FIND A BALANCE WHEN BUILDING EVERY PLATE

D o you find yourself snacking for the sake of it? Eating because it’s about lunchtime, but you’re not even hungry?

Snacking while cooking dinner or driving somewhere?

All of these habits are detrimental to your goals and health. Mindless eating will likely lead to weight gain as opposed to weight loss.

Eating mindfully takes practice. It’s about being aware of the taste, texture, aroma, presentation, and your body’s hunger and fullness cues.

Here are some suggestions for how you can practice mindful eating to help you achieve your goals.

TAKE YOUR TIME SAVOURING YOUR FOOD

It takes your body 20 minutes to recognise if it’s full, therefore rushing your meal means you could easily overeat. By the time your brain registers that you’re full, you’ve already eaten too much. Sit down for your meals and eat without distractions.

Put your phone away and turn the TV off so you can focus on the nutritious meal you are enjoying so much.

Ensure that in every meal you have fats, fibre and protein. These take longer to break down and therefore keep you fuller for longer.

Make sure you’re opting for healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, nut butters and olive oils), fibre from fruit, vegetables and grains, and protein from meat, fish, poultry, beans and nuts.

LEARN TO RECOGNISE WHETHER YOU FEEL HUNGRY OR FULL

When you sit down to eat, ask yourself, “How hungry am I?” and rate it on a scale of one to 10, one being very hungry to 10 being stuffed to the brim.

We tend to eat with our eyes, despite the fact we were born being able to eat mindfully, we just lost that skill as we grew up.

As a kid, did you have to clear your plate before you could leave the dinner table? It’s a hard habit to break.

But try to put your knife and fork down when you get to six or seven, recognising that you’re satisfied and not stuffed.

LOVE YOUR BODY AS IT IS NOW

If you want to lose weight and improve your body composition, you need to love your body now.

Having negative thoughts about your body and putting yourself down will only make your goals harder to achieve.

By loving your body and eating mindfully, you will likely lose weight and improve body composition – it’s a side effect of a healthy relationship with food.

BE PATIENT

Learning how to eat mindfully takes time, so don’t beat yourself up if you feel like you haven’t mastered it within a week.

Start with one meal at a time. Making the effort to eat mindfully could lead to you learning a lot about yourself.

Give it a try and stick at it — your mind and body will thank you for it.