What is mindful eating?
How often have you sat down for a meal and then before you realize it, the food on your plate is gone, and you don’t even remember what it tasted like? Too often, I’m sure. There are so many wonderful things about food including taste and texture and HEALTH. These things are often forgotten in this day and age where foods are meant to be consumed as quickly as possible.
Try to think to the last time you really ENJOYED a meal. Savored the bites and focused on eating, instead of your kids, phone, or doing the dishes.
Mindful eating is the opposite of this habit. It’s being aware of everything that you are putting into your body and being present in the moments that you are eating. It’s allowing yourself to give into your senses of smell and taste in order to fully appreciate an eating experience.
When you are not eating mindfully, you are at risk for over-eating or even under-eating. If you aren’t tasting your food, or your mind is scattered a thousand directions, you are more likely to go up for that second course, or mindlessly snack. This can also mean that you’re not paying attention to how your body feels when you are eating certain things. During mindful eating you are allowing yourself to choose foods that support your health and well-being.
Some mindful eating techniques that are popular are:
- Sitting down while you eat
- Using decorative plates and bowls
- Eat slowly, try to chew your food a certain number of times before swallowing
- Put your phone away during meals
- Carry healthy snack foods with you
- Follow your hunger cues, eat when you are hungry
- Once you have eaten one serving, wait five minutes before making another plate (chances are you will realize you don’t need another serving)
One of the most important parts of mindful eating is the food you are eating. The food that you are putting into your body is really the entire purpose of the meal. When it comes to buying groceries, it’s important to get things that you LIKE to eat. If your cart is full of a bunch of things that you know are healthy, but you actually can’t stand, you’re not going to have a good experience eating them. Buy food that you know you are going to eat and enjoy. Don’t force yourself to eat something if you hate it. Attaching negative feelings to eating healthy food can become a bad habit.
If you are an unattached eater, it may be time to change your habits. Make eating an experience again by creating meals that you are excited to eat, and focusing around them. This concept fits in perfectly with our ideal protein foods. Don’t eat an IP food that you aren’t a fan of! Luckily we have TONS of food options for our dieters so you don’t have to eat foods you hate!
Here at OSR Weight Management our Ideal Protein method empowers dieters with the knowledge to develop better eating habits and smarter lifestyle choices by providing an education on the relationship of carbohydrates to insulin production how weight gain occurs, and what to do to avoid it. Our dieters are not left with the “Now what?” question after their excess weight has been lost.
OSR Weight Management’s aim is empower each and every one of our patients to achieve their weight loss goals. We combine the Ideal Protein method with the medical expertise of our board certified medical doctor and our dedicated staff. Whether you have 10, 20, or even 50 or more pounds to lose, OSR Weight Management can tailor an individualized program to help you meet your weight loss goals.