Written By: Coach Mairead
Hands up if you usually find yourself eating while watching tv? How about eating while working? Eating while scrolling through your phone? Are you eating while you’re reading this?
We all multi-task to get everything done that we need to accomplish each day! But if one of those tasks is eating, we’re not really paying full attention to our food and enjoying it as much as we could be.
Mindful eating is a practice of taking the time to slow down and savour your food without distractions.
That might look like a family meal, or it might look like slowing down for 5 minutes to give yourself a snack without doing something else at the same time. The important part is that what you’re doing at that moment is eating – not eating plus three other things.
Eating in a more mindful way gives you a chance to enjoy your food.
You take the time to savour not just the taste, but the smell, the appearance, the texture and the entire eating experience. You’re going to be more satisfied with your food. If you often fall into mindless eating, you might find that you eat a different amount when you’re eating more mindfully.
You’ll be better able to tune in to your hunger and satiety cues, helping you eat the amount that actually matches what your body says it needs.
When we’re eating distractedly or on auto-pilot, we so rarely tune in to how hungry and full we are throughout the process.
Not every meal is going to be eaten perfectly mindfully. There are lots of times when you do need to be doing something important when you also need to scarf down food and that’s okay. But if you think you rarely or never eat a meal or snack mindfully, it’s worth exploring when you have the time. When you’re ready, take a minute and sit down with your food. Get rid of all distractions (except people who are eating with you). Take the eating experience bite by bite, enjoying each, and paying attention to both how satisfied you are and how full or hungry you are. See how this changes your eating habits!
If you’re ready to make more changes, let’s chat. There is currently 2 spots open for On-Going Nutrition Coaching, and limited Nutrition Consultations available each week! Email
[email protected] for more info or to save your spot!
