Mindfulness eating means to bring awareness to the table.
Read this introduction to mindful eating and then read below for some practical suggestions to help you with this, and to become more mindful and present to everything else in your daily life.
1. Mindless eating: catch yourself
Most of the excesses in eating, like binging or chocolate cravings, comes from mindless eating, which simply means to think about something else while you eat.
Do you ever lose track of what you are eating? Do you eat more when your mind is too busy? If you find yourself doing that, slow down, stop, observe it. You just need to start catching yourself in those moments, and be gentle with yourself.
2. Slow down
Slow down or stop, and that mental space will allow you to reflect on your choices in a different way. Don’t rush into things: into shopping that packet of sweets, taking that extra spoon, having that ice cream ... and instead, question yourself if you really need it and why you want it.
Then you can do it, but now you know why, and that will make you more able to make your choice.
And when you look at your mind, what can you notice? Memories, worries, joy, critics, excitement... What is it that you can see?
3. Be grateful
Thoughts of gratefulness can change your whole attitude towards a situation and your perception of it. So, to be grateful for the food, for everything, and for everyone that has been involved in it, it can actually transform the meaning of it, helping you to be more mindful, and to make better choices as result.
4. Be kind to yourself
Talk kindly and be gentle in you head: judgmental words, perfectionism, blame, indulgence, strict rules, guiltiness, or shame, sooner or later, can become your own jail.
5. Reflect on the food cycle
Reflect about the whole cycle of food: where it comes from and everything that has had to happen for you to get it. The disconnection with this process may sometimes lead to forget where food is from, or what eating actually is for. High comfort levels can also have a price, and eating habits may have been affected by it.
Knowing this cycle can change it, making you aware that you are also a part of it.
6. Cooking your own meals
To be involved in the process of shopping and preparing your food can make you more in touch with what your plate is actually made of: a combination of ailments with different properties, and not just a meal that you choose for its look or flavour. You can also use cooking as a meditative exercise, or as an art, paying attention to the colours, smells, and textures. Be creative with it!
7. Get in touch with your body sensations
Notice your body signs and the sensations from food: texture, flavours, aromas, colours, stomach movements, stress, or calm. If you eat too fast, you would not feel when hunger is not there anymore, and when your body is already overloaded. Imagine the body as a composition of parts working together, each one with its own needs. So, what are you made of?
Written by Broccoli People | Mind Your Life, Mind Your Body
