Mindful Eating and Eating Decisions
The key to a healthy diet and lifestyle change is determination and constancy. Our human body desires and loves consistency. Mindful eating or eating consciously is a practice that helps you gain control over your eating habits. It has been shown to reduce overeating, lose weight, and contribute to your fitness. Unconscious eating patterns are the most common struggle and subject among clients. Usually, weight gain is unintentional and it could be the result of a busy life, mental pressure, emotional stress, and even mental weakness. All of this can lead to unexpected weight gain and unconscious eating behaviors.
Understanding Different Kinds of Eating Behavior
Unconscious eating can be recognized by emotional, physical, or mental causes and symptoms.
- Emotional problems can drive unconscious eating and food dependence as a surviving mechanism.
- A physical symptom of unconscious eating is weight gain, which may be caused by an injury, improper diet, or undesirable lifestyle changes.
- Mental causes become apparent when you justify bad eating choices with statements like "I don't want to waste it” or "it was a tough day, I deserve it".
It is important to pay attention to these habits and correct them when trying to maintain consistency to improve a healthy lifestyle.
Most of the time you find yourself breaking into your junk food stash, in your kitchen that bought to preserve or eat sparingly. You usually eat a few pieces first and a few minutes or hours later you are back in the kitchen choosing the same stash. How about appetizers like salsa and chips when out for dinner? After about 10 minutes you notice that the whole chips basket is gone and you need more chips. These unconscious behaviors can harm the mind and body.
Not everyone is aware of the consequences of their eating choices and behaviors. When viewing calorie intake, the common myth is that they all are the same. Different sources of calories have alternative effects on hormones, metabolism rate, hunger, and expense. Hence, strict calorie counting is not crucial for weight loss, but consider changing the source of calories. It is necessary to pay attention to eating choices and the nutrients that are gained from them!
Mindful Eating
"Mindful eating is all about awareness. When you eat consciously, you slow down, pay attention to the food you eat, and like every single bite." - Susan Albers
The Mindful Eating Cycle
A great way to practice mindful eating is to understand your body - what it needs, how it feels, and your actions. As people eat for reasons other than physical hunger, the first question to ask is: "Why do I eat?"
Why do I eat? It can help you understand the causes other than physical hunger that you turn to food; it may include fatigue, stress, social events, and other reasons.
When do I eat? It may depend on physical hunger, but it may also depend on the hour/time of the day, a busy schedule, or mood.
What do I eat? This shows why you chose the food you choose. It can be nutrition, taste, comfort, or accessibility.
How do I eat? It specifies whether you are eating quickly, fast, covertly, or consciously.
Where do I spend my energy? Eating different kinds of food can cause sluggishness and sleepiness. Eating the right food can help increase energy levels and increase work efficiency.
This cycle is executed in the Nuviva Lifestyle Plan and helps promote fitness throughout your lifestyle.
The Takeaway
It is important for us not only to advise clients on the food they eat but also to break the way of thinking and lifestyle that dissatisfies them. Through this mindset and practice, it makes the process easier, more satisfying, and long-lasting for clients. The various stages of the entire procedure not only reduce sugars, calories, carbohydrates intake but also break the habit of unconscious eating and the development of mindful eating.
