleasure and not allowing any background distractions because I wanted to see what change it would bring to my life- if any.

After reviewing my food journal for the whole week, these are the key points I observed:

- I snacked less. The French do not snack. Snaking is usually a 'mindless' activity. I would say 90% of the time when I snack it is out of boredom rather than hunger. Eating three meals a day and paying attention to them prompted me to snack less.

- I was more active. This week found me going to yoga three times and taking long walks almost every night. I think this 'whole being in the moment and doing things for pleasure' concept trickled down into other aspects of my life- like exercise... who knew?

- The meals were more satisfying. Even on the days when I experienced the most resistance to eating properly (not in front of the TV, not in front of the computer), when I actually succumbed and ate focusing solely on the enjoyment of my meal, I felt truly satisfied.

- Eating mindfully recharged my battery. I experienced the most resistance when I had to eat alone. Apparently I do not think of myself as good enough company to enjoy a meal with. My mind would always try to convince me that I could get two things done at once (eating and calling my sister- eating and checking email.) When I kicked the multi-tasking impulse to the curb each meal eaten alone felt like a tiny meditation and recharged my proverbial battery.

- Dinner with my husband was more romantic without Fox Football Fone-In blaring in the background. This, you are thinking, should have been obvious, but I didn't realize how obvious until I set the scene: played music in the background, drew the curtains, opened the window and made the table look nice. Why can't dinner be romantic 5 nights a week?

Going forward I am not going to be as strict with myself for each meal, but I am going to try to be mindful. And maybe- just maybe- capture the magic that I shared living in France for those six wonderful months- the clinking of glasses, the savoring of food, the stimulating conversation. Maybe if I keep this up I can make this pleasurable and romantic way of eating "the norm" in my household.

Thank you to everyone that joined me on this experiment. I really enjoyed hearing about your observations on eating Comme les Francais... Salut!