Mindful Nutrition
I recently completed a diploma in Mindful Nutrition. The biggest motivation for this was that during consultations, the diet and nutrition portion of the case history always felt as if there was something missing. In many cases, it wasn’t what clients were eating but how they were eating.
Mindfulness is not just about sitting still in awkward poses for hours on end. It is about being present, as much as possible, in everyday activities. This might be in conversation, brushing your teeth, or eating.
I am guilty of “multitasking” when I eat. The TV might be on and I will be checking things on my phone (usually about the thing I am watching!). I am not really engaging with the taste or texture of my food. I’m not really registering when I am actually full so I might continue to eat until I am uncomfortably full, or I might feel hungry an hour or so later because I haven’t registered the last meal. Sound familiar? Lots of us do it and becoming mindful with how we eat may help prevent many digestive issues.
In some cases, it is about what we eat. Becoming aware of foods that harm and foods that heal can empower us to make smarter decisions about our meal choices and find balance in our diet. And when I say diet, I don’t mean a faddy 2-week programme where you have to drink a strange concoction while standing on your head. I mean the food you eat on a daily basis and can adjust accordingly to suit your health and well-being.
How mindful are you with your food? Can you note down the last meal you ate – the taste, textures, why you chose to eat that meal, how you felt as you were eating it, what you were doing when you eating, how you felt after you ate it?