What is Mindful Eating?

Hello, and welcome to the practice of mindful eating. There may be a variety of reasons why you're here. Perhaps you're frustrated with dieting. Maybe you're confused and overwhelmed by conflicting messages about when, what, and how much you should eat. Well, no matter what brought you here, these lessons can help you bring an awareness to the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that drive your food choices. Ultimately leading to more intentional decisions and a greater sense of appreciation for your body and for the food you eat. Research shows when people eat more mindfully, they're better able to control urges to binge eat, overeat or to eat for emotional reasons like anxiety, sadness, or grief. They are also better able to recognize and control the desire to eat because of external cues, like advertising, the way food is packaged, the time of day or the mere presence of food. Mindful eating does not focus on external variables like weight or measuring calories. Instead, we turn inward to listen to the internal cues and sensations that our bodies give us to decide how much, what and when to eat, and teaches us to be present with all of our senses without judgment. Some of these lessons will be done at a plate with food in front of you, and some without. But if you can carve out five minutes around mealtime to tune in for these 10 days, you'll learn how to check for hunger, how to eat using all five senses, how to truly savor your food and be beyond. So, are you ready to learn more? Let's start by practicing an introductory exercise, then dive into more lessons and exercises that go deeper into the practice of mindful eating. We hope these lessons help you appreciate your body and bring more awareness, joy, and compassion to your relationship with food....