Eat mindfully

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Mindless eating or a lack of awareness about the food we are consuming can contribute to overweight, obesity and other health problems Mindful eating is a technique to help you control your habits. his eating habits. It has been shown to promote weight loss, reduce binge eating and help you feel better. In this article, we will provide useful information for you to better understand the benefits of mindful eating.

1. What is mindful eating?

Mindful eating is rooted in the broader philosophy of mindfulness, which is considered a common practice centuries ago used in many religions. Mindfulness is understood as intentional focus on one's thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations at the present moment. The goal of mindfulness is to be more aware instead of reacting to a situation and one's choices.
Mindful eating means using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy, and choose your favorite foods and foods. This makes each person feel appreciated and grateful for the food that nourishes each cell of their body. Mindful eating helps people make dietary choices that are satisfying and nutritious for their bodies. However, it is not recommended to “assess” a person's eating behavior because each person's eating experience is different. When we become more aware of each person's eating habits, we can take other steps to change and improve behaviors that are good for ourselves and the environment.
In fact, mindful eating is considered from the most basic steps such as where the food comes from, how the food is prepared and what affects the amount of food eaten. Each person when sitting at a meal needs to pay attention to what the food looks like, how each dish tastes, how it tastes and how it feels in each person's body when learning to eat, then the process of recognizing bodily sensations. After each meal, each individual expresses gratitude, appreciates each food that he or she enjoys by taking deep breaths or meditating before or after the meal, considering and reflecting on the food choices that have affect the environment or not and give ideas to change and improve for future meals. It seems that it is a long process during the meal and it is difficult to fully implement, correctly follow all the steps to eat mindfully, but when you step into the implementation, the steps will follow. Accept each person's sequence from the first steps to the end, gradually forming a habit and easy to do.

2. How can we practice mindful eating?

Mindful eating is about focusing on a person's eating, tactile, and personal experience with each food they put in their body, as well as thinking and feeling about food, with greater awareness. and do not judge. All human attention is now focused solely on the foods being enjoyed, the types of foods being chosen, how they look and taste, and the individual's response to those foods. eat their choice. The aim is to promote a more enjoyable meal experience and a real understanding of the dining environment. Fung and colleagues describe an eating pattern that implements mindful eating through four aspects: what we eat, why we eat what we eat, how much we eat, and how we eat. any.
In previous centuries, mindful eating was done with the following criteria: Eat with heart, live with heart. This is demonstrated in the following ways:
Honoring food, acknowledging where the food was grown and who prepared it, and the process of enjoying the food should not be distracted by surrounding influences. around such as watching TV, working,... to help deepen the dining experience. Engage all senses: People should pause all activities they are doing to avoid worrying about other things during the meal. Each dish needs the focus of many senses to perceive and evaluate such as paying attention to the surrounding sounds, whether the colors of the dishes are harmonious, how sweet is the taste, and the texture of the dish. food or the feeling of each person when enjoying that food. Food should be used with sufficient nutritional content and quality for all members of the family to use to avoid overeating and waste of leftover food. Food containers such as plates, bowls, etc. should be arranged in such a way that the size of the plate is just enough to display food at one time. Enjoying small pieces and chewing them thoroughly helps the food to penetrate each person's taste buds and enjoy them. These methods may slow down the meal, but each person will experience the full flavor of the dish. Eat slowly to avoid overeating: When food is eaten slowly, people will easily realize whether they feel satisfied with the food or when they are about 80% full, they should stop eating. Don't skip meals: Everyone does many activities every day and burns a lot of calories in the process, so if you don't eat, your body will be hungry and ready to eat whatever can be eaten around. around yourself. Making such quick and easy food choices isn't always healthy. The way to overcome this situation is that everyone should order meals at the same time each day and plan enough time to enjoy a main meal or snack. Vegetarian (plant-based) diet: Plants are the food source that most people are considering moving towards due to their long-term health benefits. Instead of using processed meat and saturated fat, foods that are high in fat and calories easily lead to the risk of cancer and metabolic cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and plant diseases. A good choice for long term health. Producing food of animal origin such as meat and dairy causes severe environmental impacts compared to food of plant origin.

On the contrary, eating mindlessly or without focusing on dishes will cause many health consequences later on, such as losing control over eating, leading to overweight, obesity,... For example, when a person When people eat while driving or working, watching computers, etc., the amount of food they eat during the meal will not be controlled, not ensuring the amount of nutrients and excess fat. Besides, socializing with friends or family while eating can enhance the dining experience, while talking on the phone while eating can be ineffective. Studies have shown that the mindfulness approach can be considered an effective assessment tool in the treatment of adverse behaviors such as emotional eating, overeating leading to weight gain, fat. Focusing on meals helps people feel higher in dietary quality, such as choosing fruit over sweets as a snack or choosing portions that work for you. Mindful eating involves making food choices that promote feelings of well-being and enhance the eating experience. Traditional weight loss diets focus on following a structured meal plan that may not necessarily satisfy or enjoyable eater. Combining mindfulness with meal planning under the guidance of a dietitian can reduce the risk of overeating or binge eating.
Thus, mindful eating is an approach to ensure that meals are of sufficient quality and quantity, leading to better psychological health, increased pleasure when eating and satisfaction of the body. Combining mindful eating with nutritional knowledge will help make healthy food choices and help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diseases related to metabolic disorders. Besides, it also promotes a more enjoyable meal experience, bringing mental joy after tiring working and studying hours.

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Reference source: hsph.harvard.edu