Grab a Piece of Peace

When it comes to food and nutrition, there is a lot of focus on what to eat. However, what I have found, working with clients over the last 11 years, is that before you address the ‘what’, it is much more important to focus on the ‘HOW’. Addressing how you eat is the starting point for real nourishment and happiness. The number one thing you can do to improve your eating, and as a result boost your health and feel fantastic, is to eat mindfully. By developing mindfulness, we step outside of our habituated subconscious habits and can become aware of both the food we are eating, as well as the conditions of our bodies when we eat.

Here are few simple guidelines to keep in mind to discern between mindless and more mindful eating, and bring our bodies and minds back together:-

• Eat slow and most importantly without distraction.
• Listen to physical hunger cues and eat only until you’re full.
• Distinguish between actual hunger and non-hunger triggers for eating.
• Engage your senses by noticing colors, smells, sounds, textures and tastes.
• Learn to cope with guilt and anxiety about food.
• Eat to maintain overall health and well-being.
• Appreciate your food.

Mindful eating does not have to be an exercise in super-human concentration, but rather a simple commitment to appreciating, respecting and, above all, enjoying the food you eat every day.