Mindful Eating
- mkrtchyananush96
- Jul 24, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 15, 2023
“Do you want to eat more mindfully but you just do not know where to begin? Being aware of your body, your eating process, and avoiding distractions can assist with your mindful eating progress.”
Building healthy relationships with food can help deal with diet culture’s rules and help you create healthy and flexible eating patterns. One important tip includes never using food as a reward or a punishment. Food is fuel. You deserve to eat a cookie, even if you did not achieve a certain goal or ate your veggies that day. Also, trying to eat bland salads just because you overate the day before will likely create negative internal feelings associated with certain foods and cause an emotional roller-coaster. Practicing mindful eating is the best way to help you break free from diet culture’s “food rules” and establish healthy and flexible eating habits. Differentiating physical hunger from emotional hunger can be the first step to start. Additionally, important elements of mindful eating include being fully aware of the food preparation and consumption process, selecting nutritious as well as enjoyable foods, and recognizing physical hunger and satiety cues.
Tips that can help you practice mindful eating:
Understand the "why." Ask yourself: "why are you eating?" This is to help you know whether you are eating because of stress, boredom, or physical hunger.
Slow down: Eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly, and enjoy every bite. Fully experience the flavors and textures of the food you are eating.
Remove the distractions: Do not eat watching TV, browsing social media on your phone, or reading your favorite book. Distractions may cause mindless eating and you might not be satisfied with your food.
Listen to Your body: Listen to your hunger and fullness cues. Asl yourself "When do I want to eat?" Pay attention to your answer. Is it dependent on the hunger or emotions?
The questions "What do I eat?" "How do I eat?" and "How much do I eat may help you be more in-touch with your body, increase your awareness of your body, and understand the factors which affect your decision of eating.
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