You should never feel guilty about the things you eat. Mindful eating is a practice that allows you to eat the foods you love without the guilt. Food is food, we all need it, and we’ll never be able to do without it! But sometimes you can feel bad about ‘indulging’, and feel like you need to make sweeping lifestyle changes that’ll ‘control’ the amount of meals and/or snacks you consume. But if you do, as many people are often made to, we’ve got some tips down below that’ll help you beat the feeling.
Understand How Foods Affect You
What we eat becomes what we are, and that’s really something you should never underestimate. Signs of our diet can be seen in the way we look and behave, and how our bodies and minds react to the way we feel and what we do. Mindful eating and even gut health starts with the mouth.
For example, some foods and drinks can stain your teeth, and when you understand the long term effects of eating such foods, you can easily combat the physical signs of consuming it. You can find out now how teeth whitening works and eat guilt-free well into the future! If you keep this in mind, you won’t be surprised by any side effects you might experience thanks to your diet.
Disconnect Your Emotions From Food
Eating is something we do to survive. However, time and time again emotion has been tied into the eating experience. It’s in the way we describe certain foods as our favorites, or when we try to curate the dinner time experience to be intimate and cosy. And both of these things are good!
However, sometimes our emotions surrounding food can turn bad. In these moments, it’s time to disconnect and simply see eating as the self care task it simply is. Only got a bag of chips in the house to have as a snack right now? If you’re hungry, eat them! You don’t have anything else in and it’s just food.
Learn A Thing Or Two About The Nutritional Side Of Things
Anyone who’s practiced in mindful eating needs to deepen their understanding of the nutritional side. There are so many different benefits of taking into account what you’re actually consuming. You can even structure certain plans properly instead of guessing. For instance, in the future, you could opt for natural and organic food Canada due to the knowledge you have picked up. You might feel as though you want to stick to a particular food group or diet. This doesn’t mean you have to obsess over calories or the amount of macronutrients you can see, but it’s always good to have that knowledge in the back of your mind at least. You can make more conscious decisions and ensure that every meal aligns with what you are trying to achieve. Both your body and your soul get a huge boost in the ground scheme.
Eat Slowly
Eating slowly is a form of mindfulness. You’re staying in the moment with the meal in front of you. This means you take your time, savoring each bite, and really indulge in the way you fill up.
You’re Allowed to Eat What You Want!
Your diet is going to vary from time to time, and you’re going to have more of one food group than another on a regular basis. And hey, that’s actually OK! As Julia Child said, everything in moderation, including moderation.
You’re allowed to eat what you want, balance out the way you eat when you want, and make changes to your regular meal times whenever you feel the need to.
Remember, it’s all in your control and you can eat as you want when you want. Things like carb counting or portion slimming will come later on, when you feel more stable in your relationship with food; in the meantime, as long as you’re fed, you’re good.
If you feel guilty about your diet, remember the one cardinal rule: you can eat what you like! Make a change if you like, but that’s the basics.
I love setting an intention for my meal before I begin eating. It’s really helpful!