Stop worrying about what you eat, and start enjoying it. Rather than crossing off the things you shouldn’t look for eating, love your food and make your meals a superb experience. You can lose excess weight while enjoying the foods that you love if you know to eat mindfully. You can avail many benefits by following these mindful eating techniques.
Mindful eating is used in research to provide treatment and help people manage the following conditions like type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, emotional eating, binge eating disorder, etc. It is a practice in mindfulness, increasing your awareness of food experiences, emotions, etc. It helps you tune into your food preferences and encourage you to eat a balanced meal, which will satisfy you mentally and physically.
Mindful eating is not a specific diet; it is not meant to encourage restriction or create an obsession around hunger, fullness, or satisfaction. It allows you to enjoy what you eat.
7 Mindful Eating Techniques For Healthy Living
1. Pick A Daily Mindful Meal
You don’t need to put lots of pressure on yourself to eat mindfully at every meal. Instead, try to pick at least one meal a day to be your mindful meal, especially a healthy one. When you sit down, try to eat slowly by savoring the taste of every piece you bite or chew, and focus on enjoying your food.
2. Always Eat For Pleasure
A healthy balanced eating plan will include indulgences now and then, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about eating the foods you admire. But eating in moderation is what you should remember. Do not indulge in overeating as it will lead to weight gain.
3. Consider Your Satiety
Choosing a balanced meal is equally satisfying and healthy by selecting nutrient-rich foods from all primary five food groups. A balanced meal contains carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; it gives you a good amount of energy, prevents a decrease in blood sugar, and keeps you full for many hours.
4. Include Family Members
You can also include your family members in meal planning and preparation. Mealtime is an appropriate time to strengthen family ties. It brings everyone together. This will create a comfortable space between the family members as they share bonding. It also provides a chance to put down your electronic gadgets.
5. Eat Fruits, Vegetables, And Other Healthy Foods
Although you can eat your favorite foods mindfully, do not forget to add healthy foods to your diet. It will be beneficial to your body if your diet centered on fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. while eating your favorite fries and burgers. Be conscious about the foods you add to your grocery list.
6. Sit Down And Eat
Let’s make a rule only to put food in your mouth if you sit, and you can focus on what you’re eating a whole lot more. Don’t multitask while you’re eating by watching TV or checking your email, or playing games. Put your fork or spoon down between your bites to slow down. Enjoy what you eat.
7. Slow Down While You Eat
Small advice is that always try to eat or drink slowly. The body itself sends its satiety signal about 20 minutes after we start eating, which is why we often unconsciously overeat. Slowing down is one of the effective ways to get your mind and body to communicate. It is important for the proper intake of nutrition.
Extra Tips For Mindful Eating
- Observe your hunger levels before and after eating. Permit yourself to eat more or less, depending on how hungry you are feeling.
- Start with simple foods like a piece of fruit, feel the sweet or tartness or notice the textures, etc. As you eat, try aiming to identify the flavors, textures, and sensations of the food.
- Allow yourself 15-20 minutes at least to eat the foods mindfully.
- Remove all means of distractions at a time until you are eating without any additional stimuli (e.g., smartphone, computer, reading materials, etc.)
- Always take note of the satisfaction level with your meals or snacks. If a meal is unsatisfying, we often continue to look for something else to eat.
- Try to observe the emotions that come up before, during, or after meals.
- Incorporate mindfulness practices into your weekly routine like morning or evening meditation, exercises, and yoga.
- Firstly, begin with your shopping list. Try to consider the health value of every item you add to your shopping list and stick to it to avoid impulse buying.
- Come to the table when you are hungry. If you skip your meals, you will feel more hungry and keep on eating the foods you don’t need. So try eating meals every 3-4 hours.
- Start with a small portion on your plate. Limit the size of your plate to 8 or 9 inches.
- Express your gratitude silently for the opportunity to enjoy delicious food and the companions you’re enjoying it with.
- During cooking, serving, and eating your food, try to be attentive to the color, texture, and smell of those foods. As you chew your food, try to guess all the ingredients, especially seasonings.
- Take some small bites. It’s easier to feel the taste of the food completely when your mouth isn’t full.
- Try to chew thoroughly and well until you can taste the essence of the particular food.
Mindful eating is a permanent change; hence, try to incorporate the changes slowly. If you try to change too many things about your current eating habits at once, it will likely feel overwhelming and unsustainable. Let’s not hurry and make the change slowly.
