Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? Lyndon Johnson is credited for creating this idiom during an interview talking about Gerald Ford. It is worth noting that Johnson reportedly said, “He can’t fart and chew gum at the same time.” In the interest of decency, the press chose a more PG version of Johnson’s remark!

Johnson was referring to Ford’s clumsiness but these days the saying has taken on a different meaning: the ability to multitask. You are aware of the the toll multitasking takes on productivity. Today I am going to focus on the toll multitasking takes on your waistline.

An estimated 66% of Americans watch TV while eating dinner, and 65% eat lunch while working at their desks. Twenty percent of meals are eaten in the car. What else do people do while eating?  Walk, ride the subway, talk on the phone, read a magazine or book, put on makeup and walk the dog are common responses. In the spirit of remaining PG, I will refrain from mentioning some of the others.

Whatever you do while eating, beware of your next bite. Not paying attention to your food may be making you fat. Distracted eating leads to mindless eating.

A study explored the effect of multitasking on food consumption and food flavor. The findings: taste perception is limited by our capacity to pay attention to multiple things at once. When you are not focused on what you are eating, it doesn’t taste as good, you crave stronger flavors (please pass the salt), and you miss the satiety cues your body is trying to send you that you are full.

This study goes hand in hand with research about how surroundings influence the experience of a meal. Ambience, lighting, and sound can make a good meal taste even better.  The reverse is true too—a noisy, ugly, overly bright room will take away from the flavor and experience of the food.

A famous restaurant in Paris, Dans Le Noir, serves dinner in total darkness. The idea is that visual sensory deprivation enhances the flavor and taste of every bite. It is the very opposite of multi-tasking while eating. The singular focus is on the food and by most accounts it is a sublime experience.

You don’t have to go to Paris to eat mindfully. Harvard’s health blog offers some helpful tips:

Try eating with your non-dominant hand; if you’re a righty, hold your fork in your left hand when lifting food to your mouth.

Use chopsticks if you don’t normally use them.

Eat silently for five minutes, thinking about what it took to produce that meal, from the sun’s rays to the farmer to the grocer to the cook.

Take small bites and chew well.

Before opening the fridge or cabinet, take a breath and ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?” Do something else, like reading or going on a short walk.

The bottom line: When it’s time to eat, it’s time to eat. Turn off the computer, the iPhone and the TV. Sit down at a table, put a napkin in your lap and savor every bite. Not only will the food taste better, you’ll eat less.

Like all parents, I tell my children that they must always tell the truth. “So why do I have to write a thank you letter to Grandma saying how much I love that set of monogrammed towels she gave me?” asks my ten-year-old son. “Can’t I say would have preferred a video game? It’s the truth.”

Leave it to a child to expose my hypocrisy. I fear the day he will interrogate me about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

The truth is, telling lies, even white lies, takes a toll on mental and physical health.  Frequent liars have increased stress, headaches, colds, back pain, insomnia and are more likely to be overweight than those who tell the truth. Lying is thought to trigger the release of stress hormones, leading to increased blood pressure and heart rate, among other stress responses that build up over the years.

The good news is that by telling the truth more often we can reverse this trend. A study showed that when participants purposefully reduced the amount of everyday lies they told they reported significant improvement in physical and mental health and better personal relationships. Just telling three fewer white lies a week made a difference.

Next time you are tempted to fudge the truth or spin an alternative fact about why you are late or forgot to return an email, consider telling the truth instead.

That said, as I tried to explain to my son, there are occasions when telling a white lie may be worth it, especially when it comes to sparing other people’s feelings.  He wrote a thank-you note saying how much he loved those monogrammed towels and also added a kernel of truth: “Now that I have a life time supply of beautiful towels, perhaps you will consider a video game next time.”

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

~Mark Twain

I recently came across a paper outlining the three key ingredients to a day well spent:

1. Do Something Alone

Such as reading, listening to music, or meditating

2. Do Something with Others

Such as going out for coffee, riding your bike, or watching a movie

3. Do Something Meaningful

Such as volunteering, helping a neighbor in need, or calling a friend who’s struggling.

The key is making the effort to do it intentionally, note authors Christopher Peterson, Martin Seligman and Nanook Park in their paper “Orientations to Happiness and Life Satisfaction: The Good Life versus the Empty Life.”

Even suicidal psychiatric patients were found to benefit from doing this exercise and reported more optimism and less hopelessness afterward.

When I was in boarding school, the headmaster would announce a surprise holiday once a semester. The entire school would be sitting in Chapel, ready for a regular day of class, and he would ask us to turn to a certain page in the Prayer Book and read a prayer about the importance of play. We all knew what that prayer meant—classes were cancelled and we were free to do as we pleased. It was the best feeling in the world. We attended class six days a week so a day off was beyond precious. The best part was that we had done all our homework the night before. The day belonged to us.

Those days were like gold. Every minute counted. I spent time with friends; I read books or listened to music, and I wrote at least one letter to my parents, grandmother or sister. It was a day well spent. Looking back I know why—it was filled with meaning, engagement and connection.

As an adult, it is challenging to build those ingredients into each day but it is possible. Now, go ahead and make your day.