Mindful eating is a practice based on Buddhism; it involves paying attention to the food and what it does to your body. In modern-day life full of busy schedules and endless tasks, food is often taken as a chore, hardly paid attention to and on many occasions, is guilt-ridden. We go through the process of eating while performing multiple tasks on our computers, scrolling through mobile phones or watching a television show without paying any attention to chewing or swallowing or even noticing the amount of food that we consume.
Mindfulness involves paying attention to the taste, smell, color and texture of the food and understanding the effect food has on our body. This helps us to address our needs better and helps us discern the feeling of satisfaction after food and prevents senseless eating. The Buddhism-based practice incorporates a behavioral change that sets in over time. It also helps us deals with the quantity of food as it familiarizes us with the requirements of our body. This way, mindful eating can help to overcome binge eating and other eating disorders.
What is and isn’t Mindful Eating
Mindful eating involves sensual awareness of the food. It involves paying attention to the food moment by moment without any judgment. Mindful eating is not a diet to lose weight. It doesn’t involve any menus or recipes or specific food ingredients. It is rather an approach to help people savor the food and the moments and enjoy their eating experience. But it is possible that over a period of time, people with mindful eating behavior would lose weight. Not because they restrict their food, but they are rather satisfied with the food they have.
Most diets focus on the outcomes of food like calories and weight gain and diabetes and glycemic control. This leads to increased stress on a daily basis, making it difficult for the person to continue. Mindful eating is a process-oriented approach. It focuses on people appreciating their food rather than restricting their food. It helps us to deal with sudden cravings.
Mindful eating essentially involves following fundamentals:
Benefits of mindful eating
Discussed below are the perks you stand to derive from mindful eating.
Conclusion
In this guide, you learned what mindful eating is and what it is not. In addition to that, you understood the perks associated with the Buddhism-based practice. Are you considering giving mindful eating a try? Indeed, you may be having second thoughts about it due to the origin of the eating practice. Sure, your religious views don’t sync with those of Buddhists. However, it is netter you focus on the benefits of mindful eating as opposed to the origin of the practice. More importantly, you should give it a shot as it doesn’t require you to strain your body in any way. After giving it a try, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with us!
Reference
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/obr.12156 Mindfulness-based Interventions for Obesity-related Eating Behaviors: a literature review by G. A. O'Reilly et al. Obes Rev. 2014 Jun; 15 (6):453-61. doi: 10.1111/obr.12156