Mindful Eating

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It's easy to rush through meals or eat on the go without really paying attention to what we're eating. But when we take the time to eat slowly and consciously, we can fully appreciate the taste and texture of our food, and find greater enjoyment and satisfaction in our meals.

So, I invite you to follow these steps to begin or continue your journey into mindful eating. You can look at these instructions just before you eat today:

1. Decide which meal you'll eat mindfully today.
2. Before starting, pause and take 3 full, conscious breaths.
3. Turn off all potential distractions like the TV. Put newspapers and magazines away. Place your phone in a different room, out of sight.
4. Take your time to eat one mouthful at a time. Chew your food and notice the taste, smell and texture of the experience.
5. Only go for the next bite once you've finished the one in your mouth. That's harder than it sounds!
6. Once you've finished your meal, take a few conscious breaths once again before you get on with the rest of your day.

A Story

After teaching how to do mindful eating as part of a mindfulness course, a client came back the following week really keen to share something.

She said she decided to eat her breakfast mindfully, and it was a shocking experience.

'Why?!' I asked, a little concerned.

She said she began consciously eating her cereal and discovered....it tasted disgusting!

It was so sweet and once that sugar hit faded, it tasted like 'wet cardboard!'.

And the amazing thing is, she'd been eating the same cereal every day for over 10 years.

It ended up taking her a number of weeks before she found something else to eat each morning that tasted better. And it happened to be healthier for her too.

So by just being more mindful as we eat, we can end up making food choices that are better for our wellbeing.

You may be wondering, what exactly is mindful eating?

Mindful eating is a way of eating that involves being fully present and aware of your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations while you eat.

It encourages you to use all of your senses to enjoy and appreciate your food, which can increase your gratitude for it and improve your overall eating experience.

Mindful eating doesn't judge your eating habits but instead encourages you to make choices that will satisfy and nourish your body.

By being more aware of your eating habits, you may be able to make positive changes that benefit both you and the environment.

Here's a few tips for mindful eating:

  • Honor the food. There are lots of people involved to get that food in front of you, unless you grow all your own food yourself. Take a moment to be grateful to them before you start eating. That's a wonderful habit.

  • Engage all senses. Connect with all your senses as you eat your meal. Pause from time to time as you eat to deepen your mindful experience.

  • Eat in reasonable portions. Some experts suggest you can use a dinner plate that's no more than 9 inches in diameter. Often the size of our plates impacts how much we end up eating.

  • Chew thoroughly. Chewing is one of the first stages of digestion. There are enzymes in your mouth that get digestion started. By chewing fully, you get to really taste the food and it makes it easier to digest too.

  • Eat slowly. When you eat slowly, you can fully savour your meal and are more likely to spot when you're full up. A good guide is to stop when you're 80% full. I'm still working on that!

    Eating mindfully can be a powerful way to cultivate mindfulness in our daily lives. By fully immersing in the experience of eating, we can find greater enjoyment and satisfaction in our meals, and in our lives as a whole.