When you begin eating mindfully, a whole new world of will open up to you.
If you are finding mindful eating challenging, you are not alone. To make it easier, I thought I would provide you with several mindful eating tips:
1. Gratitude. Whether you are swinging by Taco Bell or preparing a decadent dinner, appreciate the food you are about to eat. When you appreciate, you focus attention on yourself and the food, and it makes what you are about to eat all the more special. Taking a moment to look at your food and give thanks, will also focus your attention in a positive way, helping you to stay mindful all the way through.
2. Taste. Now that you see that it doesn't take all that many bites to go from hungry to satisfied, make sure to taste each and every bite. Swirl it around your mouth and notice all the yummy tastes and textures. Don't let this bite get away from you without tasting it! What fun is that? It's not, so taste each and every bite of your meal.
3. Stop Being a Busy Bee. If you are used to eating and watching t.v., eating and working, eating and doing 14 other things at the same time, knock it off. We all have a million things to get done, but there's no reason to bring your busy life into your meals. You will be sure to take off some unwanted pounds if you make a new rule for yourself and stop doing other things while eating.
4. Sit Down. One simple way of helping yourself to eat mindfully is to eat while you are sitting. Never eat while standing in front of the fridge or preparing a meal. When you eat while standing up, whether you are cooking, snacking, or picking, you won't feel satisfied. Put your food on a plate, sit down and enjoy.
5. Slow Down. I know that you are extremely busy. Yet, I also know you love to eat. So why not pamper yourself during a meal. There's no reason to eat everything on your plate in two-minutes flat, when you could slowly enjoy eat bite of food and have a relaxing and enjoyable meal. By focusing more on the conversation between bites, the atmosphere around you, the aftertaste of each bite, and the effect each bite has on your body, you are sure to fill up on less food, having greater enjoyment at each meal.
6. Chew. You can taste each bite of food in your mouth if you chew it all the way, not to mention you will digest your food better as well.
7. Play This Game. Sometimes, we like to see if we can be the last one at the table to finish our meal. By doing this, it makes eating slow fun and mindful, all in one package. If you are the first to usually finish a meal, see if you can be the last. This is a fun way to make mindful eating part or your life daily.
8. Pause Between Bites: After every or every few bites, pause. This is a good time to check in ask yourself if you are still hungry. If you are still hungry, go ahead and eat, if not, you will know exactly when your body has had enough food.
NOTE: Sometimes you have to eat in the car, eat at your desk, or grab some food and take it with you. Once in awhile, this is fine, just don't make it a habit. If you find yourself getting caught in this situation, just take a bite of food, then focus on what it is you need to do. Take another bite - focus - then work, drive, etc.
Put these tips to great use and you will certainly see your waistline benefit from these tips.
Marna Goldstein is the author of the international top selling e-book, Naturally Thin Secrets. Marna teaches you how to trim down without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the thin. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your weight loss efforts by visiting ThinWithin.com, home of Naturally Thin Secrets, and ThinWithin.com, the Internet's premiere members-only non-diet weight loss support community.