Mindful Eating

What is mindful eating? Channel your inner zen, because this technique really works! I've hinted at this in a couple of my posts from a while back, so now I want to focus on just mindful eating.

Mindful eating is when you completely dedicate your focus to the food you are about to eat, are eating, or have eaten. To help explain, think of the senses: sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste. Have you ever thought about all these things while eating? Most people keep it simple and just think about how the food tastes and smells (I realize this is almost impossible to not do while eating). Take it a step further and get an idea of how the food feels in your mouth. See if you can't pull different flavors from the food just by letting it sit in your mouth, chewing it further, or combining it with other foods.

One thing that can fog your mind while eating is media. If you're reading this blog while eating, stop! Really take the effort to turn the TV off at dinner time, put the newspaper away, and leave your phone to charge in the corner.

The next step in mindful eating is thinking about where food comes from. This will give you more respect for the food leading you to appreciate every bite that much more. The process of making cheese is long and tedious: I know; I'm from Wisconsin. Try thinking about the grass the cow eats and the milk it produces before even taking a bite.

Finally, when done with the food, let it settle. The mind truly doesn't know it's full for about 20 minutes after finishing eating. This is one thing that leads us to eat too much and get that sick feeling in our gut after meals! Question why you would eat another portion, is it because you need that same taste yet again? Are you really still hungry and think you will be in 20 minutes? Maybe you're just eating because there are leftovers and you don't want to be wasteful. Have reason for your actions when eating, and you'll see it does your body good.

There have been studies that show when people use this technique of mindful eating, they will consume less overall and lose weight. I don't have to reason with you on how powerful the brain is. For those who have trouble with portion control, this is a must-try technique. Having a whole bag of potato chips just doesn't make sense if you slow down and think about what you're doing. Does that chip satisfy you that much more after 25 previous chips, or are you eating just to eat?

I've used this idea before in order to stop binge snacking, and my successes lead me to recommend it. Give it a try! Remember, If you give the time, respect, and focus to food, it will give back even more.