What is mindful eating? Did you know that one of the greatest predictors of obesity is actually the speed at which you eat? Even though the original research was completed on people with diabetes, a scientific study on more than 60,000 people in Japan showed that the greatest predictor of weight gain was this individual eating habit.
Some experts believe this is because people who eat quickly have lost communication with their body and are using eating in a disconnected manner from their natural function. One solution to get your eating habits back in sync with the support of mindful eating. Some of the more popular ways to use this emergent technique include the following:
Eating More Slowly
If you take the time to eat more slowly, you not only get to experience the full flavour of your food, you also give your body time to tell you when its full. Practice stopping when your body says it’s had enough and you will start to notice that you don’t need to eat so much.
Less emotional eating
It’s easy to eat on feelings. Have a tub of ice cream when sad. Go for a steak dinner to celebrate. Disconnect eating with feeling by noticing how you feel after eating? Did food intensify or diminish the feeling? If you are stuffed do you actually feel any better or did the act of eating make you feel worse than before?
Eating at random times and places
We have already written blogs that describe how “discipline is everything” in life and “motivation doesn’t work alone”. If you have regular mealtimes throughout the day and you have similar meals, then you avoid the snacking and grabbing food lifestyle that may see you eating a little too much over the course of a day.
Cutting out sugary and fatty snacks
Again, sugar and fats can make us feel good before we eat them, but does this feeling last? Pay attention to your cravings and if you choose to indulge them, ask yourself the question as to whether or not the food really hit the spot or if you actually feel a little overdone? By examining the link between craving and satisfaction you can start to establish the impact of this less than healthy sustanenance.
Learn to let go
The last point is perhaps the hardest to swallow. You need to also be able to let go. Eating shouldn’t be a set of hard and fast rules that you cannot break. If you set hard lines in place, then when you break a rule all kinds of crazy will often happen and you could use the moment as an excuse to stuff your face. Make sure you have the ability to bend. Eat chocolate occasionally and enjoy a pizza if you like. After all, with the right mindset your body will tell you when you are having too much.
And of course, a good schedule of mindful eating can help you lose weight and start becoming healthier when combined with regular exercise. Shift the pounds and regain your body confidence with the help of EMS Fitness. When combined with exercise, changes in diet not only give you strength and self-belief but can actually improve other areas of your life including energy levels and concentration.
Get in touch with us today and start to change your life for the better. The first step is the hardest, but with the support you need, anything is possible…