Nutrition Matters: Mindful Eating

Posted: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 4:23 pm            

Nutrition Matters: Mindful Eating                                            

LISA WILBY                                                                             

You have probably heard of the phrase “mindful eating,” but what does that really mean? Mindful eating addresses our relationship with food. We eat to nourish and sustain our body but sometimes we reach for food in times of stress and emotion while other times we merely eat out of habit even though we aren’t hungry.

 

Occasionally, we will munch on food without realizing how much we’ve eaten. Or, we finish what we’ve started because there are only a few bites left. We’ve eaten on the run, in the car, or while answering e-mails or reading the newspaper. The kitchen table has lost its designation of the place to enjoy a meal and has instead become a catch-all for mail and backpacks. The practice of mindful eating seeks to change all this and put us back in control of what we eat, when we eat, and how much we eat.

 

Being mindful requires us to stay in the moment. It helps us focus and make deliberate choices and not ones that are reactive to feelings or to the surrounding environment. Mindfulness serves to break unhealthy bonds with food and can help relieve the stress and anxiety surrounding that. Taking time to plan meals, to sit and take pleasure in meals, to slow down and savour each bite of food can give us a break from the daily routine and give us a chance to turn the attention to ourselves. Mindful eating can help us develop a calm, controlled, and balanced energy around food.
 

Here are a few strategies for practicing mindful eating:
 

• Always ask yourself “am I hungry?” when you feel like eating. Hunger is physical; it is not the same as a craving. Thirst is sometimes confused with hunger so stay hydrated by drinking water throughout the day.
 

• Getting too hungry can lead to overeating and poor food choices. Be sure you are eating three healthy meals a day and two or three healthy snacks. Stay in control by not letting more than four hours go between meals or snacks.
 

• Identify emotional triggers such as stress, sadness, or boredom. Cope with these feelings through exercise, yoga, and/or counseling. Identify environmental triggers, too. Limit TV viewing to limit exposure to food ads. Remove snack food from counters and place in cabinets. Don’t leave extra food on the table as you eat a meal—leave it on the counter or place it in the refrigerator.
 

• Don’t eat distracted. Eat away from the TV and computer and resist the temptation to read while eating. Sit at the table.
 

• Eat slowly and take small bites. Put your fork down between bites. Use your senses and experience the color, texture, aroma, and flavor of your food. Don’t reach for handfuls of snacks—eat them one at a time.
 

• Pause during your meal and assess how full you are. This will help you reconnect with your natural hunger and fullness cues. Stop eating when you feel comfortably full. You don’t have to eat everything on your plate—wrap it up for another meal and don’t plate so much food the next time.
 

Eating mindfully helps to focus on the enjoyable aspects of food by making us more aware and thoughtful of the choices we make. Learning to eat mindfully allows us to be back in command of our body and can lead to a more healthful relationship with food and perhaps a more healthful you.
 
http://www.capenews.net/bourne/columns/nutrition-matters-mindful-eating/article_edca5910-69e8-11e4-ae3f-431a3fb543d3.html