By: Katie Jeffrey
Last month I introduced the concept of mindful eating and how this method can help you reach your health goals and optimal well-being. It takes practice to eat intuitively. I hope you had a chance to try out a few of the strategies for slowing down your eating speed and paying closer attention to your food and the overall experience of eating. Below are three additional suggestions for incorporating mindfulness into your eating experiences:
- Experiment by choosing one meal to leave some food on your plate and sit at the table. See what emotions you feel. Are you sad, disappointed, anxious or guilty? What are you feeling? Do these feelings contribute to a second helping? Allow yourself to feel these emotions even if it is uncomfortable. Think of strategies to help you overcome these feelings if they are negative. Rationalize that if you don’t get seconds the food will be there for a delicious leftover meal tomorrow and will taste better when you are truly physically hungry.
- Find a “stop” food or activity. If you find it challenging to stop eating a delicious tasting meal or food, experiment with a “stop” food or activity. Others have had success with the following strategies:
- Brushing their teeth after eating.
- Chewing gum.
- Drinking hot tea or cold seltzer.
- Engaging their mind and/or body in a nonfood activity such as, knitting, doing a cross word puzzle, stretching, going for a walk, or calling a friend. It is helpful to remove yourself from the kitchen area when you do one of these activities.
- Make a list of 3 to 5 things that you want. The next time you find your mind turns to food try to determine what emotions or event caused your mind to think about food. Is it because you are lonely or bored? Is it because someone criticized you or made you feel sad or guilty about something? Does this emotion typically cause you to turn to food for comfort? Do you think about food when feeling this emotion because it is uncomfortable to deal with what actually caused you to feel this way?
Think of solutions or strategies to help you begin dealing with these emotions. If bored, make a list of nonfood activities that you can do to get your mind off of food such as, doing a craft project or practicing yoga.
If someone else caused you to feel this way, would talking to someone be helpful? Or, perhaps, journaling might be useful?
Begin to experiment with the strategies that will help you reduce eating from emotions or eating when you are not truly physically hungry. Please keep an open mind and stay curious.
If you decide to eat, reach for whole foods first such as, fruit, vegetables and hummus, or low-fat cheese. Before eating, picture how one of these nutrient-rich foods will make you feel 30 minutes from now compared to candy or chips. Nutrient-poor foods like candy and chips give you energy for about 20 to 30 minutes and then leave you feeling tired and craving more sweets or salt.
You are in control of your food choices, food does not control you.
Every time you eat, you make choices – base these choices on how hungry you are, what you feel like (sweet, salty, savory, smooth, crunchy, hot or cold), what your body needs and what will feel good in your stomach now and also 30 minutes from now.
You are now on your way to eating with both attention and intention. If you practice mindful eating and living you will reap the benefits of this wonderful approach just as I have done and continue to do!
First appeared in The Mystic, Stonington and Lyme Times, February 2013.
The post The Art of Eating Mindfully Part II appeared first on Happier Healthier Women.
