Do you feel guilty about being full-figured, and wanting to stay fit as a fiddle, but being helpless due to a handful of targets and deadlines? Well, there is one thing that you can do that needs literally no to less effort. It is called Mindful Eating. For the past 10 – 15 years, this term has been popularized. Still, it is a big question that how many of us are really aware of the perks of mindful eating in the battle against obesity.
Mindful Eating Approach To Loss of Weight
Now, Mindful eating is an approach to food that makes you be in the present moment while eating, bringing all your attention to the food, texture, aroma, taste, hunger, and fullness signals from your brain. Adapting this habit makes you acutely conscious of what, why, and how you eat.
The Role of Mindful Eating In Your Weight Loss Journey
Based on the 80/20 principle, 80% of our body weight comes from what we eat and 20% is from the physical workout. In this context, mindful eating itself contributes much to maintaining a healthy weight. However, when you incorporate intuitive eating into your workout regime, it influences the impact of exercise and accelerates weight loss. The heightened awareness will keep you eating healthy, avoiding processed and junk foods, which promotes your health, explains ThreeBestRated® nutritionists.
Enable You To Listen To Your Body
Most often, people form a habit of playing video games, watching Netflix, and chit-chatting, while eating, which results in distracted eating. It is because when you eat, your brain watches the internal processing of food and sends a fullness signal once you become full.
But, when you indulge in doing something else, your brain gets distracted and fails to register the act of eating. As a result, it will produce the sensation of hunger again, causing the temptation for eating more food or snacks. Mindful eating encourages people to indulge in the present moment, enabling them to grasp the fullness signal to stop consuming at an appropriate time.
Improves Digestion
Mindful eating allows you to chew the food slowly and thoroughly, which helps the digestion process. The act of chewing thoroughly breaks down the food into tiny particles, which facilitates the absorption of nutrients effectively by the body. Improved nutrition absorption reduces the likelihood of fat deposition.
Moreover, when you eat slowly, more saliva will be secreted and get mixed with the food. As the saliva contains enzymes called amylase, it helps your body break down the starches into sugar and aids in the digestion of (complex) starches. As proper digestion is one of the crucial factors for weight loss, thoughtful eating will be an effortless way to maintain your waistline.
Reduce Stress Eating
Stress eating or emotional eating has become a more common and prominent cause of excessive eating and obesity. Emotional states like stress, anxiety, and boredom make people munch more food, resulting in increased consumption of calories.
When you pay attention to your food, you will feel more likely to enjoy eating it. This cuts off the extra calories consumption due to maladaptive behaviors like binge eating, stressful eating, etc., ultimately contributing to weight management.
Strategies To Practice Mindful Eating?
Mastering the art of Mindful eating is not rocket science. In just seven steps you can become adept at the practice of thoughtful eating.
- The practice must begin right from the moment you shop. Generally, processed food and carbs-loaded snacks find their way to the refrigerator through impulsive buying. So before putting things into the cart, check the nutritional value and the ingredients. Then, pay only for those that are salutary, avoiding junk foods.
- Encourage all your senses to actively participate while eating, like sniffing the aroma, feeling the texture, and warmth, and enjoying the visual appeal of the food. This makes you mindful of what, and how you are eating, enhancing your overall experience.
- Don’t devour your food hastily. Take small bites and chew them properly, allowing the flavors to melt on your taste buds. Additionally, ensure that you eat slowly, which will help you notice the fullness signal from the brain. And, it enables you to stop eating at the right time, preventing overeating.
- Don’t skip meals which is often a common mistake made by individuals aiming for weight loss. It leads to prolonged hunger which in turn leads you to resort to quick eating options like snacking, or devouring food in minutes. Both are detrimental to your weight. So plan to have your food at the same time each day to avoid filling your stomach with trash.
- Serve yourself a small portion that fills about 80% of your tummy. Not only does this approach prevent overeating, but also reduces food waste. A small portion lays less stress in the digestive and gastric system which keeps the gut health safe and sound.
- Finally, eat without distraction. Although this concept is rooted in philosophy, it is good to go with, as it will deepen the overall eating experience.
In The End
Intuitive eating is a great way to develop a relationship with food. As it is a healthy practice, people of all age groups can easily adapt to the practice. However, being mindful is not a cakewalk, as it needs some patience. But once you attain that stage in your life, you will have drastic changes. So keep practicing it to lead the fullest life!
