What is mindful eating anyway?
I always say, the way you eat is just as important as what you eat!
Imagine you are driving and your GPS spots a speeding camera at the light ahead. What happens internally the moment the GPS alerts you? There is a conscious shift in your focus. Am I speeding? Do I need to slow down? Am I going the speed limit? Is there a cop? Woah, I need focus on driving!
When trying to eat mindfully, try using this similar shift in focus. Take a moment to check in with your meal or snack, check in with your surroundings, take a couple seconds to slow down, and enjoy what’s in front of you! Mindful eating forces us to rely on our intuition, which many of us tend to neglect at times.
What can I do to try to become more mindful?
Tune into the physical characteristics of foods aka tune into the smell, taste, feeling on your mouth, ask yourself am I experiencing this fully?
Tune into the process of eating. Are you eating on autopilot? Are you rushing? Are you chewing your food? Are you checking in on your belly/brain connection?
Tune into mindless eating triggers. Am I bored? Am I just grazing? Am I eating out of the package? Does a long hard day lead to restriction and overeating? What’s my emotional state?
5 Tangible Takeaways for Mindful Eating:
Chew your food – digestion starts in your mouth! We need to utilize the enzymes in our mouth!
Plate your meals and snacks – try to avoid eating out of the package.
Check in with your belly mid meal – ask yourself how you are feeling and where you are at on your hunger scale from 1-10.
Put your fork down in-between bites to intentionally slow yourself down.
Enjoy your meal/snack – let food bring you joy! Mealtime is to be relished, not rushed!
Remember, there will be times in your life when you are practicing mindfulness. You are sitting down for every meal, you’re making high energy choices, you’re taking time for you and you feel on top of the world. But there will also be many times that you feel the opposite. Times you have the extra drink, eat your breakfast on the way to work or go for that second cookie. Neither of the above is more right than the other. What we are talking about is the ebb and flow of life and living without food guilt or shame. So let it go if your day isn’t perfectly mindful. Do the best you can to make choices that nourish your mind, body and soul!
