Eating Mindfully This Holiday Season

To eat or not to eat, that is the proverbial question every holiday season. But finally this year why not do both? Simple thought, right? Eat when you are hungry and don’t when you not. Although this might take some work, eating mindfully can be a reality.

This year, this holiday season, this can be your motto. Here is how to do it:

Listen to your Body
Before you eat take a moment to access what your hunger status is. A simple guide is making a range from 0-10; 0 being extremely full to 10 being extremely hungry. Rate your hunger or fullness before any meal and this will help you to know why, if, and how much you should be currently eating.

Being Aware of the Meal
Before and during a meal focus you energies, not only on eating, but on using the five senses to eat your meal.
See the meal; observe the presentation, the colors and the environment. Make sure your plate is colorful and visually stimulating which is easy to do with an array of vegetables and fruits.
Hear the meal; listen to the textures break down when you are chewing your food, listen to the noises in your environment. When preparing a meal selecting a variety of textures will help activate this sense.
Smell the meal; make sure you spend time enjoying the natural aromas of the food. The best thing about adding spices and herbs to your meal is that they add wonderful aromas and flavor, but no calories and fat!
Feel the meal; allow yourself to feel the different textures with your fingers and your mouth. Also, really observing how fluids differ from solids can make for an entertaining culinary experience.
Finally, Taste the meal; protract the meal by taking smaller bites, chewing the food thoroughly and embracing the experience.

Get in Touch with Your Emotions
The holiday season, if you let it, has the potential to create the perfect storm for mindless eating. Stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, and time can cause those who are susceptible to emotional eating feel out of control. Some research suggests that emotional eating plays a much bigger part in successful long term weight loss than environment. Working on developing a mindful eating plan that associates new healthful memories to old emotional triggers will help reset some of the old unhealthy habits.

Take Control of Your Thoughts
Rid your vocabulary and mind of shouldn’t, can’t and try to avoid thinking of food as “good” or “bad”. Most food avoidance and deprivation strategies do not work and over time will cause you to over eat. Instead of spending all of your time and energy on negative thoughts try focusing your energies on positive, mindful eating. Congratulating yourself when you mindfully eat a fresh piece of fruit, or a meal or a decedent dessert. Allow yourself to enjoy food again!

Perfection is not what the holiday season is about. The holidays are about enjoying the company of your family and friends and making new memories. Finally, with the help of mindful eating techniques you can enjoy this holiday season.