Mindful eating is our second article in our three part series on mindfulness . Mindful eating is a compassionate observation of your eating habits. I mention compassionate because it is a non-judgemental way of getting in touch with your way of eating.
Mindful eating is being aware of what, why and how you are eating. It is the opposite of eating on autopilot. I am often asked if it is possible to become a mindful eater, and my answer is always ,“Yes it is something we can all learn.”
Trusting your appetite would be your natural way of eating, if your appetite mechanism has not been overridden by other factors. I grew up in a family where trusting your appetite did feature in whether an extra helping of food was provided. However, my experiences of food and meals influenced my ability to tune into and make choices based on my appetite.
Your ideal body weight is the weight, shape and size that is healthiest for you. We are all unique, so “one size definitely does not fill all”. This post poses questions to help you understand your ideal body weight.
I am continuing on with the ‘whys’ of eating this week. One of the main purposes of keeping a food diary is to uncover why you eat. Just focussing on what you eat will not produce lasting change or bring enjoyment to eating. Two of the big WHYS are boredom and emotional eating.
Continue reading Overcoming boredom and emotional eating habits
Keeping a food diary for a week takes effort, especially if you are busy, have erratic meal times and eat out frequently. But even for those who eat mostly home prepared meals, recording what, when and how much you eat takes dedication. So if you didn’t complete this challenge you wont be alone. I encourage at least three days of recording, as the activity is so enlightening. So what can a food diary tell us?
At certain times of the year, diet propaganda gets really noisy.
It can be difficult to resist.
From detox to weight-loss diets, they are all there! But there is a way to overcome the temptation of new diets, because NO DIET will deliver LASTING RESULTS.
