Mindful Eating: 5 Easy Tips To Get Started

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Julie Montagu

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Do you ever find yourself rushing through your mealtimes? Or perhaps you get to the end of a busy day completely starving and craving a sugar fix because you skipped a meal? Mindful eating is the act of truly paying attention to what we are eating, when and why. In this session, Julie will explain how a mindful approach to eating can greatly improve your habits and behavior around food. Follow her simple mindful eating exercise at your next meal and you will become more conscious of the way your body reacts to your food choices and the manner in which you eat.

Instructions

Mindful Eating Exercise

The exercise begins at the table once you have prepared your meal and seated yourself to eat.

1. Ensure that the room is silent and free from distractions - no television, no computers and no smart phones.

2. Feel free to begin eating whenever you like, but ensure that you do so slowly. Be aware of every piece of food that you move from the plate to your mouth.
Recognize that there is no need to rush and that you have the time to savor and enjoy every taste.

3. With each mouthful of food that you take, chew between 15 and 20 times before you swallow.

4. Try to recognize the flavor of your food as you chew and appreciate the love that has gone into preparing this meal. Ask yourself if you really enjoy these flavours, and try to consider what this meal is doing to benefit your body and mind.

5. If you are eating as a family and you have children, then make a point to ask your children what the food tastes like, and how the texture of the food feels inside the mouth. This serves as a good way to direct the conversation in a productive and mindful direction.

Eating in this way will help you to create a positive relationship with your food, and to appreciate every meal for the gift that it is.