When we aren't paying attention to ourselves or to what we are doing, we can easily sit down to watch TV, open up some salsa and chips and before you know it, you've plowed through the whole jar of salsa! It's easy to munch down a whole sandwich while you're opening the mail on the way in from work, and not even realize you did!
We're so busy doing, doing, doing but we're really not always paying attention to what we are doing! We're doing too much and all at one time! When we don't pay attention to what we are eating, it can lead to many negative results including...
• We can eat too fast which is bad for our digestion
• We can eat too much, not listening to our signals to stop
• We can make bad food choices which can lead us to eat junk foods
You can end up sabotaging your good intentions to eat better. this is why we need to learn how to eat mindfully. Mindful eating can have positive results such as...
• Better health
• Better chance of losing weight
• Improve your body image
• Improve your self-esteem
• You'll learn how to listen to your internal cues
• You'll learn to enjoy the food your are eating
When you start to eat mindfully, you will start to make better food choices. You will notice the texture of the food you are eating. You will notice your hunger level. You will notice the smell of the food on your plate. You will actually enjoy your meals more. You will be paying attention to the food you are eating and notice all the wonderful things about your meal. And really, isn't enjoying what you eat part of the benefits of eating?
Practicing mindfulness is very important for all of us and mindful eating is an excellent way to start.
I am SO guilty of mindless eating! Once I busily threw together a chicken, pickle and mustard sandwich and ran back to the computer to eat while I worked. Halfway through the sandwich I realized it only contained pickles and mustard. I'd love to brag and say that's when I embraced vegetarianism, but... not so much.
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