Well let's face it- eating as mindfully as we do on a retreat or in a mindfulness course is not realistic for many of us given the myriad distractions around us. Also our friends, family and colleagues might not have the patience to eat with us if we take five minutes with each bite. Therefore we must practice some self-compassion and consider formal mindful eating on retreats and special occasions, as well as informal mindful eating in our daily life.
There are ways to practice mindful eating. One way is to eat slowly. By slowing down we can get our mind and body to communicate in terms of 'what we really need' for nutrition. The body actually sends its satiation signal about 20 minutes after the brain, which is why we often unconsciously overeat. But, if we slow down, we can give our body a chance to catch up to our brain and hear the signals to eat the right amount. Simple ways to slow down might just include following many of our grandmother's manners-like sitting down to eat, chewing each bite 25 times (or more), setting our fork down between bites and all those old manners that are maybe not as pointless as they seemed!
Instead of eating alone and randomly we should try to eat with others at set times and places for this is another tenet of mindful eating. Yes indeed one way that we eat mindlessly is by wandering around looking through cabinets and eating at random times and places. This prevents us from developing healthy environmental cues about what and how much to eat. Sure, we all snack from time to time, but if we eat at consistent times and places, we can boost our mind and body's health greatly.
For practicing mindful eating, one must also understand one's motivations for eating. The conscious choice by and large should be to eat foods that are nutritionally healthy instead of eating foods that are emotionally comforting. This is a tricky balance and ideally we can find nourishing foods that are also satisfying and comforting. The thumb rule here is to experiment with a great variety of nourishing foods in a bid to discover more and more foods that are nourishing yet tasty and psychologically comforting. As we practice eating healthier and greater variety of foods (at the designated meal times), we are less inclined to binge on our unhealthy comfort foods.
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