Thinking of dabbling in mindful eating? It is a way to have a healthier diet. We tell you if joining this new trend is what you need.
Food is one of the main needs for human beings. But sometimes we tend to fall into bad habits that upset the way we eat food. To combat this, mindfoodness emerged, a trend that focuses on improving the way people eat. Therefore, we bring you the myths of conscious eating.
The term conscious eating, mindfoodness or mindful eating refers to paying more attention to what we eat, to becoming fully aware. Here we give you the tools to understand more about the subject and decide if it is convenient for you to apply it to or not.
What is mindful eating?
Mindfulness techniques are applied in mindful eating, which involves maintaining awareness in the experiences of the present. So mindful eating, as it is known in English, refers to applying mindfulness to any eating behavior, making a display of sensations, thoughts and emotions around the act of eating.
Conscious eating involves doing it by paying attention to what you eat, how much, and why. The goal is to turn it into an enjoyment and not something negative.
Myths about mindful eating
There are numerous myths surrounding mindful eating. Although mindful eating is an accepted practice, there are still doubts about this discipline.
1. Mindful eating is the same as mindful eating
This is one of the many mindful eating myths. The reality is that they are not the same. It goes beyond the act and encompasses the entire process of eating.
From the body signals, the recognition of the hunger stimulus, the selection of food, its preparation and the feeling of satisfaction when satisfying a need. In fact, it is believed that you have to be attentive to 9 fundamental aspects:
Visual hunger: when it is the eyes and not the stomach that drive us to eat a dish that looks appetizing.
Olfactory hunger: the urge to eat something because we are attracted to its smell.
Oral hunger: what makes us feel the need to chew something out of anxiety.
Stomach hunger: the actual and physical hunger, which occurs when the stomach is empty.
Body or cellular hunger: it is based on the energy needs of the body.
Mental hunger: the information we keep about diets, calories and food in general.
Hunger of the heart: the one that is linked to the emotions and is born from the impulse to eat in response to them.
Hunger for touch: it is the impulse that is felt when feeling the texture, weight or moisture of a food.
Ear hunger: When you peel or listen to what the preparation of something sounds like, the urge to eat it may happen.
Visual hunger or the smells that come off a plate are stimuli that often have nothing to do with the body’s energy needs.
2. It is a difficult process
Becoming aware does not have to become a difficult situation. You just have to slow down what you do and pay full attention to what we consume and how we do it.
Take a bite, feel the aromas, flavors and textures, pay attention to what you do and try to identify how you feel about the food. If you feel anxious and restless, take a pause, take two breaths, and continue.
3. It takes too long
When it comes to busy people, mindful eating can seem like a waste of time. Many eat while working, reading or driving, but that is part of bad habits.
At first, while learning the step-by-step it may take your time. However, having practice in the process and knowing how to carry out a mindful eating, it will not require more than 15 minutes.
4. Conscious eating is for healthy eating
You don’t need to associate mindful eating with healthy eating. They are two different points.
However, there is a tendency to eat healthy after starting mindful eating, because people become aware of their body’s responses to poorly nutritious foods. This makes it a mindful eating myth.
5. Mindful eating is used for weight loss
You may lose weight by mindful eating or you may not. In fact, it’s one of the top mindful eating myths.
The reality is that the objective of this practice is not to lose weight, but to pay full attention to eating behaviors and how the body feels about food. Losing weight or not is secondary.
You will not always lose weight with this practice. It is true that there is a tendency to improve the nutritional quality of what is consumed.
Main benefits of mindful eating
The benefits of mindful eating are several. These will help you decide if what you need in your life is mindful eating or not:
It allows you to enjoy food: being a method of becoming aware of what you are consuming, you will be able to know what you enjoy eating and why. What is sought is that you identify what each meal makes you feel.
It helps to build a better relationship with food: by being aware of what each dish makes you feel, you will look for the ones you enjoy the most and you will feel mealtime as a space for enjoyment.
Prevents eating problems: conscious eating helps prevent eating problems, improving the relationship with food. Minimize feelings such as anxiety, guilt or regret by giving awareness of what is being done.
Say goodbye to mindful eating myths
Say goodbye to mindful eating myths and decide if it’s what you need to improve your relationship with food. Research well what is related to each diet that you propose and try to put into practice those tips that suit your search.
Many times we get carried away by misinformation that negatively influences us when planning nutritional approaches. Consult with a professional if you have any further questions.
