Overeating sometimes is a fact of life and it’s going to happen, but if it occurs more often than you’d like, you may be looking for a way to keep it under control. You don’t need to track what you’re eating or count your calories to do it, though. Mindful eating may be exactly what you need.
Think of eating mindfully as food meditation. While you eat, you focus on being fully present with limited distractions, and slowing your eating way down. It may not be as exciting as scarfing down your dinner while binging Tiger King, but it can make a huge difference in your life.
Check out the graphic above for a summary of what this looks like. To summarize: put away your phone, turn off the TV, and eat way slower than you usually do.
I’ll admit, I don’t do this as often as I should. And yes, you’ll likely find it super boring at first. But the trade-off is more than worth it if you struggle with overeating. If you find yourself painfully full after your meals (or really gassy, which this can also help with), mindful eating is worth practicing.
The point of eating mindfully is to help you understand when you are actually full. When you slow your eating way down, you give your body a chance to keep up and let you “feel” that you’re starting to get full, vs eating so fast that you don’t realize you’re full into you’re sitting there in pain.
Even if you don’t practice mindful eating regularly, I highly recommend at least trying it. You may find it especially helpful if you’re struggling with overeating. And if you try it and absolutely hate it, at least you’ll know!
