Seven Tips for Mindful Eating

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware and to be in the present moment. Usually, our thoughts wander somewhere totally different than where we are present.

How mindfulness affects eating?

• Mindfulness helps you fully enjoy a meal and the experience of eating with moderation and restraint.
• Evidence from studies suggests that mindfulness-based practices help improve eating habits.
• Mindful eating may even aid with weight loss for those who binge-eat or eat for comfort or out of stress.

Reflect

Before you start eating, you should take a moment to think about how you are feeling. Are you feeling rushed or stressed or sad or bored? Are you hungry? What are your wants, and what are your needs? You need to differentiate between the two.
After this moment of reflection, you will be able to choose better if you want to eat, what you want to eat, and how much you want to eat.

Sit down

Avoid eating on the go. Have a seat. When you are multitasking you’re less likely to appreciate your food. Also, it’s difficult to keep track of your portion size when you snack on the go.

Turn off the TV (and everything else with a screen)

When you are glued to your television screens, phones or tablets, you are more likely to wonder where all your food went. The use of gadgets distracts us and makes us less aware of what and how much we are eating.

Serve out your portions

Always resist eating straight from the bag or the box. Serve yourself a definite portion first and take half of it as the second serve if you still feel hungry. Because it is easier to overeat when you can’t see how much you’ve had. Moreover, it is difficult to appreciate your food when it is hidden from view.

Practice the art of silence

Try to eat your meals in silence once in a while. This way, you will be conscious of the food’s consistency, flavor, taste, and smell, and you will fully appreciate the moment.

Be grateful

Always be thankful. Before you start eating, you should pause and take a moment to acknowledge the efforts and the labor that went into preparing your meal. So be it thanks to the farmers, the factory workers, the animals, mother Earth, the chefs, or even your companions at the table.

Chew 30 times.

Try to get 30 chews out of each bite and make it a habit to not pick up the next bite until you are finished with the first. You should take time to enjoy the flavors and textures in your mouth before you swallow. Chewing properly helps to prevent overeating by giving your gut enough time to send messages to the brain to say you’re full.

Over to You

The whole purpose behind mindful eating is to ensure that you savor every bite of food that you are eating and you are thankful to God for providing with enough food to satiate your hunger. Be mindful and grateful!