You may have already heard about mindfulness, from how to practice being in the present to listening to how you feel, and acknowledging why you might be feeling that way. But have you heard about mindful eating?
We’ve put together everything you need to know about mindful eating, from what it is to how you can incorporate mindful eating into your routine.
What is Mindful Eating?
It’s important to understand that mindful eating isn’t about eating a strict diet or not being able to snack throughout the day. Instead, mindful eating is about becoming aware of your emotions, thoughts, and being present when eating.
It also heavily involves acknowledging food cravings, triggers and getting your mind to recognise whether you’re hungry or not.
Understandably, mindful eating isn’t for everyone but there are many benefits that mindful eating can lead to, especially for your overall wellbeing.
What Are the Benefits of Mindful Eating?
Along with acknowledging your emotions and helping you to develop a healthy relationship with food, there are many other benefits to mindful eating. Mindful eating can:
- Encourage you to make healthier choices by acknowledging how each food type makes you feel after eating them.
- Slow down your eating, which may help your digestion and make you feel fuller sooner.
- Allow you to take time out of your day away from any stress and reflect on how you feel, which can help boost your mental wellbeing.
- Encourage you to learn more about nutrition and the best way to nourish your body.
How to Eat Mindfully
It’s can be easy to introduce mindful eating into your mealtimes, but you may find it takes a little time for it to come naturally. In fact, it takes 21 days for you to form a habit, so consistency is key if you’re wanting to master the ways of mindful eating. Start by following these four steps for you to really grasp how to eat mindfully:
1. Be Present
Often when getting through your day-to-day, you can become quite mindless at mealtimes. Taking the time out of your day to truly enjoy your food away from any distractions can allow you to become more present while you’re eating and enjoy the experience. It also allows you to engage with your mealtimes and recognise your thoughts and feelings after eating.
2. Listen to Your Body
Comfort eating and overeating can easily fall into a habit, especially when you’re stressed, busy, or bored. But listening to your body’s actual needs and wants will allow you to become more aware of whether you’re hungry or not.
If you find yourself questioning ‘am I hungry or do I just need a drink?’, you’ll find that your bodyis actually trying to signal that it’s dehydrated instead of hungry. But when we’re caught up in our busy schedules, it can be easy to mistake this signal for hunger. Instead, take a couple of breaths and allow yourself to think about what you really want.
However, when your stomach starts to rumble, it’s good idea to have some healthy snacks to hand for you to consume between mealtimes. Make sure you remain consistent and consume any snacks in the same mindful way.
3. Eat Varied Foods
Although it’s easy to choose your favourite processed foods, selecting fresh and organic ingredients will help you practice mindful eating as you start to consider how your ingredients were prepared and where they come from.
By incorporating a variety of clean and sustainable nutrition into your diet, you’ll also become aware of the different food groups included in your diet and how your choices can support your health and wellbeing.
You could also consider introducing supplements into your diet to help provide your body with additional vitamins, being mindful that your body is getting the nutrition it needs. Our range of collagen supplements will make the perfect addition to your routine:
Even better, why not try adding a scoop of Unflavoured Collagen Peptide Powder into one of your recipes. It requires no prep, doesn’t disrupt any flavour and is good for topping up your collagen levels.
