Imagine you with a large bag of buttery popcorn.
You’re sitting in front of the television, laid back in your lazy boy.
You said that you would only eat a 1/3 but you look up, less than half way through the final episode of Scandal and WHOA!!! The whole bag is empty, minus a few kernels lurking in the bottom corners of the bag.
If you can relate than you understand how eating unconsciously can have a huge effect on the ever-expanding waistline. But the question is what do you do.
I recently came across a really interesting and informative article in Psychology Today, that I just had to share.
Mindfulness is something I’ve been working on for a while but I have kind of failed in applying it to eating, especially when I’m stressed. Yes I’m admitting to being a stress binge eater.
Many times we’re totally unaware of what we’re putting in our mouth, either out of boredom or just habit. We’ll sit or well, I KNOW I’ll sit and completely binge out on non-nutritious foods and still not feel full.
This article helps explain how to control binge eating and that if we take the time to be more conscious about what we’re doing we’ll find that we eat way more than we should. By stepping back and taking the time to really enjoy and savor our foods we will feel more satiated and more in control of our food options.
Today’s society is such a on-the-go, fast food, fast everything nation that we have lost our ability to enjoy the simple things. Here are some easy steps that can be taken, to learn to be more aware.
5 Steps Simple Steps to Conscious Eating
- Prior to any meal or snack slowly sip on a glass of water or tea. This helps to get you refocused.
- Take deep breaths to relax you. Many times we’re eating not due to hunger but more so due to stress.
- Only put out enough in front of you for one serving. If it’s popcorn then take out one serving, put it in a bowl and put the remainder away.
- Savor each bite. Don’t scarf it down. Take your time eating and really pay attention to the flavor, the crunch and how the food made you feel.
- After you finished eating do something different. If you were watching tv then get up and move around a little. This will guide your thoughts away from food long enough for the mind to realize that it’s no longer hungry.
Most important, make eating a fun process. When you really think about what you’re doing and that’s nourishing your body so it can function properly, you can truly have a different kind of experience when it comes to your relationship with food. I hope you enjoyed.
Share, comment and happy mindful eating.