The Love of Mindful Eating – Discovering a Loving Relationship with Your Food!

When we bring mindfulness to our moments with ourselves, family, and friends, we can ascertain what we are feeling and what we need. Mindful eating and cooking is a way to rediscover one of the most pleasurable things we do as human beings. It also has the unexpected benefit of helping us tap into our body’s natural wisdom and our hearts natural capacity for openness, love and gratitude.

What is “Mindfulness?”

Mindfulness means paying attention or being aware in the present moment. In the present moment, and being non-judgemental. Left to itself the mind travels through all kinds of thoughts – including thoughts such as anger, cravings, depression, and self-pity just to name a few. As we take comfort in these thoughts, we reinforce those emotions in our hearts and cause ourselves unnecessary suffering. By purposefully directing our awareness away from such thoughts and towards some “anchor”, we decrease their effect in our lives and we in-turn create a space of freedom where peace and love towards ourselves can grow.

Mindfulness is our own personal given power, that each and everyone can tap into. We become mindful when we decrease our negative thinking and increase our awareness, and understanding that the past cannot be changed, the future is unknown, we can only give to the present moment. “What is the present moment asking us to do, and/or to just be.”

What is Mindful Eating?

Eating mindfully is not about what we eat, but HOW and WHY we eat. It’s not about constantly judging and feeling guilty about our choices, but instead the focus is required on the HERE and NOW. By being aware and paying close attention to taste, textures, and sensation and most importantly, showing gratitude, we can enjoy and savor each bite and celebrate our food. This way of awareness, teaches us to be in tune with your body reactions, assisting us to each just the right amount and the type of food that we need in the moment. Here is an example of the unconscious eating most of us do:

Let’s think of the first bite of a food, maybe it’s a piece of apple pie. You have been looking forward to savoring and enjoying it and the saliva builds in your mouth as you cut in to the pie. You take the first bite and you are totally immersed in its sweetness, richness and smoothness. It’s simply delicious! And you are in that very moment happy to eat it. Then you begin to pay attention to the show you maybe watching or start a conversation with the person that is sitting with you…and suddenly the flavor in your mouth starts to decrease. Then you continue to finish the rest of it, chewing without noticing at all, and it disappears before you realize it.

Mindful eating is about recreating that “first bite” delight in each bite of our food. When our minds are disengaged from eating, we are not satisfied and seek out always for more food, even when we are full. When we are connected to our eating experience, reflect on the source of the food, those who prepared it, those eating around you, and all the sensations in your body, we will feel more satisfied regardless of what or how much we are eating. Mindful eating can make anyone’s eating healthier and more fulfilling, regardless of weight or nutritional status.

10 Mindful Eating Questions: Ask yourself…do I tend to:

1. Do I stop eating when I am full?

2. Do I eat when I am hungry or just because some emotional thought or/and feelings are surfacing.

3. Do I pick at food?

4. Do I taste each bite before I reach for the next?

5. Do I thing about how nurturing and healing food is for my body.

6. Do I stop judging and feeling guilty when I over eat?

7. Do I multi-task when I eat.

8. Am I able to leave some food on my plate if I don’t want it.

9. Do I eat slowly, do I chew each bite.

10. Do I recognize when I slip into mindless eating (I am zoned out, popping food into my mouth).

Awareness Checklist:

1. Am I sitting?

2. Am I eating fast or slow?

3. Am I mindlessly munching without noticing each bite?

4. Am I asking myself “how hungry I really am?” on a scale from 1 to 10.

5. Am I multi-tasking or truly focused on my meal.

6. Am I bored, stressed, tired, anxious, etc.

Tips for success:

1. Recruit someone else to learn mindful eating with, your family and friends.

2. Remember there are no “do’s” and “don’ts”. Do what make’s sense in your life and what brings you happiness and joy.

3. Laugh with yourself when mindfulness isn’t easy. One meal at a time. We are more successful when we have fun.

4. Mindfulness is a practice…and practice makes perfect…enjoy each moment.

Tina has a long time practice and leads in her practice by observing and researching the link between mindfulness as medicine; as it relates to stress reduction, disease, weight loss and weight gain and so much more.

For more information on pricing and booking your please contact us.

From my heart to your heart God Bless Coach T.