There are a lot of different things that you can do to help support your health. Mindful eating is a beautiful way to bring your awareness to both what you are eating and how you are eating. And from a naturopath’s perspective, let us be guided how mindful eating works to get the best benefits of this experience.
Mindful eating helps you to become more aware of your situation and the eating choices you are making instead of simply reacting.
Mindful Eating Experience
By bringing all your physical and emotional senses to the eating experience, you enhance your awareness of the food choices that you are making. Helping you to be more aware of how the food tastes and feels as you eat it, which can help increase gratitude for the food and improve the experience of eating.
Mindful eating isn’t about judgement; it’s about becoming aware of your eating habits. Once you are more aware of how and what you eat, you can choose how to move forward – if you are content or if there are things that you might change or want to try.
How it Works
To start mindful eating, you need to be fully present in all your food choices. Pay attention to the foods you choose, the internal and external cues that led to that choice, and how you respond to it all. Guide yourself considering the following questions:
- What do I eat?
- Why do I eat what I eat?
- How much do I eat?
- How do I eat?
Awareness
Doing all of this is aimed at improving your awareness, helping you to think about:
- Where your food came from, who prepared it, and how it was prepared.
- The cues that are influencing how much you eat – can be internal or external.
- How the food looks, tastes, smells, and feels as you consume it.
- The way that your body feels once you have eaten; how the food sits with you.
- What you are doing when you are eating, as this impacts both digestion and potential food choices.
Benefits
Why should you try this? Research has shown that mindful eating improves your mental wellbeing, your pleasure when eating, and your satisfaction with your body. Especially if you also combine this awareness with changing behaviours, if necessary, and nutritional knowledge.
Have a chat with the best naturopaths to be guided on this mindful eating experience on a personal basis. Check these number of articles about general health issues if you liked reading this post.
