Nowadays, many people want to learn how to lose weight fast. I often hear and read stories overseas about shortages of certain medications purported to help with weight loss. Fad diets like intermittent fasting and keto dieting are popular too.
While searching for other fast weight loss options, I came upon a practice called mindful eating. It develops awareness of our behaviours and experiences when we eat, thus developing a healthier relationship with food and becoming more attuned to ourselves. Many healthy weight loss programs in Singapore also teach this concept.
But can mindful eating help us lose weight quickly? Not exactly, but it can improve our efforts to manage our weight. Let’s discuss how this works and how you can get started.
Mindful Eating Focuses on Our Attitude Towards Eating
Weight loss isn’t the main objective of mindful eating. However, it can become easier for us to lose weight sustainably when mindful eating becomes a part of our lifestyle. Since we start paying more attention to what we consume, we are more likely to intentionally make healthier food choices, such as resisting certain cravings or opting for a more nutritious snack.
Let’s Get Started With Mindful Eating
Do you want to start practising mindful eating as well? Here are some key steps to becoming more mindful during meals.
Meditate on Your Eating Issues
Many of us have unhealthy relationships with food, which is a large factor as to why we gain weight. So let’s reflect on why we have unsavoury eating habits in the first place. Do you have emotional triggers that make you overeat, like stress or boredom? Do you punish yourself too harshly when you stray away from your diet plan?
The more aware we are of such habits, the better we can find the causes and work on changing them. For instance, if you have the urge to binge eat, ask yourself why you want to do so in the first place. If it’s due to boredom, find other ways to stimulate the mind without automatically resorting to eating, such as through hobbies or exercise.
Reflect Before and After Each Meal
Before you start eating, take a moment to reflect on what you’re about to consume. Are you truly hungry? How nutritious will the food be for you?
You can revisit your thoughts after the meal as well. How did the food make your body feel? Are you satisfied with what you ate?
Such questions can help assess whether you have made the right food choices.
Eat Without Distractions
When we eat while watching the television or using the computer or phone, our minds can wander away from our meals. The lack of focus easily leads to overeating, and we won’t be able to fully appreciate the food.
So put the gadgets away and create a space to fully immerse yourself in the moment with your meal.
Savour Each Bite
Taking our time with each bite lets us be more attuned to how we feel about our meal. What flavours and textures are there? Does the food trigger certain emotions?
Chewing your food thoroughly also helps with digestion and slows down your eating pace. This gives you more control over how much you eat as compared to if you eat everything too fast.
Take a Breather Mid-meal
Try to make it a habit to pause for a moment during your meal. It gives you some time to assess yourself. Are you still hungry? Do you feel anything unusual in your system? This simple practice helps us avoid consuming more than we need.
Mindful Eating is Not a Quick Fix
Let’s keep this in mind: mindful eating isn’t a quick fix if your only goal is knowing how to lose weight fast. Instead, approach it as a lifelong path to wellness. By having a better relationship with our food, we’ll be well on our way towards a healthier weight and a fulfilled self.
