Being Mindful When Eating

Why Mindful Eating?

As part of my spiritual journey, I have been conscious of being mindful during meals. What do I mean by mindful? We often take for granted the food we put into our body. We assume it is readily available. We may be absent from the meal emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Our minds are somewhere else. We're either in the past or the future; never present.

My focus is being present whilst I consume a meal. In doing so I release my troubles, worries, anxieties and stresses as I sit down to eat. I fully engage in the moment; being conscious and mindful of the food before me. One of the better aspects of this kind of practice is noticing how little I've eaten. I still manage to leave the table feeling full and satisfied. I've managed to lose a couple of kilograms over the last months as a result.

Whilst I wasn't motivated by losing weight (I am my ideal body weight at present), I noticed being mindful allowed me to consume less calories while still being full. I constantly advocate to clients about portion control. Eastern principle states one's food intake is equivalent to the size and volume of two hands cupped together. The size of your hands determines your meal consumption at each sitting.

Being mindful during meals implies drawing focus and attention to the food before you. It means carefully choosing foods which nourish your body. Food should bring you closer to health and vitality; not detract from it. Being mindful allows you to release distractions, toxic emotions and negative thoughts during meals. Your mind has the potential to alter the biochemistry of your cells via the foods you choose.

When you combine toxic thoughts and emotions with toxic foods; the result is damaging to the health of your cells. Clearing your mind by becoming centred and present, allows you to connect with your food; thus nourishing your body and mind. You eat less, feeling fuller and satisfied. You engage all your senses to create a wonderful sensory experience.

Becoming a Mindful Eater

Here are some suggestions to make mindful eating a part of your day:

Leave your worries, anxieties and stresses behind when you sit to eat. There's no point in solving them during a meal.
Refrain from eating at your computer desk or watching violent images on TV. Such stimuli fuel the mind into a fight or flight response, otherwise known as stress.
When consuming a meal, resist the temptation to overeat. When you feel a surge of emotions by drawing on the past or present, you're likely to overeat.
Become aware of unconscious eating as well. This happens when there's a distraction in the room like bright lights, loud music or TV in the background. Your mind is in autopilot mode; rarely noticing the goodness before you.
If you're feeling emotional due to stress, refrain from eating as a means to draw comfort. This practice is fraught with danger. Take time out by engaging in physical activity i.e. running, walking, cycling outdoors are all preferred options
Avoid packaged or canned foods wherever possible. There is little life and sustenance derived from packaged items. Consuming such foods deprives you of a mind-body connection.
If possible, prepare your own food. Research suggests that people who grow and cook their food remain healthy and slim. Preparing foods engages your mind and body; allowing a thoughtful process toward health.
Laughter is the best medicine. Years ago I stayed with an Italian family in Tuscany. I recall the father, a dermatologist suggesting laughter as a means for effective digestion. Laughter relaxes the bowels which contains 80% of your body's serotonin, used to regulate intestinal movements. Since serotonin is the chemical which maintains happy feelings, it makes sense to have more of the chemical at work during meals.
Offer grace before a meal - even as a thought. Be grateful for the food nourishing your body. Thank yourself for preparing and cooking the meal.

Take small steps each day toward a healthier, more fulfilling life. Awaken Your Authentic Self by connecting to every aspect of your nature. The foods you choose have the potential to enrich the quality of your life. Begin now by changing one aspect of your nutrition and watch your health soar like a balloon.

Tony Fahkry is an expert in integrating the mind-body connection with health & healing, personal development and self awareness to achieve greater human potential. I do this by drawing awareness to self, removing limitations and obstacles which restrict personal growth and development.

My program Awaken Your Authentic Self trains people how to reclaim their mental and physical well being. Based on three fundamental principles I have found essential for achieving radiant health to healing from disease and illness. Following these principles in their daily lives people see a powerful shift from fatigue, unhappiness, stress, depressed mood to feelings of vitality, a renewed sense of life purpose and the energy to make it happen.

My Awaken Your Authentic Self eBook shows you how to reclaim and renew your health & wellbeing. Visit http://www.awakenyourauthenticself.com.au to learn more.

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Mindful Eating: Physical Hunger Versus Emotional Hunger

"Hunger is a feeling experienced when one has a desire to eat. It originates in the hypothalamus and is released through receptors in the liver." This is the definition given by Wikipedia. Does this definition really help us understand hunger? Yes, from a physiological perspective it does but what it does not include or consider are the emotional or sensory aspects so many of us experience on a regular basis associated with eating. Mindful Eating can help us to recognise the different hungers we may experience. Can food fill every type of hunger? Although the 5 senses are the main ways in which we experience hunger it is also worth noting there are other ways our eating patterns can occur.

Real Hunger: This is true physiological hunger your stomach is communicating with you. Mindful eating allows us to experience this fully. This is when you experience hunger pangs and your stomach feels empty and makes rumbling and gurgling noises. Extreme hunger can sometimes cause you to feel light headed, may make you feel irritable or tired and you may also have difficulty concentrating. Here the need is to nourish and feed the body.

Emotional Hunger: This is when you eat to make yourself feel better. The need here is more about making yourself feel better, taking away pain or just trying to feel something. People often comfort eat chocolates or crisps or sweets when they feel sad, anxious, depressed etc. Many of us do not follow the process of mindful eating and when we eat foods in a mindless way describe a feeling of emptiness inside and this can often be confused with physical hunger. This type of hunger can often be experienced as a craving and can be a much more powerful feeling than real physical hunger. It tends to focus on just one food type and occurs more in the mouth than the stomach and no matter how much we eat the emptiness never really goes away.

The following lists give some of the different signs of physical and emotional hunger

Physical signs of hunger:

gurgling stomach
weakness
lack of energy
gnawing feeling in stomach
empty feeling in stomach
light headed
headache
Emotional signs of hunger:
eating in response to an emotional situation
controlling what you eat, by only eating a certain amount or depriving yourself
eating too little and still feeling hungry when finished
going to the fridge, opening the door and not really knowing why you are there
being physically hungry but denying yourself food
never feeling satisfied, no matter how much you eat
eating food on autopilot
eating when you feel excited or good about yourself

Knowing the difference between physical and emotional hunger can help with weight loss. As you begin to recognise different kinds of hunger you experience, you only eat when you are physically hungry. Here's a tip, the next time you eat something just stop, take a breath and ask yourself, "What hunger do I feel?" If you are physically hungry, then go right ahead and eat something. If not then try to work out what you feel and deal with it by taking the appropriate action. If you feel tired then go and take a nap, if you feel anxious or agitated, then sit down and meditate for 10 minutes. Learn how to really listen to what your body tells you. This is how you begin to reap the rewards of mindful eating.

Jeni MacNab BSc and RGN is a UK based health and weight management coach specializing in mindful eating and personal development. She is also a published author. Jeni is dedicated to empowering women to change how they feel about themselves through mindful eating and weight management. If you are someone who has become exhausted and disillusioned with different weight loss programmes and would like to find a long-term solution that works, let Jeni guide you through the process of Mindful Eating. When you understand how this process works, you will be amazed with the results that appear in all areas of your life!

Get your FREE Mindful Eating Action Plan at http://www.peaceofmindscotland.com which will walk you through the initial process giving helpful tips and exercises to try. Get your FREE copy today, plus Jeni's regular newsletter.

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