Mindful Eating: Learn How to Listen to and Nurture Your Body

In this busy world, no one has time to talk to each other, see at each other, sit at one place calmly, eat by sitting in one place and the list goes on and on.

Everyone is busy in their daily schedule and also the main focus has changed to MONEY.

People now get a very limited free time as they are all busy in earning money and to top it up the limited time that they get they indulge in visiting places, restaurant visits, watching TV, etc. No one pays attention to their body until and unless they are getting too fat or else, they face some very serious disease.

And when they become obese or face some serious health conditions, they tend to tag the food as ‘bad’ and ‘good’ foods, ‘should’ and ‘should not’ food.

Here comes the mindful eating part where we need to focus more on what we eat, how we eat, where we eat, etc.

What is mindful eating?

Mindful eating is to allow yourself to see what you eat and to deliberately pay attention and be fully aware of what is happening to the body, heart and mind along with the outside environment.

Mindful eating is focused on the goal of- how exactly do you eat, instead of what exactly do you eat, and you would find yourself making choices on what you want to eat. Mindful eating will encourage you to follow healthier eating habits by teaching you how to listen to the instincts of your body, discover the underlying origin of your over-eating, and be more vigilant at mealtime. 

Let us focus on ways to practice mindful eating:

1. Eat Food Only When you Are Hungry :

We normally tend to eat if we feel thirsty or are sentimental. But you need to eat only when you are hungry and not just that you want to eat food for the sake of eating.

You can measure the level of hunger by rating it from 1 to 5 and the highest the ranking the hungrier you are.

2. Practice Mindfulness Regularly :

Mindfulness is about living in present rather than desiring it for the future which means being more conscious of the thoughts and the body perceptions in the present moment.

3. Pick Foods Which You Like :

Eating the food that you like and which you can have enough off making you satisfied. 

4. Divide Your Meals :

Starving for a long time or not having any fixed time for the meals will lead to an increase in your hunger and in return will make you eat a lot at one go.

So, if the meals are divided into 3-4 hours interval will keep you away from overeating. For example, if you had breakfast at 8 am then taking a break of 3-4 hours and having some snacks before lunch and then the evening snacks followed by dinner within 3-4 hours of interval.

5. Avoid Distractions :

It is the golden rule that we are taught since childhood that when we are eating we need to avoid the distractions as much as possible for you could not savour the food, cannot feel it, or even enlighten it.

The best example could avoid watching TV or using mobile phones while eating in order to avoid distractions as well as you will get to know what you are eating, what is the flavour and also the texture of the food you are eating.

6. Avoid Eating Alone :

Eating alone will make you eat either less or more in return affecting your own health. Eating with friends or relatives or family will help you keep track of your hunger and satisfaction. 

7. Avoid Eating Food At Random Places :

Eating at any random place will affect your satisfaction level. You get in the car and want to munch on some snacks that are all acceptable.

But if you sit on the table and eat with utensils using the correct cutlery will help you keep track of your mindful eating.

8. Finding The Motivations :

Finding an appropriate motivation behind you eating the food is what is needed. It means justifying what you are eating with reasons.

Like you can eat food because of emotional instability such as stress, anxiety or sadness and rather eat food which is nutritionally healthy.

As we start consuming healthy and more diverse meals, we are less likely to binge on our favourite foods, and more likely to consume healthier foods, eventually having more emotionally and physically enjoyable foods as compared to only a few.

Trusting your body to adjust and under or overindulging on its own will also be helpful. Giving a thought on what to eat, feeling it, paying attention to the colours, textures, smell, flavours, temperatures will lead you to mindful eating and eventually leading to nurturing your body.