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Balance and Harmony in Relation to Food and the Nourishment of the Body · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  It is a human trait. We tend to oscillate between
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  extremes. Too much or too little seems to
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  be our method of living. Wise men, sages and rishis
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  throughout the ages have counselled moderation in all
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  things. The middle way, the way of
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  balance. These tenets for living are also
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  helpful in our understanding of our physical body and its proper
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  maintenance. Too much eating frequently
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  occurs nowadays through inattention, social pressure, or
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  through habit. We see people who eat while
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  watching television, watching a movie in a theater, attending a
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  sporting event, or who are scrolling on their mobile
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  devices without monitoring or controlling portion size.
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  They are not paying attention to what they are eating nor how
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  much they are eating. It is a mechanical reflex that
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  occurs while the mind is occupied elsewhere.
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  In many cases, there's a subtle pressure to join with family and
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  friends in a social eating event such as a holiday meal or some
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  form of celebration. Many times guests are plied with
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  food beyond reasonable limits to show some form of welcoming
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  goodwill. In some cases, food becomes a
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  substitute for other forms of desire that are being
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  suppressed, such as when sexual energy is repressed and the
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  social environment provides no outlet for that force and it has
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  not been transformed or transmuted.
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  In such cases, we see the vital pressure channelled into eating
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  food. In some cultures, the social
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  status of a heavyweight represents financial success and
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  thus is seen as positive. In other cultures, particularly
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  those that consume large amounts of highly processed foods that
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  are inexpensive, overweight is a sign of lack of wealth rather
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  than prosperity. There is often a greed for food
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  that is either based in former experience, social pressure, or
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  in becoming accustomed to food that builds some form of
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  addictive response within the being.
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  A major snack food brand in the USA even uses the tagline Can't
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  Eat Just One to signify and reinforce its addictive
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  characteristics. Young children are trained to
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  crave certain tastes as part of a reward cycle their families
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  utilize. This habit continues through a
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  lifetime in many cases. Those who lead a more sedentary
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  life, either through career pressures or, for spiritual
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  seekers, a focus on long times of meditation.
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  There can be a tendency to take in more calories than are being
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  burned, and thus they may tend to put on weight.
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  Similarly, as people age, they may experience a change in their
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  metabolic rate and thus utilize less calories than they are
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  habitually used to consuming. Thus, they may put on weight as
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  they age if they are not able to adjust the caloric intake
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  suitably to the change in metabolic function.
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  On the other side of this, there is a strong social pressure,
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  particularly through the mass media and film industries, for
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  people to appear thin. When this pressure comes up
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  against the opposing tendency for weight gain, there can be
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  events of extreme dieting, anorexia and bulimia which
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  weaken the frame. Some spiritual traditions
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  include fasting and strict dietary restrictions as part of
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  their framework of discipline in an attempt to school the vital
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  and physical being to temper their demands and expectations,
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  and this can lead to a framework that is unduly weakened.
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  With all the pressures on both sides and the amount of
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  unconscious eating that takes place, it is difficult for most
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  people to find a suitable balance.
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  A middle way. By understanding these various
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  pressures and through observation as a separate
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  witness consciousness, the seeker can gain mastery over
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  these impulses and instead utilize a more balanced approach
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  both as to caloric intake and quality of the food being eaten
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  to ensure the body gets what it needs in the right amounts and
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  in the right way. A major factor will be to eat
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  with attention and avoid the unconscious intake of food that
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  occurs through a focus that is directed elsewhere at the time
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  of eating, Triorrobindo notes quote.
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  Too much eating makes the body material and heavy eating too
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  little makes it weak and nervous.
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  One has to find the true harmony and balance between the body's
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  need and the food taken. End Quote Reference Sri Orobindo
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  and the Mother Looking from Within, Chapter 5.
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  Attitudes on the Path, page 167.