The importance of mindful eating and how it can improve your health
You might have very frequently heard of the term ‘mindful eating’. It is not a diet plan but rather a lifestyle of mindfulness. Mindful eating is a psychological process in which you pay full attention to your meal ignore any distractions and be fully aware of your experiences, cravings and physical cues while eating. Some things that need to be taken care of while eating mindfully are –
– The speed while eating food should be slow, food should be thoroughly chewed and a break should be taken after every bite.
– While eating food, minimise the distractions from the external environment as far as possible such as mobile phones, computers, television etc. and keep the focus on eating food.
– Don’t eat by time rather eat when you are hungry and most importantly eat until you achieve a comfortable level of fullness. Neither overdoes on eating nor eats lesser.
– Always listen to your body for feelings of hunger or fullness.
– Choose the foods that are responsible for good health and well-being.
– Stay away from processed and packaged foods as far as possible.
Mindful eating has various health benefits such as –
Great stress reliever–
Whenever you eat mindfully, you will feel less anxious or stressed. Most people complain of stress eating and tend to eat more. But with mindful eating, when you pay to heed the food eaten while taking breaks in between bites, you focus on your feelings and try to catch the root of your stress. This way you can fight your problems.
Gut friendly –
Whenever we eat mindfully, we start to chew the food in a better way while focusing more on it. Food’s digestion also gets improved in this way and is well absorbed too.
Helps deal with eating disorders –
Various individuals have eating problems such as anorexia nervosa in which people refuse to take food and some have bulimia nervosa in which a person eats excessively and then vomits out the food. But with mindful eating, these problems can be dealt with.
Reduces food cravings –
There is a difference between actual hunger and food craving, which many of us fail to understand. By practising mindful eating, we become aware of the food we eat and we also recognise that are we eating out of hunger or just taste.
Aids in weight loss –
Paying close attention to the food we eat is a great aid in weight loss. We choose better when we eat consciously and also watch our portion size. Slow eating makes us eat less and actually how much is needed by our body.
Mindful eating is a conscious eating behaviour that can complement any diet. It is something that aids in physical and psychological well-being and also helps to keep various diseases at bay.
Written by Dietitian Garima Goyal
Author’s bio: Going by the motto of ‘Creating healthy lives’, Dietitian Garima Goyal wants to create a healthy world where people are fit and aware of the food they eat. She has worked towards the transformation of many lives with a 100% success rate with personalized counselling and diet plans for each client. She understands your everyday routine, likes and dislikes. Your complete information is collected regarding anthropometric measurements, medical history and current health status and diets are planned accordingly. Instead of making an entire shift in your daily diet, she just modifies your routine and makes a diet plan that suits you the best. Be ready for the transformation you have always wanted with Dietitian Garima Goyal.
