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Mindful eating is about being fully present in your eating experience. Although this may sound simple, it is more challenging than it looks to try it without guidance. This article contains the top five mindful eating tips to help you implement this powerful practice.
What is mindful eating
Mindful eating is a process involving being fully present during your eating experiences. It is about concentrating on what is taking place, without imposing any judgment. Mindful eaters focus on appreciating the eating event with no concerns or restrictions. Similarly to intuitive eating, this approach emphasizes that food is food and encourages those who practice it to retrain their eating behaviors.
Mindful eating also encourages you to consider how the food got to your plate. Showing gratitude and appreciation to those who were a part of the food journey is a crucial component of understanding and supporting the sustainability of our food sources.
Mindful eating benefits
It is believed that the practice of mindful eating can lead to improved psychological well-being, increased enjoyment of food, and higher body satisfaction. The increased mindfulness helps individuals reconnect with their hunger and fullness cues. Additionally, better awareness of how each food makes you feel can lead to better digestion and healthier food choices.
People should not integrate mindful eating with the goal of weight loss. While this method could reduce weight, this is not the point. Many scientists have researched mindful eating. Some of the studies found that subjects realized substantial weight loss. However, they could not document the relationship between mindful eating and weight loss.
Mindful eating tips
1. Commit to the practice
Mindfulness isn’t easy, and mindful eating isn’t different. Most of us find ourselves rushed around meal times, often multitasking. To fully invest yourself and be “at the moment” during meals, it is necessary to only focus on the eating experience while it is taking place.
Because of this, it is unrealistic for most of us to assume with can practice at each meal. Pick three to four meals per week to start. Find meals where you might eat alone or explain to your table partners what you are doing and ask them to respect your silence during those meals.
2. Start with gratitude
Before you start eating your meal, take a moment to appreciate the food on your plate. Think about where it came from and the people involved in growing or preparing the food.
Silently give gratitude before you take your first bite.
3. Keep a few prompts
Write down the following prompts on a piece of paper or in a journal. You don’t need to write down the answers unless you want to. The third of our mindful eating tips is intended to help you immerse yourself in your eating experience. There are no right or wrong answers. Remember to approach this with no judgment.
- Look at the color and note how it makes you feel.
- What does it smell like? Is it potent? Pleasant?
- Pay attention to the texture. How is it to the touch? How does it feel when you put it in your mouth?
- How would you describe the taste? Can you taste multiple flavors such as seasonings?
- How does it feel when you eat a bite of the food? How does it feel later once you are done with your meal?
4. Come to the table hungry
However, you do not want to be so ravenous that you won’t be able to take it slow and savor the experience. Eat several nourishing and filling meals each day, and let at least 3 hours pass before you sit down to practice mindful eating.
5. Eat slowly
Mindful eating is an experience. To fully reach the benefits of this practice, you will want to slow down your meals. Take small bites and chew them completely before swallowing the food. Then, take a pause and rest a few seconds before putting another bite in your mouth.
Even if you don’t have the time to eat your entire meal in that manner, I strongly encourage you to spend at least the first 5 minutes eating mindfully. Alternatively, you could proceed in this way until you’ve tried each different food on your plate.
In conclusion
Most of us could greatly benefit from a more mindful way of living. It is no different when it comes to eating. Mindful eating can lead to a better relationship with food, increased psychological well-being, better digestion, and in some cases, weight loss. I hope you will give it a try with these five mindful eating tips.
Bon apetit!
Cat xx