Mindfulness and Eating

Mindfulness, Presence, Awareness. Catchy words these stays, all meaning the practice of staying in the moment. It is getting increasingly more attention for its ability to boost physical and mental health. Mindful eating has been shown in research to help people stop binge eating, lose weight and reduce anxious food and body thinking.

Jan Chozen Bays, MD explains that "Mindful eating involves paying attention to the experience of eating and drinking, both inside and outside the body. We pay attention to the colors, smells, textures,flavors, temperatures and even the sounds of our food. We pay attention to the experience of the body. Where in the body do we feel hunger? Where do we feel satisfaction? What does half-full feel like, or three-quarters full?

1. Avoid distractions like phones, tv and the like. Pay attention to your thinking while you eat. 
2. Become one with your meal in the following ways:
3. Breathe a few healthy breaths and focus before your meal.
4. Sit down at the table. Not standing, not in bed, not driving.
5. Create a positive atmosphere with a nicely set table.
6. Turn off your tv or computer, book, newspaper and quit using your phone. Pay full attention to your meal and your body's signals while you eat.
7. Place a forkful of food in your mouth, put the fork down. This is a lot harder than you think. resist the urge to slurp down your meal, especially when you are hungry. Leave the fork on the table until you are ready for your next bite.Chew slowly and enjoy the texture, flavor, aroma. Be conscious of your different sensations. Eating slowly can lead to eating less during meals.
8. Take a 2-minute break in the middle of the meal. Don't beat yourself up if you did overeat. Pay attention to the physical and emotional distress and strategize how you can prevent overeating at the next meal, Sourced from Cathry Keller Fitbiecom

Easy Ways to Lose Weight

3.  Learn the Habits of Successful Losers
The National Weight Control Registry has collected data on people who've lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off. Here are some of their secrets:

• 78% eat breakfast every day This doesn't mean grabbing a donut on the way to work. The successful dieters ate a healthy meal like an egg white omelet and whole wheat toast.
• 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week
• 90 % exercise about one hour per day
• 75% weigh themselves at least once a week
• If a bad weigh-in sends you to the cookie jar for comfort instead of to the gym for revenge, skip the scale and keep an eye on how your clothes fit.

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