Eating is a fundamental part of life. But taking the time to enjoy food is a rare event. The act of eating is too often a mindless task rather than an enjoyable, nourishing experience. Let me show you 5 ways to eat mindfully that can help you lose weight.
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Mindless eating can result in negative health consequences like digestive disorders and obesity. Eating mindfully, on the other hand, encourages proper digestion, promotes ideal body weight and helps you develop a healthy relationship with food.
Mindful eating is a way of eating and enjoying food for both good health and pleasure. Mindful eating is about bringing awareness and appreciation to the experience of eating.
When you slow down and pay attention to how and what you eat, you’re more likely to make better decisions that will nourish your body. Here are 5 ways on how to practice mindful eating:
1. Sit down and focus on your food
Do you rush through your day, eating whenever you get a chance? Or maybe you stare mindlessly at the TV without paying attention to what or how much you’re eating.
How to: Do not watch TV, talk on the phone or text while you eat. Stop everything, sit down and savour your food. Focus totally on your food.
Benefits: Sitting down while you eat without distractions will encourage you to pay attention to your food and how you consume it. You might find that you’ve fallen into a bad habit of eating too quickly or that you’ve been eating without actually tasting your food. And because mindful eating encourages you to take a true break, it can help you feel more relaxed or focused as you carry on with the rest of your day.
2. Eat slowly
Your brain needs time to register that you’re eating and to communicate to your body when you are full. It takes the brain about 20 minutes to know that you’ve had enough food. Pausing in between bites can facilitate a healthy habit of eating slowly.
How: Set your fork or spoon down in between mouthfuls. Pause. Finish what’s in your mouth before going for the next bite. Engage in stimulating conversation if you’re eating with friends or family. Don’t aim to get full. Aim to be satisfied.
Benefits: It’s very likely that you’ll eat a lot less. In this way, eating slowly helps prevent overeating.
3. Completely chew
Eating fast without chewing can result in undigested food particles sitting in the colon. These particles can trigger unpleasant symptoms like bloating, gas, and indigestion.
How: Chew your food thoroughly until it has a fine, pulplike texture. Some experts suggest chewing each bite 30 to 50 times. Saliva is full of active enzymes that help break down food. The longer food is exposed to saliva (through chewing), the easier it moves through your intestines.
Benefits: Proper chewing starts the digestive process and promotes better absorption of vitamins and nutrients.
4. Increase your senses.
Mindful eating can be a stimulating experience. Observe and experience your meal — all the colours, textures, aromas, sounds. Eating isn’t just about taste. Tap into all of your five senses while eating.
How: Notice the colours and shapes of your food. Next, close your eyes and smell the aroma of your food. Keeping your eyes closed, what noises do you hear? As you take a bite of food, notice the flavours and textures as you chew.
Benefits: Taking time to acknowledge the colours, flavours and textures of your food, will surprise you with how certain sensory experiences stand out. Increasing your senses at meals will also encourage you to slow down and enjoy the full experience of eating.
5. Be grateful
Become aware of the time and energy put into making your meal. Take a moment to consider all the ingredients, the preparation and the intention involved in getting the food onto your plate.
How: Appreciate the nourishing, enjoyable aspects of the food that you’re about to eat. Thank the person (even yourself!) who prepared the food.
Benefits: Everyone appreciates being thanked for their work and expressing gratitude reminds us how people and nature are connected to nourish us. This helps promote mindful eating habits.
Would you like to eat mindfully?
If you are interested in eating more mindfully you should give hypnosis a try.
My 5 Step Weight Loss Programme has been carefully constructed to help you eat mindfully and lose weight forever naturally.
Lose weight with my 5 Step weight loss hypnosis programme and naturally lose weight and reach your weight loss goals.
The 5 Step Weight Loss Hypnosis Programme includes:
- 5 weight loss hypnosis sessions
- free audio MP3 hypnosis downloads to listen to at home between sessions.
The 5 Step Weight Loss Hypnosis Programme will help you:
- eat mindfully automatically
- develop healthy eating habits
- combat comfort eating
- resist hunger cravings
- improve your self-confidence
- be more determined to achieve your goals
- be more resilient to overcome disappointments
Click here for full details.
If you are interested in finding out why weight loss hypnosis works and how it can help you, please get in touch to book your free no-obligation consultation. I would love to hear from you.
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