“What you focus on improves!”
Mindfulness is not about being mindful during the practice; it is about the benefit in everyday life! Re-balancing and shifting attention to an area. Slowing down, with purpose.
Mindful eating is a concept that involves paying full attention to the experience of eating and drinking, both inside and outside the body. It involves being aware of the colours, smells, textures, flavours, temperatures, and even the sounds of your food. When women practice mindful eating, they can make more conscious food choices, savour each bite, and better understand their hunger and fullness signals. This can lead to healthier relationships with food and improved overall well-being.
When faced with a variety of food options, it is possible to make choices that don't align with your goals or needs due to distractions, emotions, or simply being on autopilot. By incorporating mindfulness into eating habits, you become more aware of these tendencies and can make deliberate choices that serve you better.
Here are five steps to help make mindful eating a sustainable habit:
1. Set an Intention: Before each meal or snack, take a moment to set an intention for how you want to feel during and after eating. This could be to eat slowly, savour each bite, or stop when you feel satisfied.
2. Engage Your Senses: When you sit down to eat, take a moment to notice the appearance, smell, and texture of your food. Engaging your senses can enhance the eating experience and help you feel more satisfied.
3. Eat Slowly: Practice eating slowly and chewing your food thoroughly. This allows you to fully taste and appreciate each bite, as well as give your body time to signal when it's full.
4. Check in with Hunger and Fullness: Throughout your meal, pause occasionally to check in with your hunger and fullness levels. Aim to stop eating when you feel satisfied but not overly full.
5. Practice Gratitude: After you finish your meal, take a moment to express gratitude for the food you've eaten. This can help cultivate a positive relationship with food and eating.
Incorporating these steps into your daily eating routine can help you develop a more mindful approach to food choices and eating habits, leading to better overall health and well-being.
Let’s stop thinking about food as being good or bad for the body, rather ask yourself this question before you start nibbling… will this plate of food move me forward and energise me, or move me backward and let me feel guilty…
Loma
PS: (Best salad ever! Babylonstoren, SA)
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