Our busy lives are not allowing us to eat freely. We find ourselves eating in the car on the way to work, at the desk in front of the computer screen, or on the sofa in front of our TV.
Other than this, we often eat to satisfy emotional needs, relieve stress, or cope with unpleasant emotions such as sadness, anxiety, loneliness, or boredom.
Mindless eating may cause overeating, promoting weight gain and health issues.
To change our mindsets about healthy living. We have to begin to eat mindfully. Mindful eating is about eating the right things at the right time.
Continue reading the article to know the benefits of mindful eating.
What is mindful eating?
Mindful eating is when you’re aware of the food and drink you put into your body. It’s about observing how food makes you feel and signals your body about taste, satisfaction, and fullness.
Mindfulness is a form of meditation. Use your time and space to notice your emotions and physical sensations. Mindful eating involves techniques that can help you focus your full attention on your experiences, cravings, and physical clues.
Benefits of Mindful eating
- Helps you take a break from your busy schedule, easing stress and anxiety.
- Helps you notice if you’re really hungry or not.
- Weight loss management and maintenance.
- Improves self-esteem.
- Improves your digestion by eating slower.
- Helps you acknowledge how the body feels after consuming the meal.
How to practice mindful eating?
Eat at a Table
When you sit in a particular place for a meal, your mind automatically gets the message to focus on feeding your body. With this, you get aware of what you’re serving yourself.
Avoid Distractions
Watching movies, checking mobile phones, surfing the web, and multitasking while eating may seem like a good use of time, but research shows that people consume more when they are doing other things.
Employ all your senses
Focus while you’re shopping, cooking, serving, or eating. How do different foods look, smell, and feel when chopping? How does it sound when they are being cooked? How is the taste when you eat it?
Be curious and make observations
Focus on yourself and your food while eating. You need to be able to tune out your surroundings, yet be aware of them. Focusing on what’s happening around you can distract you from the eating process and your mindfulness experience.
Tune into your hunger
Ask yourself are you eating because you’re hungry or is it that you’re bored and want to distract yourself?
Take a moment to appreciate your food
Pay attention to the food. Appreciate the texture, shape, color, and smell of the food you’re eating.
Maximize food volume
Big bites trick your brain into thinking you consumed more calories, helping decrease the likelihood of overeating and weight gain.
Eat slowly
It is scientifically proven that taking up to 20-30 minutes to finish a meal allows more time for your body to release hormones that promote feelings of fullness.
Stop negative thinking
Classifying your food as good or bad and offending yourself by eating unhealthy food brings negative thoughts to the table.
Eat a meal alone
Be it breakfast or dinner, eating alone helps you to eat mindfully. It gives you the time to focus on yourself and your food.
A word from the doctor —
Mindful eating not only helps you pay attention to the physical hunger and fullness cues but also distinguishes between emotional and true physical hunger.
Follow the steps mentioned above to switch to mindful eating.
If you need any help with your mental health, contact me right away!
