It is possible to make the most of your meals, mindfully. Following on from the previous introduction to mindfulness, today we focus on a very specific mindfulness application.
In addition to mindfulness of breath, emotion or thinking, the specific application of mindfulness to dieting has been shown to significantly improve results such that those who engage in ‘mindful eating’ tend to eat less, enjoy what they’re eating more and notably, be more conscious of when they’re really hungry and when they’re not.
To begin with, then, given that many of us are guilty of ‘emotional eating’ (that is, eating when we’re upset rather than eating only when we’re hungry), becoming more mindful of our emotions can be an extremely important strategy.
Mindfulness was obviously referred to in a previous lesson, but to add to what you’ve already begun, today we’re introducing the practice of mindful eating.
In very much the same way as has been described previously, mindful eating applies the same mindfulness approach and technique to meal times, by inviting those eating to do the following:
- To begin with, remove anything that might potentially distract you during meal time
- That is, when you eat, only eat – no reading, watching TV, or scrolling social media
- The goal with mindful eating is to give your full attention to the task of eating, as much as is realistically possible
- While doing this, eat slowly and pay careful attention to each and every smell, texture and taste (you should notice many more variables than you otherwise would)
- Savour your food, practising gratitude for what you have, as you eat
- And remember, that just like general forms of mindfulness you will, at times, become distracted or find your mind wanders. That’s OK; whenever you notice this just ease your mind back to your chosen focus, the food and process of eating, and calmly begin again
Keep in touch and let us know how your practice of mindful eating is going by leaving a comment or jumping over to the Member’s Facebook page – the Super Staffers and the Super Squad are here to help, and we love to hear how you’re going.