Mindful Eating

As many of you know we are at the end of the CHALKBOX Change Challenge where some of our members follow a diet based on macros for 6 weeks. Many are doing well and are feeling more energized and are losing body fat.

I had given them an extra challenge some weeks ago which I like to share with you all as we all can do this and get better from it:

Time to go a bit deeper into mindful Eating…. Yes, I know how that sounds, and don’t worry I won’t make you meditate yet..

But in the world, we are living in its important to understand how the mind works and how our metabolic system works.

Most of us eat breakfast and lunch in a rush. You might eat your breakfast while checking updates in the paper on the news, or you might even have it in your car on your way into the office. Lunch is often worse, we eat it behind our desk, behind your computer and some just while watching t.v..

Eating kick starts our metabolism. There are all kinds of statistics on how often you need to chew your food before your brain gives a signal to start your metabolism. But this also counts for when you eat ‘not being mind full you are eating’. What I mean with that is that if we eat without really paying attention to eating but more focussing on our computers, newspapers and so on.

When you first taste it, try to give it your full attention. To me, eating mindfully means slowing down, expressing gratitude for the food we are eating, being satisfied with food, and paying attention to why we eat. But more importantly, because you pay attention to the eating progress you will digest your food better. If you sit behind a computer you slow down your digestive system as we are focussing our brain on the computer and therefor we store more fat.

So if you want to lose weight, take time to eat, step away from your desk on anything you are doing. 

Next to taking time to eat you need to understand when your body craves food. Do you grave food because the computer you work behind is associated with eating because you always snack behind the computer? Or have you got a bored moment? Might you be stressed? or does your body ask for food because your sugar level is dropping and its time to fuel the body?

If all of the reasons your body craves food are not because you are really hungry and need to fuel, then drink some water instead. If you feel its time to eat, then think about what you are going for. Is it the correct decision? Is it healthy, will it give you the correct energy or is it an easy snack that will make you grave even more because you create sugar spikes? After that think about how and where you are going to eat.

Give it a try!