What is mindful eating?
You may be familiar with the term mindfulness, but do you know that it can be applied to our eating habits? Mindful eating uses the act of mindfulness, or being present, to help overcome eating issues in our increasingly busy and hurried lives. The goal is to shift focus from external thinking about food to exploring and enjoying the experience of eating. It is not a diet and focuses on developing a new mindset around food.
Mindful eating is paying attention to the eating experience with all of our senses (see, taste, hear, smell, feel); witness the emotional and physical responses that take place before, during, and after the eating experience
Some of the benefits of mindful eating:
- Reduces stress
- Eating for anxiety
- Increase enjoyment
- Easier digestion
- Calorie reduction
- Weightloss
- Control the food instead of it controlling you
- Enjoy the moment
- Reduced food cravings
- Less binge eating