Mindful eating is a buzz word in some sense, but nonetheless, is very important in nourishing your body and mind.
At its simplest, mindfulness is awareness of the present moment. This ancient concept has proven to be beneficial for many challenges, including those challenges around eating.
Mindful eating is eating with intention and attention. Why?
Eating with intention can help to guide you to:
- Eat when you’re truly hungry.
- Eat to meet your body’s needs by choosing food that is nourishing and satisfying.
- Eat with the goal of feeling better when you’re finished than you did when you started.
Eating with attention can help to guide you to:
- Eliminate or minimize distractions.
- Tune into the ambiance, flavors, smells, temperature, and texture of the food.
- Listen to your body’s cues of hunger and fullness.
Tips to be more mindful:
- Take mindful bites. Bring all of your senses to the table! Take in the aroma of the food, feel the texture in your bite, chew and swallow completely before moving on.
- Be Attentive. Take a break from multi-tasking. Be 100% present while you eat. Think you don’t have time? Start with 5 minutes and build from there. Try to create a goal of 20 minutes for a meal.
- Emotional or Mindful? Feel your feelings! Are you eating because you are truly hungry? Or are you eating because you have anxiety, are experiencing boredom, excitement, sadness, or joy? Create a mental checklist. For one week, ask yourself before you eat a meal or snack, are you enjoying food as fuel or are you emotional eating? Acknowledgment is the first step!
- Slow Down. When we make changes, sometimes we need help! To slow down your eating and be more mindful, try some of these tricks: eat with chopsticks, eat with your non-dominant hand, chew your food 30-50 times per bite, eat without TV, the newspaper, computer or phone, put your fork down between bites, eat sitting down.
- Favorite Foods. State out-loud or write down what your three favorite foods are during the holiday season or special events. Focus on what you like about them (texture, taste, smell) and take time to savor each bite when enjoying.
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