Changing what you eat is often the first step in weight loss, but you may want to consider how you are eating, too. The first thing to consider is mindful eating. Mindful eating has been shown to help with weight loss.
What is mindful eating?
Have you ever experienced this? You’re watching TV with a snack, maybe a bag of chips or a bowl of popcorn. You reach for another handful but it’s gone. You have no recollection of eating that much, or how it tasted, or much of anything to do with the eating experience.
Or you’re in a rush to a meeting. You stop at a fast food place and gobble it down, while driving to the meeting. By the time you get to your meeting the fast food feels like a lump in your stomach.
This is the opposite of mindful eating.
Mindful eating is paying attention to all aspects of the eating process. It is bringing attention to how the food tastes, how it looks, how hungry you are and are you still hungry, what feelings the food brings up or what feelings led you to eat at this time, and how this is affecting your body during and after eating.
Mindful eating also means taking control of your eating process. If you are full before the meal is done, or something isn’t agreeing with you, you can simply put down your fork and stop.
You can also pay attention to other aspects of the process like the setting, the food preparation step, the food acquisition step, and the planning step.
Ways to eat mindfully
Stop doing other things while you’re eating. When you’re paying attention to other things like checking your phone, driving or watching TV you’re not paying attention to the process of eating.
Pay attention to how hungry you are. Are you reaching for a snack because of habit or because there is actual physical hunger?
Eat slowly. Eating slowly helps in several ways. By intentionally eating slowly you start to pay more attention to what you’re eating. It also gives your body time to receive the satiety signals. You can use a timer to make sure that you are eating slowly enough, or do things like putting your fork down between bites.
Chew your food thoroughly so you notice each bite. Try to notice the taste and texture of each bite.
Before starting to eat, take time to smell the food, and look at the food.
Pay attention to how you are sitting and how your body feels as you eat.
Taking mindful eating further
Mindful eating doesn’t just involve the eating process, but can also involve other aspects of your eating journey. Here are some other things to consider.
Carefully planning your meals is part of mindful eating. Take time before your shopping day to plan out the meals for the week. You can be mindful of your schedule for the week and what foods you know are good for your body. This also gives you a chance to check your pantry and your fridge to see what you have, what you need and what you need to use up. It also means planning for all aspects of your meals not just the main course. Then make a list of everything you need so you are ready for step 2.
Have a mindful grocery shopping trip. The first part of this is to make sure you have a good list of everything you need. If you can find a quiet time to shop, this is best and it’s best to do it when you are not hungry. Mindfully avoid aisles that contain trigger foods and take time to check ingredients lists.
Practice mindful meal preparation. Is your meal preparation rushed and mixed with other activities? This will probably carry over to when you are actually eating. Try to find a quiet time to do some of the work ahead of time so the time before you eat is less stressed and more mindful. This could mean cutting up vegetables in the morning, making slow cooker recipes, or having a Sunday meal prep time.
Take time after your meals to sense how the meal affected you. If you are feeling bloated, have cramps or diarrhea then you may have a food intolerance or other gut health issue. Or you may feel a drop in energy after eating certain foods.
How mindful eating helps with weight loss
Mindful eating can help with binge eating and emotional eating. Instead of mindlessly reaching for another handful of chips, you are thinking about what feelings are leading you to reach for the chips. And while eating the chips mindfully you will likely notice that they don’t satisfy your needs.
When you eat slower your body has time to provide you with signals that you are full.
Eating mindfully allows you to notice the signals that you are no longer full and make the decision to stop.
Mindful eating helps you to reduce stress which can help with fat loss.
You gain more control over eating related behaviors
I can help
My holistic approaches to weight loss offer more than just a diet. Not only do I provide you with custom eating plans. I also help you use tools like mindful eating so you can become more in touch with your body and your relationship to food.
Warm wishes,
Vicki Witt | Clinical Nutritionist | Holistic Coach | Reiki Master | Certified LEAP allergy therapist Over 25 years of successfully helping you achieve optimal health and weight loss 🍏| www.vickiwittweightloss.com
About Vicki:
Vicki Witt is a Clinical Nutritionist, Holistic Health Coach, and Reiki Master. She has been practicing over 25 years and specializes in holistically customizing diet and lifestyle plans to each individual for weight loss and hormonal control. Her clientele often report they feel the best they have ever felt and wish they had started sooner. One of the USA and Australia's top Nutritionists, she has won multiple awards for her services in the industry.
Certified and Registered Nutritionist
