In recent years, mindful eating has received a lot more attention, but there is still a lot of confusion surrounding these words. Without getting too deep into the subject, these tips and ideas will help you practice more mindful eating, how to listen to your body and internal cues about hunger, and how to simply eat carefully one step at a time. Never before have mindful eating exercises seemed so easy!
What is eating with awareness?
Simply put, mindful eating is just what it sounds like: paying more attention to what you eat. It means using all of your senses to fully enjoy and be in the moment while eating. This can help you tune into your hunger and energy signals so you can decide when and how much to eat based on how your body feels.
One of the most important parts of mindful eating is to not judge yourself as you eat. When eating, you are merely collecting data on your preferences, dislikes, bodily sensations, and emotions without evaluating them. You can extend these exercises to other areas of your life by incorporating mindfulness into your eating and drinking routines.
Putting more thought into your meal
Changing what you eat and how you eat can make a big difference in who you are. This is the main idea behind eating with awareness. You just have to let go of all the things that want your attention and pay attention to what you are doing right now, which is eating.
When done seriously, eating mindfully would make you feel good on a physical, mental, and spiritual level. It is a very deep process that can’t be done without a lot of work. It has more than one side to it. It might take you years of practise to make your meals truly mindful, but here are some easy ways to start:
1. Decide on an eating time.
There is a strong link between being committed to something and giving it enough time. Almost all faiths tell their followers to worship at a certain time, which is the only time they should do anything else.
In the same way, having a fixed time for your meal is the best way to show respect for it. If you get hungry a lot during the day, you should make a lot of these small meals. Also, you should try to avoid eating anything between meals because that will ensure that you will be hungry when it is time to eat.
2. Find a good spot
Every place makes you think of a certain range of things. When you are in a room, looking at all the things around you might bring back different memories. So, the best place to be while eating would be somewhere that only makes you think of food. No, you shouldn’t eat in your home, though it’s not a bad idea. Instead, you should eat every day at the same place, so that the atmosphere doesn’t distract you from your food.
3. Get rid of all the distractions.
When you are thinking about a lot of things at once, you can’t give each one the same amount of attention. So, you should turn off the TV while you’re eating. Put your mobile on silent mode. You shouldn’t care about anything but food. Let everyone know that you are eating.
4. Eat in a quiet setting
Have you ever tried to write something but couldn’t because there was too much noise around you? This happens because our minds need peace and quiet to help them concentrate. The same is true for food. To make your food more mindful, you need to eat it in a place where you can really pay attention to it.
5. Do not rush.
When you eat quickly, it shows that the things you’re going to do after your meal are more important to you than the meal itself. You should do anything you can to avoid this. Don’t be in a rush. Slow down and chew your food right. Don’t just give it your time; pay attention to it as well.
6. Discuss the food
Though you shouldn’t say anything at all. But if you like to say something every now and then, make sure it’s about food. Talking about something’s quality or taste would also make other people aware of it, which would make them pay more attention to what they are eating.
7. Make your own meals
Don’t order food from outside; cook it yourself. If there’s someone in your house who doesn’t like eating home-cooked food, you might try making them part of the cooking team. Everyone likes food they cooked themselves, unless it tastes awful.
8. Try new things
Using the same old items to make the same old dish would make it tasteless. Everyone would pay more attention to the food if you cooked something new or added new things to the same old dish. Don’t be afraid to try out different recipes every now and then.
9. Grow your own food.
If you can, you should try eating food from your own yard. This isn’t always possible in today’s fast-paced world, but if you can, you should try it. Not only is it good for you, but nothing tastes better than a veggie that has just been picked.
10. Be patient
Mindfulness is working with and on patience, so don’t change the way you eat all of a sudden. Just keep adding awareness to your meals every day and wait. Over time, it would turn into something beautiful and peaceful on its own.
The best way to finish.
Last but not least, ask people what they think about your meals. Even though this is not the time to judge or criticize, it is helpful to find out what things make you and your body feel good. You might find that eggs and toast are more satisfying than a muffin for breakfast, or that you don’t like chocolate cake as much as you thought you did.
Take each bite as a chance to check in with yourself and see how different foods or drinks make you feel. Use what you learn to make your eating habits more mindful in the future.