Do you practice Mindful Eating?
DO YOU EAT MINDFULLY OR MINDLESSLY?
Have you ever given thought to whether you eat mindfully? Do you take the time when eating meal to focus on your food, the taste, texture, smell? With a faster pace of life and technology being more common in our everyday life now, you’ll most likely have been or be guilty of mindless eating.
Let’s be honest for a minute, can you say that you have never….
- Eaten your breakfast or lunch on the go
- Watched a movie eating snacks (movies and snacks go hand in hand right?)
- Sat checking your emails or messages whilst eating a meal
- Chatted to someone on a call whilst rushing through a meal
- maybe carried on working through your lunch break to hit that deadline
I’m guessing most people will be holding their hands up guilty of one or more of the above!! I know I have done it in the past.
So Let’s Talk Eating Mindfully
Sounds almost too easy, right? Well, here are a few key points to consider about eating mindfully:
- Eating slowly almost inevitably leads to eating less, feeling more in control of eating, as makes you start to become more mindful and aware.
- Eating slowly can be done anywhere, any time, with any food and in any situation. This can even be done if you find yourself binge eating – by slowing down your eating, you can often re-gain your focus and get your eating back under control.
- Your body’s satiety levels take about 20 minutes to kick in. What does this mean? Well, if you stuff your face for 20 minutes your body won’t realise your stomach is full and the signal to stop eating won’t be sent to your brain until it is too late.
Mindful Eating Isn’t Over-Complicated
By slowing down and taking your time to eat more mindfully you can achieve a few things….
Firstly, you allow your body time to recognise when you have had enough food before you have reached the stage of overeating. This will help you to eat the right amount for your daily needs without having to count calories.
Secondly, you get to taste and enjoy the food that you eat, imagine how much more flavoursome your food could taste!!
Thirdly, you will improve your digestion. If you eat quickly, you are less likely to chew your food properly, which will make it harder for your body to process your meals.
You can even start off this practice by simply sitting with a tea or coffee, no noise, devices or distractions….
Take just 15 minutes to notice the sounds around you, the aroma from your coffee (or whatever drink you choose). Take in your surroundings, notice the surface and texture of things around you, maybe the fabric of your chair, the wood on a nearby table.
Interested to Know More About Mindful Eating?
Fancy learning more about Mindful Eating? Grab yourself a copy of our latest guide below to get you started!!
