Eating Mindfully Achieves Weight Loss One Bite At A Time!

What is eating mindfully and why should I care?

Mindfulness is being fully aware of the present moment.

Mindful eating helps you become aware of how you eat, what triggers you, and your relationship with food & your body.

Do you eat slowly and mindfully? Or do you eat fast as if your very survival depends on how quickly you get the food into your mouth? Somewhere in between perhaps…

Some people eat fast because they’re so busy. Others eat fast because the pace of modern society fills our lives with endless options that make us have a need for speed. For me, I had this weird anxiety about eating, so when I ate something, it was always really fast.

Maybe it’s in our DNA from a long time ago. If you didn’t eat fast, something would eat you!

There are many good reasons for eating mindfully. Things like appreciation of food, minimizing overeating, steady weight loss, and just slowing down and enjoying your life, enjoying the company of friends or family, and just being…

Why should you care about mindful eating?

Mindful eating comes from a technique called Mindfulness.

Basically, it’s a kind of meditation that can help you focus on what you’re doing when you’re doing it. It’s keeping your mind on the task you’re doing and not daydreaming or thinking other thoughts. It’s definitely not watching TV or your phone.

It can be used for many conditions, like depression or anxiety. But, we want to use it to control our eating habits, our cravings, and for spotting our triggers and physical hunger cues.

Here’s how mindful eating can help you

You won’t get distracted and you’ll eat more slowly.

You’ll learn to spot your physical hunger cues so you don’t overeat.

Makes it easier to distinguish between real hunger and emotional hunger triggers.

You can enjoy all your senses while eating by noticing flavors, smells, colors, sounds, and textures.

It’ll help you heal any guilt or anxiety about food.

It helps you maintain your overall health and well-being.

It’ll help you change your habits slowly and effortlessly in a natural way.

You’ll appreciate food more and notice the effects on your feelings.

You can replace automatic thinking and become more conscious.

I hope you’ll try being more mindful in your life. These small changes can have a big effect over time.

Weight loss diets & programs don’t work

Most overweight people who lose weight return to or exceed their initial weight within a few years.

Emotional eating and eating because of food cravings cause weight gain and weight regain after successful weight loss.

Stress plays a major part in overeating and obesity.

Many studies have found that mindful eating helps you lose weight by changing your eating behaviors and reducing stress.

When you change the way you think about food, any negative emotions connected with eating are replaced with awareness, self-control, and positive emotions.

This can greatly increase your chances of sustainable weight loss over the long term.

Try these useful tips for mindful eating…

Eat slower and don’t rush your meals. It takes at least 20 minutes for the brain to register that you’re full.

Chew longer but not faster. Enjoy every bite. There are many benefits to chewing your food longer. It not only helps improve digestion, but the saliva also neutralizes some harmful bacteria. Try chewing each bite for 30 seconds or more.

Turn off the TV and put down your phone. These distract you from mindful eating.

Eat in silence if possible. This helps keep your focus on eating.

Notice how the food makes you feel. Notice the different flavors, the different smells, different textures.

Stop eating the moment you feel full, yes even if there’s still food on your plate.

People in Okinawa say this before every meal…

Hara Hachi Bu. It basically means to stop eating when you’re 80% full. This is very good advice. I follow this and get excellent results. Try it!

Some final thoughts…

As you can see, Mindful eating aids weight loss by changing eating behaviors and stops any stress connected with eating.

Eat slower, eat mindfully, and enjoy life more.

You deserve it!