For Weight Loss and Management, Engage in Mindful Eating Exercises
Too many of us will use food as a means of helping us deal with stress. Some people eat without even realizing what it is that they’re doing. They check or zone out while eating.
This is why you can reach the bottom of a bowl and be surprised to find that all of the food is gone. You don’t even remember eating it all. The problem with eating to feel better about stress or not paying attention when eating is that it can cause weight gain.
Mindful eating can help you be fully present every time you eat. When you’re fully present, this can stop the cycle of eating without realizing what it is you’re even doing. Anyone can practice mindful eating that can help you get rid of unwanted pounds or manage it if you don’t want to gain.
Even if you have health problems that make it difficult to lose weight, mindfulness has been shown to be helpful with losing weight and maintaining that loss. When you practice mindfulness, it causes you to be conscious of the food that you eat.
From the beginning of the meal to the end, you recognize and experience each bite. This practice can also be applied to when you have snacks – which is an eating habit that causes many people to gain extra pounds.
When you practice mindful eating, it causes you to take your time and enjoy the food that you’re eating. When you eat slowly, this gives your brain time to register that your stomach is full so you eat less, too.
Mindful eating can be a natural way of helping to end wrong food associations that can lead to conditions such as binge eating. To get started with mindful eating, you have to make sure that you’re eating to get it out of the way or just because you’re supposed to.
Don’t eat while you’re working or driving or watching television. When your mind is otherwise occupied, you can’t focus on the enjoyment of the eating. Some mindful exercises can help you lose weight and keep your weight managed.
When you eat, pay attention to how the food tastes. Concentrate on how the flavors of the food stand out separately rather than as a whole. Become aware of the spicy taste or the sharp flavor.
Enjoy the feeling of the food, the shape of it and notice whether it’s solid or soft. As you eat, relax your mind and body. Keep your thoughts focused only on the eating and nothing else.
If you’ve always eaten a certain way such as sitting in a specific chair or using the same dinnerware change it up and use something different. Sit in a different chair. Face a different direction.
Use your opposite hand instead of the one that you always use. You can practice mindful eating by having a small piece of chocolate or a raisin. Pop the bite into your mouth and become aware of the texture of the bite, of the sensations that cross your tastebuds.
By becoming aware of food, you can eliminate the kind of rushed eating and overeating that leads to weight control issues.
