Mindful Eating: build a healthy relationship with your food
The term “Mindful eating” has become more popular since the dawn of the new decade. It is not just about following a diet and losing weight, nor is it any trendy or new eating technique. There is much more about it that can definitely change your life for the good.
Mindfulness is derived from a significant element of the Buddhist tradition, sati. It is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path. Jon Kabat-Zinn defined the term “mindfulness” as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally”.
Multi-tasking while eating has become the new normal. There is nothing new about the fact that people now have their meals on the run. Eating has become just another task of the day to get through. Thanks to our fast-food culture!
But do we care to think about what this mindless eating habit can bring to us? Absolutely not, how can it be harmful and who has the time to eat slowly in this fast-pacing world? It’s not gonna make any difference, right?
WRONG!
Mindless eating can bring horror to your health including obesity, an increase in triglyceride levels, and risk of heart disease.
How mindful eating can change your life
Mindful eating is the act of paying your full attention while you eat, experience how you feel while eating and how your body reacts. Most people try deciding what to eat and what not to eat while planning their diet routine and fail to focus on the most important part that plays the biggest role in proper nutrition- How to eat.
The brain needs almost 20 minutes to realize that you are full. Fast eating makes it hard for the brain to send the signal of fullness unless you have eaten too much, a case that is very common in binge-eating.
Can you recall the last time you had your meal? Did you pay attention to how each mouthful tasted? Or did you get distracted while eating? Is that your regular eating habit?
When you eat slowly, putting everything aside, focusing on what you eat, you savor every mouthful of food, feel pleasure and satisfaction, be thankful for the food you have, eat in a relaxed and slowed down manner which improves digestion and you understand when to stop.
These practices in turn help in improving total health and happiness, improving nutrient absorption, and as we know a healthy body is the key to a healthy mind.
Imagine focusing on the taste of what you eat without rushing. How does it feel? Does that bring a sense of satisfaction?
I cannot stress enough how huge an impact mindful eating can bring to you!
Mindful eating can help in weight loss
Binge-eating and emotional eating are the most common reasons for weight gain and obesity, and weight-loss plans can hardly help in reducing weight efficiently. Most people after a weight loss, gain weight again or return to their original weight after few years proving the inefficiency of the plans.
Studies have shown that mindful eating can help reduce weight by improving and facilitating healthy eating habits and keeping binge-eating in check.
A six weekly group curriculum of mindful training resulted in significant changes in weight, eating behaviour and reduction in stress.
Mindful eating vs Intuitive eating
People often get confused between the terms “Mindful Eating” and “Intuitive Eating”. Even though there is a lot of similarities between them, they differ from each other significantly.
Mindful eating focuses only on eating. Its purpose is to pay attention to the experience of eating and enjoying the food without judgment.
Whereas Intuitive eating is a much broader topic. It focuses on physical activities to feel good, rejecting diet, following nutrition information and respecting your body irrespective of its shape.
Intuitive eating has 10 principles-
- Reject the diet mentality
- Honor your hunger
- Make peace with food
- Challenge the “food police”
- Discover the satisfaction factor
- Feel your fullness
- Cope with your emotions with kindness
- Respect your body
- Movement- feel the difference
- Honor your health- gentle nutrition
In short, Intuitive eating mainly focuses on tuning the mind, food, and body
5 simple ways to fit Mindful eating into your life
- Start with your grocery list
Having a list of things necessary can prevent impulse buying. Ditch the processed food as much as possible.
2. Listen to your body
Have your meal only when you are hungry but don’t skip meals. Too much hunger can lead to overeating in order to fill the void. Skipping meals can make you too eager to put food in your stomach which will prevent you from enjoying the food
3. Eat slowly
When you eat slowly, you give your brain enough time to process and send signals of fullness so that you can stop when you need to, preventing overeating.
4. Appreciate your food and feel grateful
Take a moment to appreciate the food you have, experience and enjoy the taste of the food, and be grateful- this will help you gain satisfaction and will lead you to a state of happiness and fulfilment.
5. Connect with your food
Try and avoid any kind of distraction. While eating, only focus on your meal. Savor the taste of the food and make this your habit.
The Bottom line
Mindful eating is a step towards leading a happier and healthier life. It is a way of training your mind to be in the present moment.
“The path to healthy body and happy soul is based upon self-study, mindfulness, love and awareness. Understanding our relationship to eating cultivates a lot of insights and helps us start living our highest potential.”
Natasa Pantovic Nuit