Here we are, the last month of the year. Again. If you are like me, you are saying, "Where did this year go?!"
With the end of the year approaching, the beginning of the new year is right around the corner. For a lot of people, that means New Year's resolutions.
If I may offer a suggestion, why not end the year on a more mindful note, and try to continue this trend into the new year and beyond. One can incorporate the idea of mindfulness into all aspects of their lives; their home life, career, spiritual life, physical activity of course, eating habits, which is what we will focus on today.
Mindful eating is a way for people to be aware of the nourishment available through the processes of food preparation and consumption, choosing enjoyable and nutritious foods, acknowledging food preference nonjudgmentally, recognizing and honoring physical hunger and satiety cues, and using wisdom to guide decisions about eating. It is being more aware of your eating habits, the sensations you experience when you eat, and the thoughts and emotions that you have about food. It is more about how you eat than what you eat.
Why would one try this? Restricting one's diet is not a sustainable way to manage weight and may actually contribute to negative outcomes such as weight recycling (sometimes called "yo-yoing"), altered body composition (undesired shifts in body fat and muscle), decreased resting metabolism, dysfunctional relationships with food, increased risk of eating disorders, low self-esteem and an overall sense of failure. When we incorporate the mindful eating approach, we remove restriction from the equation.
How can we start mindful eating?
No. 1: Slow it down. Chew foods thoroughly about 15-30 times before swallowing. Make a point of pausing while eating and drink slowly.
No. 2: Downsize your packages and portions. Downsize your boxes and bowls. Repackage your jumbo box into smaller, single-serving plastic bags or containers, and serve it up in smaller dishes.
No. 3: Make overeating a hassle, not a habit. Take the "convenience" out of tempting foods. Take those foods down to a remote corner of the basement or put them in a hard to reach cupboard to require more effort to eat.
No. 4: See all you eat. Instead of eating directly out of a package or box, put your snack in a separate dish and leave the box in the kitchen.
No. 5: Make comfort foods more comforting. Rethink your comfort foods. If your comfort foods consist mainly of sweets, the key is to start pairing healthier foods with positive events.
Mindful eating is not simply eating slowly, it is about focusing on the entire process of eating including: awareness of body cues and non-hunger triggers for eating, selection of food for enjoyment and nourishment, and eating for optimal satisfaction and satiety.
Mindful eating can be an alternative way to approach weight loss when compared with other more traditional weight loss strategies. It can be very effective and joyful if you use it appropriately. Just give it a try, continue to work on it, and you will be surprised by how much more pleasurable eating foods can be!
Denise Coots, RD, LD, CNSC is clinical nutrition coordinator at SSM Health, St. Mary's hospital in Jefferson City. She has a passion for helping others ranging from those patients in the intensive care unit to individuals in the community with various dietary issues.