Do we ever stop before we take a bite and just wonder why we are about to indulge? Is it because of hunger that we’ve decided to eat or is it because of boredom, comfort or to relieve stress?
Sometimes we eat for one of these negative reasons, other times we’ve clean forgotten when we last ate or what last passed our lips.
These are classic symptoms of not being in the right mindset when we feed ourselves.
We are constantly counting calories, sodium content and salt levels but meditation guru Andy Puddicombe has explained that all we really need to do is think about what we are eating and why we are eating it.
Puddicombe is author of The Headspace Diet, a new plan to introduce ‘mindful eating’ in 10 days.
The diet is to get us in tune with our eating habits. It has been labelled the ‘anti-diet’ by the New York Times because it’s all about celebrating the food we love, instead of excluding it from our daily diets. Oprah Winfrey has even introduced ‘mindful eating hour’ for her staff and if Oprah is an advocate, we love it.
It sounds like Puddicombe could be our new favourite guy; he suggests that we shouldn’t weight ourselves, but we should be guided by how we feel.
We love the sound of a healthy, lifestyle changing attitude to food as opposed to the stress-making calorie-counting diets that we’ve come to know…
Brace yourself, this could be the start of a whole new attitude to food.
Here are the ten steps to mindful eating…
1. Learn to rate your hunger, on a scale of one to 10, at any given time. Just by observing this, you’ll know better how to avoid becoming dangerously hungry.
2. There are no banned foods but there are seven groups and guidelines of how to use them. Carbs (starch)? Eat moderately. Vegetables? As much as you like. Fruit? Eat moderately. Protein? Two to three small portions a day. Healthy fats (oily fish, nuts)? A couple of portions a day. Carbs (sugar)? Eat at your own risk. Unhealthy fats (butter, biscuits, cake)? The same.
3. Think about what you’re eating and why. Put your fork down between mouthfuls.
And to meditate to become a mindful eater?
4. Set your alarm for 10 minutes. Commit yourself to meditation for the 10 minutes.
5. Breathe deeply and close your eyes.
6. Settle into your body and observe your posture.
7. Remind yourself that the purpose of meditating is not to control the mind.
8. Observe your breath. Watch it rise and fall.
9. Allow your mind to be free. Let go of all focus.
10. Prepare to finish. Become aware of your physical sensations and open your eyes. Take this mindfulness with you in life.
