April 28, 2017
Deciding to make a change of habits to improve our food starts with a look at ourselves and our relationship with food.
Many times we judge ourselves by what we eat, we are too critical of ourselves, we have a negative internal monologue, without being aware how these acts may be leading us to a nutritional problem. Food should be an act of self-love, self-care and not an internal battle.
Eating can become a source of satisfaction or happiness, a way to rebel against restrictions and rules or even a way of self-punishment. Mindful eating is a technique that invites us to be self-compassionate, that is, to stop blaming ourselves for our eating behavior, to be responsible in a kind way for what we eat and the way we do it, avoiding anguish, being comprehensive with ourselves, in this way, kindly encourage us to perform actions for our benefit, even if they are unpleasant to do in the short term. If we are considered with ourselves through the process, we will be more open to finding other ways to find balance, focusing more on our health and well-being.
Let us shift our critical inner dialogue to a compassionate one
The lack of self-compassion closes the door to learning our patterns, habits and triggers when it comes to food. For this reason, it is important to perform the following practices at the time of feeding, which will gradually help us improve our relationship with ourselves and the food:
- Avoid rigid thoughts. Eating healthily is somewhat flexible and can include a variety of foods, some more dense than others. There is no right or wrong way to eat but different degrees of self-awareness around the food experience.
- Realize the way you talk while you eat. Phrases in the head are likely to be repeated such as, “I should not eat that,” “I’m a failure,” “It makes me fat,” etc.
- Write what you say to yourself.
- Write compassionate answers to those thoughts and use them when you find yourself going down the familiar path of the negative monologue. You can use phrases like “this food feeds me because I enjoy it”, “I choose to relax and enjoy my food”, “I am learning about myself”, etc.
- Practice these responses every time you are talking negatively with yourself about how you eat.
- Stop worrying about food choices after they have been made.
Be more aware of ourselves when eating
When we begin a conscious eating practice we can follow some guidelines during the eating process that can help us:
- Before eating, breathe and try to recognize hunger, whether it is physical or emotional, whether it is a moment of anxiety or if it is only thirst. General rule: eat only when we are hungry.
- Evaluate the food. Check what we are going to eat, does it look appetizing? what does it smell? Do we recognize its ingredients or is it a highly processed food? After eating the first few bites re-evaluate it and check if it is really what we want to continue eating.
- Remove any distractions from the moment of eating. Be focused on the present moment. Concentrate only on the plate and enjoy its taste, smell and texture.
- Eat slowly. By doing this we can be more attentive to the feeling of being satisfied and to enjoy more fully what you eat. A good way to do this is to loosen the fork between each bite and chew it completely.
Mindful eating is the beginning of a loving feeding, it is the way to nourish our body and our heart, empowers us with our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations in relation to food, reconnects us with our innate inner wisdom about hunger and satiety, helps us make healthy food choices without restrictive diets.
Feed yourself lovingly and give acceptance and balance to your life!
XO
Ana
