The best thing about “mindful eating” is that you are not chained to impossible diet rules or bland menus, says Susan Albers, PsyD. She says mindful eating is being mindful is about balancing how you eat with what you eat.
“We have lots of mindless eating habits that lead to weight gain, such as mindlessly popping chips in your mouth while watching TV or eating when you aren’t really hungry.”
Lose weight without frustration
One of the biggest benefits of mindful eating is that you can lose weight without starving or frustration from rebounding. And you can keep the weight off because you aren’t hopping on and off of this plan. It’s a way you can eat for the long run. According to Dr. Albers, 95 percent of people who try a fad diet gain the weight (plus more) back within five years.
To help you practice the mindful approach, Dr. Albers suggests these five steps:
Sit down. We often eat standing over the sink, nibbling in front of the refrigerator or snacking at the pantry. Remember: Eat only when you are off your feet to help you focus all of your attention on how much you are eating.
Smell. Smelling food before you bite into it is an important part of eating well because it links to taste. We tend to eat a lot of mediocre food we don’t like. If you don’t love it, don’t eat it. When you enjoy food more, you can eat less of it.
Savor. Put food on a plate and notice portion sizes. Often we are gobbling food out of fast-food bags, eating in the car or munching in front of a computer without really enjoying or tuning in to the experience.
Slowly chew. Stagger your bites or intentionally eat more slowly than your eating companions. We tend to eat at exactly the same pace as others around us.
Smile. Intentionally smiling creates a gap between bites so you can think about whether you want more or are satisfied. Smiling also stimulates feel-good chemicals in your brain that help reduce emotional eating.
