Mindful eating for better health and happiness

To enjoy food in the right manner one must learn to eat “mindfully”. Learning to savour food by being aware of what we eat and how we eat makes eating more pleasurable and healthy as well. Mindful eating is not a diet. It’s a conscious way of eating and enjoying food for both good health and pleasure.
Here are a few tips that will help you pay full attention to the experience of eating.
•Learn to listen to your body’s cues to know when to eat. Eating is most pleasurable when it is done to satisfy one’s hunger.
•Avoid eating when you aren’t hungry.
•For conscious eating keep your body adequately fed to avoid becoming excessively hungry. This increases the chances of overeating.
•Set the table in a right way. Creating a pleasant ambience adds to the enjoyment of eating.
•Eat without distractions. If you eat while you are watching television, driving, or talking, you cannot give your food your full attention.
• Sit and eat. Choose one or two particular areas at home and at work that are only used for eating to have your meals.
• Do not eat while standing in the kitchen. Some people have the habit of eating in bed. Avoid talking on the phone or texting while you eat.
•Appreciate the occasion. Enjoy the ambience, the company, or simply the fact that you are giving yourself the opportunity to sit down and enjoy your meal.
• Pay attention to the colours, texture, and aroma of the food.
•Decide which food looks most appetising and eat that first. If you save the best until last, you may want to eat it even if you are full.
•Savour the aroma and taste of your food as you eat. Put your fork down between bites and enjoy the taste and the flavours.
•If you notice that you are not enjoying what you chose, choose something else from the plate. Eating food you do not enjoy will leave you feeling dissatisfied.
•Pause in the middle of eating for at least two full minutes. Estimate how much more you need to eat to be fully satiated.
• Get up from the dining table as soon as you feel satisfied or full. The desire to keep eating will pass. Keep in mind that you’ll eat again when you are hungry.
•When you finish eating notice how you feel. If you over ate, don’t punish yourself. Instead, be aware of the physical or the emotional discomfort that often accompanies being full and create a plan to reduce the quantity when you eat the next time.