What is mindful eating, the technique for eating with awareness

In the hectic everyday life it happens less and less to really pay attention to what we eat, but above all to how we eat it. Yet, have aconscious eating it can greatly improve our life and remind us how important meal time is. We think about this mindful eatinga technique but also a set of small steps that can guide us towards a healthier and more aware life. In short, a real way of being at the table where time is a resource and not something to chase.

What is that

Before talking about mindful eatingit is essential to take a step back and talk about the concept of mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn, American molecular biologist and creator of the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program, is one of the most important protagonists of this approach. He defines such practice as the awareness that emerges from lending attention in the present moment and not in a judgmental way. Basically, it’s about living experiences moment after moment, voluntarily bringing our attention to what happens to our body and around us. It’s the here and now.

You can think of mindful eating as an application of mindfulness toPower supply: being present to yourself while eating, bringing our attention and awareness to ourselves, our body and our emotions. A peaceful mental attitude and balanced that leads us to taste, observe, smell the food, giving it the right space and the right time. Usually when we eat we are always in a hurry and pay little attention to the experience itself: with this technique, however, it is possible to become aware of the profound sense of experience with foodas well as being more aware of how we eat.

Why mindful eating is important

It is important to remember that this practice it is not intended as a diet, but more as a conscious act or as the attainment of an inner wisdom in our daily life. Certainly the mindful eating naturally helps the body to self-regulatethis is precisely because there is greater attention to signals from our body. This is actually very important because it can anticipate, and therefore prevent, the tendency to eat even if you are full.

practicing theconscious eating you can lose weight in a healthy and natural way, reaching or maintaining the right weight. This technique can also improve our health, our energy level during the day, strengthen the mental lucidity and improve our resistance to stress or situations that put us under pressure. Learning to eat mindfully also means limit binge eatingfighting emotional hunger: in a nutshell, becoming aware of our feeling of hunger or satiety.

How you do it?

The first step, as anticipated above, is awareness. Subsequently, it is essential to devote one’s time to the act of eating itself by at least indulging in it half an hour for each meal. Regarding “what to eat”, it is preferable to follow a Mediterranean diet preferring seasonal vegetables and fruit, legumes, whole grains, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil. In small quantities, on the other hand, go ahead with fish, eggs, cheeses without completely excluding red meat or cured meats that can be eaten occasionally.

So it’s important select products carefully, have a balanced but varied diet rich in food. Not only that, you must also learn to enjoy the preparation and cooking of food, enhancing its colours, aromas and textures. Once seated at the table, try to eat by focusing your attention on the present moment, on the here and now. No distractions, no evaluations, criticisms or judgments. Free your mood during the meal, whatever it is. If nothing else, it’s a good way to learn more about your habits and especially about yourself.