Mindful Eating can greatly assist in losing weight, especially in our busy lives where we often wolf down our food mindlessly. Before we know it the plate is empty, just the 500g chocolate bar wrapper is left and we don't really recall eating it all!
Mindfulness is a bit of a buzz-word these days but not many people actually know what it means or practice mindfulness. It can have positive effects on both our physical and mental wellbeing, but it does take a little practice. It involves focusing on our thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and our environment without judgement.
There are three key parts to mindfulness and these are:
Focusing our attention on purpose (being deliberate).
Focusing on the here and now (not letting our mind wander to the past or future).
Being non-judgemental.
In this day and age we frequently eat 'on-the-go', in a rush and without really thinking about the process of eating or what we're eating. Many people eat while continuing with their work, sitting at their desk and just grab the easiest food that there is to hand. Although this may give you a sense that you are being more productive, in reality it's likely to be having the opposite effect as well as possibly adding extra layers to your waist line.
Things to think about to help you focus on making your eating environment healthier:
What do you do during your meal?
Where do you eat?
What's going on around you?
How much attention are you able to pay to what you're eating?
What are the distractions?
When you pay more attention to what you're eating it's more likely that you will notice when you're starting to get full and actually enjoy you're food more. If you focus on your food you can also really make the most of the experience when you're eating those foods that might be deemed a 'treat'.
Top Tips:
Seek out options to eat in a quieter environment away from the hustle and bustle and away from the computer screen.
Slow down and savour your food; chew more.
Give yourself some time to eat instead of multi-tasking.
Focus on the food, focus on the flavours, the sensations, the smells, the textures, the temperature and how the food makes you feel.
When you're feeling full, move left-over food away.
'A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety'
-Aesop
Remember, start small, change the little things and the bigger achievements will come. For most people it's easier to keep up small changes and build on them rather than make huge changes all at once that you'll struggle to stick to.
Please note: This article is intended to be for educational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or replace professional assessment or personalised advice.
I do not hold responsibility for the information on any links to external websites within this article and information within these links/websites may change at any time or no longer be accessible. Any website pages/links added are also for education purposes only.
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