Who has ever sat behind a headphone-wearing commuted eating bag of crisps open mouthed and fully crunched blissfully unaware of the noise created. Or that sausage-roll wielding school goer at the 0705 Euston service? Far too early for that kind of aroma.
There is an unwritten, unspoken commuting code somewhere in ancient history I'm sure that smelly, noisy foods shouldn't be eaten on public transport - and especially that the remnants of the corner shop chicken burger shouldn't be left behind after alighting. But somewhere this code seems to have been lost.
Is it really a problem? Does it matter if you upset a few travelling companions with your munch on the move? Perhaps not, I'll leave that up to you to decide.
It is a problem for your nutrition however. Our bodies have feedback responses to tell us when we are full. If we pay attention to what we eat we will be aware of the size of the meal, how our stomach is feeling, whether our mouth wants more, we will even be able to think about which part of the meal we like most - and make that controversial decision whether to eat it first or last.
But eating as part of a cummute and we loose all the senses to make these choices. We don't have a plate or bowl and possibly eat out of three different boxes at the same time so have no idea how big the meal is. We are thinking about where we are getting to what we need to do when we get there and some of us might even be feeling self conscious about eating in a public vehicle. So we lose the opportunity to pay attention to when we are full. Often food we eat on a commute looks horrible too. Brown fried foods, white crisps or bread, mushed up sausage meat or a burger with more mayo than chicken. If we stop and think about what we are putting in our mouths we are more likely to notice the grease all over the paper we are holding it in, how thirsty we feel from all the salt, the soon after feeling of saturated fat in our bellies and the slightly heady sensation of sugar overload.
It's much better to stop, prepare a meal, sit and enjoy it when we get to our destination. If you're famished on the way a couple of tips are:
Carry some water: we can easily confuse hunger and thirst. You might just be thirsty from a hard days work. Try drinking before you eat.
Before you start your journey eat a piece of fruit, a small handful of nuts or a piece of toast.
Make yourself a snack or meal - If you have to eat on the commute, try and bring something you have made yourself. This gives you back control over the size of what you eat and what is in it.
If you're bored on the commute find an activity, music, book to pass the time rather than a bacon sandwich.
And try to always take your rubbish with you. No one enjoys getting on a dirty smelly bus after a long days work and having to smell second hand hot chips for 30 minutes on the journey home, and spare a thought for the driver who has to put up with it for their entire shift.
There is an unwritten, unspoken commuting code somewhere in ancient history I'm sure that smelly, noisy foods shouldn't be eaten on public transport - and especially that the remnants of the corner shop chicken burger shouldn't be left behind after alighting. But somewhere this code seems to have been lost.
Is it really a problem? Does it matter if you upset a few travelling companions with your munch on the move? Perhaps not, I'll leave that up to you to decide.
It is a problem for your nutrition however. Our bodies have feedback responses to tell us when we are full. If we pay attention to what we eat we will be aware of the size of the meal, how our stomach is feeling, whether our mouth wants more, we will even be able to think about which part of the meal we like most - and make that controversial decision whether to eat it first or last.
But eating as part of a cummute and we loose all the senses to make these choices. We don't have a plate or bowl and possibly eat out of three different boxes at the same time so have no idea how big the meal is. We are thinking about where we are getting to what we need to do when we get there and some of us might even be feeling self conscious about eating in a public vehicle. So we lose the opportunity to pay attention to when we are full. Often food we eat on a commute looks horrible too. Brown fried foods, white crisps or bread, mushed up sausage meat or a burger with more mayo than chicken. If we stop and think about what we are putting in our mouths we are more likely to notice the grease all over the paper we are holding it in, how thirsty we feel from all the salt, the soon after feeling of saturated fat in our bellies and the slightly heady sensation of sugar overload.
It's much better to stop, prepare a meal, sit and enjoy it when we get to our destination. If you're famished on the way a couple of tips are:
Carry some water: we can easily confuse hunger and thirst. You might just be thirsty from a hard days work. Try drinking before you eat.
Before you start your journey eat a piece of fruit, a small handful of nuts or a piece of toast.
Make yourself a snack or meal - If you have to eat on the commute, try and bring something you have made yourself. This gives you back control over the size of what you eat and what is in it.
If you're bored on the commute find an activity, music, book to pass the time rather than a bacon sandwich.
And try to always take your rubbish with you. No one enjoys getting on a dirty smelly bus after a long days work and having to smell second hand hot chips for 30 minutes on the journey home, and spare a thought for the driver who has to put up with it for their entire shift.
picture from Cambridge news: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Litter-mounts-up-at-station-as-wait-for-bins-continues-29112011.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment