Mindful Eating - the behavior you can’t afford to neglect
Can you remember what you ate for dinner last night? If not, you may have eaten mindlessly. Do you eat your meals quickly? Do you grab something to eat when you are anxious, sad, or bored? Do you eat while watching TV or while doing other activities? If so, you may not be as healthy as you can be. These behaviors can lead to overeating and weight gain, which as you know, can put your health at risk. You may find it very hard to lose or maintain weight when you attempt to go on a “diet”. A crucial key to getting rid of unhealthy habits is mindful eating.
What is mindful eating?
Mindful eating is being consciously aware of what and why you are eating. It is using all of your senses to choose food that is both satisfying and healthy for your body. Mindful eating means paying attention to, without judgement, your emotional and physical feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that can affect your choices to begin and end eating. It also involves taking notice of how your eating is affected, or triggered by your environmental and social situations.
Mindful eating is not hard. It just means pausing before you eat and slowing down while you eat. Pick a day this week and each time you eat, try to notice each of these in one mindful bite at a time, and afterwards post your experience on my FB page:
See
Smell
Feel
Taste
Chew
Swallow
Pause
Happy mindful eating!
