Mindful eating is based on mindfulness, a Buddhist concept. Mindful eating is about using mindfulness to reach a state of full attention to your experiences, cravings and physical cues when eating.
Fundamentally, mindful eating involves:
1. Eating slowly and without distraction.
2. Listening to physical hunger cues and eating only until you're full.
3. Distinguishing between actual hunger and non-hunger triggers for eating.
4. Engaging your senses by noticing colours, smells, sounds, textures and tastes.
5. Learning to cope with guilt and anxiety about food.
6. Eating to maintain overall health and well-being.
7. Noticing the effects food has on your feelings and figure.
8. Appreciating your food.
These things allow you to replace automatic thoughts and reactions with more conscious, healthier responses. Binge eating, emotional eating, external eating and eating in response to food cravings have been linked to weight gain and weight regain after successful weight loss. Chronic exposure to stress may also play a large role in overeating and the development of obesity.The vast majority of studies agree that mindful eating helps you lose weight by changing eating behaviours and reducing stress. By changing the way you think about food, the negative feelings that may be associated with eating are replaced with awareness, improved self-control and positive emotions. When unwanted eating behaviours are addressed, the chances of long-term weight loss success are increased. So let us all try mindful eating, not only for weight loss but also for a healthy mind and body.