The hustle and bustle of our daily lives have made it difficult and almost nearly impossible to feed ourselves in peace. Due to abundant food choices, it has now become a trend to eat convenience food always on the go. You can grab whatever snack is readily available and leave the house. People have lost their concerns about how important healthy eating is.
Technology has drastically changed our eating practice forcing everyone to eat while on their TVs, laptops, and mobile screens. The shifted attention affects how most people eat something a few hours ago and might not recall it later on. It is because your mind takes around 20 minutes to make you realise that you are full.
If you are not aware of your eating, then keeping track of how much you have consumed is impossible. In this way, most people are consuming larger food portions, and hence more calories at every single meal leading to a horrible epidemic of overweight and obesity.
Have you ever wondered why this mindless act of eating happens? Why do you forget the taste or smell or even textures of your past meal the next moment? Why can't you just enjoy the essence of your meal a little longer? This is called Mindless Eating. On the contrary, the exemplary practice is the act of Mindful Eating.
What Is Mindful Eating?
"Whenever you put food into your body, you habitually pay closer attention to it. You start observing how it makes you feel and what signals your body sends regarding your meal's fullness, taste, or satisfaction. This act is mindful eating, or you can also call it an in-the-moment awareness of your food."
Mindful Eating is an Asian practice that can change or even transform your way of thinking about food and also fix your eating habits for a lifetime. Unfortunately, with the current life patterns, we eat mindlessly instead of mindfully.
I've done thorough research to find some of the recommended practices that you can opt for in order to practice Mindful Eating.
8 Mindful Practices To Improve Your Eating Habits:
Mindful eating can lead to a greater awareness of how and why you are eating and help you develop a positive relationship with food.
The following are some of the mindful eating steps. Follow them and start eating more mindfully.
Shopping list of healthy items:
Make a list of your food items before you go grocery shopping. Write down all the foods of more health value. You can add superfoods from Plant Powered Nutrition as well to improve your health. Preparing a list will restrict you from impulsive buying and mostly unhealthy shopping of your food items.
Also, keep in mind that healthy and fresh food items are always stacked at the parameters of the store. The centre aisle mostly contains highly processed foods that are not safe to consume.
Have your meal with an appetite.
Take your meals on time, and don't skip them. Otherwise, you will rush to your table with your hungry tummies and fill them without caring if you are hungry or not. You won't be able to relish your food because you are so busy filling the void in your stomach.
Be observant of your meal.
Mindful eating involves all five senses. Take time to notice the look, aroma, flavours, textures, and even sounds of your food. Pay close attention to the textures, whether creamy or crunchy, and flavours as sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami as there are five basic tastes.
Slow your pace down.
Set down your utensils or food in between bites. It will help with your pace. Take small bites and give time to each bite you take, and chew it thoroughly. Be focused on how many flavours it is releasing. You won't be able to taste every single ingredient until your mouth isn't full.
Switch off your screens.
Turn off or silence your device before eating. Even when eating away from this can help reduce distractions. You will only focus on your food, and it's every bite that will give you satisfying flavours you must be lacking for so long.
Practice gratitude.
Take a moment to clear your head and appreciate the food. A lot of work goes into every meal or snack you eat. Slow down your pace and take a moment of gratitude to those who have made this lip-smacking food and brought it to your tables. Be thankful that you are having and enjoying your meal with your friends and family.
Reflect on your entire eating experience.
According to the Art of Mindful Eating, there are 8 types of hunger, mind, emotional, cellular, stomach, mouth, eyes, nose, ears.
Ask yourself that all these types of hunger have been met or not. If not, make a list, spend extra minutes, and ask your body what would be needed to satisfy it. Listen to your body, and it will help you look into the insights and making your eating trends better. When your plate is empty or even in the mid-meal, take a moment and contemplate on your eating experience.
Read this article to know more about the 8 types of hunger.
Practice mindfulness gradually.
Don't rush yourself into practising all these tips in a single day. Start with any one you like to make it a habit first. Practice it daily and then move to the second one. You can also practice these tips collectively with one meal per day. It will help you to focus on these tips. Once you have a grip on these, you will feel your mindfulness eating in a natural way without putting effort into it.
Conclusion
Whether you are eating a meal or enjoying a snack, or indulging in a treat, mindful eating can help you have a more satisfying eating experience. It can help you generate healthy responses in your body.
Mindful eating is a powerful tool. It helps in so many aspects of eating patterns. It also helps to build control of your eating. It does not always require a quiet place such as a home. You can practice these tips anywhere if you want to eat more mindfully, even when you are on the go!
Comentarios