Do you find yourself eating in your car?
Newsflash: Your car is not a portable restaurant!
If you are one of the gazillions of people who multitask while eating, you may also find that you get indigestion a lot, never feel full, tend to overeat and then feel stuffed or just have a hard time losing those extra pounds. While you may be well aware of the notion that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to signal your stomach that it’s full, that’s not likely to cause you to slow down your eating especially if you’re on a deadline at work or have to drop your kids off at a soccer game. But trust me, if you truly want to transform your relationship with food, your body and yourself. Here are a few tips:
- Take 5-10 deep diaphragmatic breaths (also known as belly breaths)
- Identify whether you’re physically hungry (Rate your hunger from 1 being least hungry to 5 being ravenous)
- Slow down your eating (No Shoveling!…utensils or sandwich down between bites)
- Consciously chew, taste, and then swallow each bite before taking another
- Choose to eat without doing other distracting activities
- Savor your food utilizing all of your senses…notice the colors/other visuals, textures, tastes, smells, sounds,
- Attend to your body’s sensations so you can identify and consciously make a choice to stop because you’re comfortably satisfied versus stuffed
- Practice an attitude of gratitude, non-judgment, and self-compassion
By bringing an accepting, self-compassion, and non-judgmental attitude to your eating, you just may discover that food is not a powerful enemy to do battle with, but a nourishing and nurturing friend that can lead you to making peace with food and a sustainable healthy body.
Remember, eating is supposed to be pleasurable, not riddled with angst, judgment, and guilt. Mindful eating will help you to both savor and enjoy food as well as to break free from tyranny of diets.