Tips for Practicing Mindful Eating to Improve Your Health and Wellness

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully engaged in the present moment, being fully engaged in whatever you’re doing.  If you’re mindful in your task, you can put aside distractions, pay attention to what you’re doing and tune into your thoughts, feelings and sensations.

Through the practise of mindful eating, you can take the time to slow down and enjoy your food.  You can tune into your hunger cues, listening to when your body needs food and knowing when you’ve had enough, or when you may be eating out of boredom or even thirst.

5 tips to help you eat mindfully:

Check your hunger

At meal and snack times, we all know how easy it can be to eat more than you need. It’s important to listen to your body before you eat, ask yourself some questions, and take note of your hunger levels. Consider:

• How hungry are you?
• Where would you rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10?
• Are you just thirsty?
• Or are you reaching for food for reasons such as boredom, habit, stress or other emotions?

This can help you to make more conscious choices about what, and how much you eat, and even whether you need to eat.

Avoid distractions

Take the time to have a proper mealtime. Turn off the TV and put your phone, iPad or laptop out of reach, as these kinds of distractions can make you more likely to overeat. Set a place at the table and sit down to eat.

Slow it down

Slow down and tune into your body so you can recognise when you reach that feeling of being ‘just satisfied’. Why not try:

• Taking smaller bites
• Chewing your food 10-20 times
• Pausing in between bites or halfway through your meal, even have a sip of water.
• Checking your hunger level, there’s no need to force yourself to finish your meal once you feel satisfied

Eat with all your senses

When you eat with your senses, you become aware of the food you are eating, you can get a greater sense of enjoyment, and you are more likely to be satisfied with less.

• What does your food look like, are you noticing all the different colours?
• Have you noticed the delicious aromas of your food?
• How does your food taste, is it sweet, sour, salty, bitter or umami?
• What is the texture of your food and how does it feel in your mouth, is it smooth, crunchy, soft, or hard?
• Can you hear the sound of your crunch as you take a bite of your food?

Do it regularly

Mindful eating takes time and practise, and you don’t need to be an expert straight away.  You might like to start with just one meal each day, and build from there.  Really taking the time to listen to your hunger and notice the foods you are eating, can help you to make more conscious choices.

Jenny Craig Team

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Since the initial opening in 1983, Jenny Craig Australia and New Zealand has expanded to more than 90 centres across the two countries. Each component of Jenny Craig’s program has also progressed over the past 35 years to fuel the company’s growth and ensure it remains one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading weight management companies.