By now, you’ve probably read or heard about mindful eating; even your most avant-garde friends have told you that they already practice it. We actually love that it's so popular! It is without a doubt, one of the most effective and healthiest trends. Why? Because it is about eating not only with our mouth but with all our senses. A process that undoubtedly brings many benefits to our health.
Although it isn’t difficult to follow, it requires will, a lot of practice, and perseverance because we are basically re-educating ourselves on the way we eat. And even though we’ve already talked about the subject, we want to remember its fundamentals because achieving mindful eating will not only improve your health in general, but it can also be essential to achieve weight control.
What you should know before starting...
- Conscious eating and mindfulness
Although mindfulness is a practice based on Zen Buddhism that uses meditation and relaxation techniques to reduce stress (1), it is also the cornerstone of mindful eating. In both cases, what we seek is to quiet and stop our body and mind so they focus on the present. (2)
- Warning about dangerous emotional eating
Maybe you never thought about it, but emotions are usually responsible for overeating. It is common for people to find the answer to boredom, anger, frustration, or sadness in the fridge or pantry, thereby impacting their weight management and health. (3)
- Mindful eating attracts good nutrition and better weight control
Even though it is not a priority to lose weight in mindful eating, if you encourage better decisions, it will become one of its results.(3)
How to start mindful eating?
- The first rule to learn about mindful eating is to respect that moment without doing other simultaneous activities.
- Prepare yourself to live the experience of eating using all your senses.
- Don’t eat to meet a schedule, but rather eat when you feel hungry.
- Drink a large glass of water before you start eating and wait about 30 minutes. This will help you stay hydrated and fill you up.
- Every time you go to eat, ask yourself these questions: Why am I going to eat? Am I really hungry or bored, angry or sad? If you feel there is an emotion behind the idea of eating, try another activity, such as walking for a few minutes, going outside, or playing with your pet. If after that, you still want to eat, then go ahead.
- Take reasonable time when eating and find a quiet place to enjoy that moment.
- Don't sit in front of the TV, computer, or phone while eating. Focus all your senses on your food. (4) (5)
- Select foods according to the benefits you want to obtain in your body and mind, such as antioxidants, vitamins, energy, etc.
- Prepare small portions of food. Start tasting one by one each ingredient, observe them, feel their aroma, texture, and savor each bite.
- Don’t rush. Chew and process what you are eating in your mouth to improve the entire digestive process.
- Ask yourself how you feel after eating and if you need more.
- If you like, take a moment to be grateful for the healthy food you are eating.
Mindful eating will help you improve bad habits like eating fast or overeating, and will encourage you to make better decisions based on your nutrition, which will definitely impact your well-being.
Our Entalla nutrition and weight loss system can be a powerful ally to guide you on this path of mindful eating because it incorporates these fundamental principles for your health. Get fit with us!
Let's be healthier together.
Your Santo Remedio team
References
1.Joseph B. Nelson, Mindful Eating: The Art of Presence While You Eat.Diabetes Spectr. 2017 Aug; 30(3): 171–174.
doi: 10.2337/ds17-0015, PMCID: PMC5556586
URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556586/
2.Jean L. Kristeller, Kevin D. Jordan, Mindful Eating: Connecting With the Wise Self, the Spiritual Self. Front Psychol. 2018; 9: 1271. Published online 2018 Aug 14. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01271, PMCID: PMC6102380, PMID: 30154740
URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6102380/
3.Hector Morillo Sarto, Alberto Barcelo-Soler,Paola Herrera-Mercadal, Bianca Pantilie, Mayte Navarro-Gil,Javier Garcia-Campayo, Jesus Montero-Marin. Efficacy of a mindful-eating programme to reduce emotional eating in patients suffering from overweight or obesity in primary care settings: a cluster-randomised trial protocol. BMJ Open. 2019; 9(11): e031327.
Published online 2019 Nov 21. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031327. PMCID: PMC6886952. MID: 31753880
URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6886952/
4.Jane Ogden, Nicola Coop, Charlotte Cousins, Rebecca Crump, Laura Field, Sarah Hughes, Nigel Woodger. Distraction, the desire to eat and food intake. Towards an expanded model of mindless eating. Randomized Controlled Trial Appetite 2013 Mar;62:119-26. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.11.023. Epub 2012 Dec 5. URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23219989/
5.Suzanne Higgs, Manipulations of attention during eating and their effects on later snack intake. Randomized Controlled Trial Appetite. 2015 Sep;92:287-94.
doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.05.033. Epub 2015 May 29. PMID: 26032197 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.05.033 URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26032197/
