You may have come across this term before, “mindful eating” but what does it mean and how is it related to your health?
Mindful eating means listening to your body’s cues of hunger, being fully present while eating and knowing when to stop eating. Simply it’s developing a new mindset when it comes to food.
In this fast paced world, unfortunately food has become more of a chore than a necessity, something to tick off our never ending to-do lists. Many of us gobble down our meals in between work deadlines, picking up kids from school and the many chores that consume our time.
Ask yourself what the last most memorable meal was that you ate, where you paid attention to every mouthful and enjoyed it?
The reality is most of us are eating on autopilot; we have stopped paying attention to our food and our body. We often eat the wrong foods at the wrong time, eat when we are actually thirsty and are distracted with smart phones removing the focus from our meals.
Various studies have found that mindful eating has a lot of health benefits; it can stop you from overeating, lose weight (yep, we like this one!), cope with eating disorders like anorexia and help you develop a healthier relationship with food.1
So how can you start eating mindfully? Here are a few of our tips to help you get started:
1. Are you stuck in an eating rut?
What did you have for breakfast today? If it’s the same thing you ate yesterday and for as long as you can remember, you’re probably stuck in an eating rut. Routine can end up boring your tastebuds so shake up your breakfast time with some new and nutritious foods like muesli, shakes and quick recipes for new and tasty breakfast meals. Aim for variety in tastes, textures and colours in your meals to keep it interesting. Add supplements such as NUTRIWAY®DOUBLE X® to your diet for healthy bones and immune system.
2. Stop multitasking at mealtimes
I do this frequently, checking my phone and emails while eating my meals. The bad news is; multi tasking gets in the way of actually tasting and enjoying your food and you’re likely to overeat. Ever remember beginning a movie with a big bucket of popcorn and 2 hours later you’ve finished the entire bucket without knowing exactly how? Take a break, pay 100% attention to your food and then resume the activity. Trust us, multi tasking is highly overrated!
3. Focus on your food
Ever hurried through a meal and then had trouble remembering what you ate? Slow down and enjoy your food, breathing in all the aromas and use most if not all of your five senses to really savour the meal. Notice the textures of your food and the flavours. You’re also more likely to stop eating when you’re full preventing binge eating or over eating, win-win!
4. Check your thoughts
Often the most negative thoughts will derail a good effort so rein in those negative thoughts by paying attention to them and then giving them the mental flick. For example, saying “I feel so fat” will not only make you feel bad but discourage others around you who may be dealing with their own eating issues. When out with friends and family, keep a mindfulness check on engaging in “fat talk” as it can severely impact your and your friends’ self esteem. Negative thoughts and speech can lead to bad decisions which can affect your health.
We hope these tips will help you become a mindful eater. Bon Appétit!
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