Mindful Eating and how it can help you stop overeating.

Due to the pace of life we ​​lead, it is common to eat by gobbling down food, quickly and as if it were a mere formality without being aware of what we are doing. This is mainly due to stress. In fact, we often eat in front of electronic devices (television, mobile phone, tablets, etc.), and/or we use food as an escape route to calm negative emotions and thoughts that lead us to generate even more anxiety instead of calming us down.

All of this makes us overeat, feel full later and causes poor digestion. This is why the concept of Mindful Eating arises.

“ Mindful Eating ” is a practice that is increasingly present in our current society, and which consists of putting all our attention on the act of eating in order to reduce “emotional eating”, that is, hunger that is generated not so much by a physiological need, but by pure craving.

It is a process that involves "raising our awareness by observing our eating patterns with curiosity and acceptance, being aware of how we make decisions about what foods to eat, how and when to do so," says Javier García Campayo, coordinator of the Mindfulness Master's at the University of Zaragoza and member of the Psychiatry Service at the Miguel Servet Hospital in Zaragoza.

It is very important to know how to distinguish when you eat because you are physiologically hungry or emotionally hungry . Differentiating between these two concepts is essential to changing the way we relate to food.

The first is when you feel a physical need in your stomach and you stop eating when you are full, compared to the second, when you continue eating even when you are already full , sometimes feeling guilty and ashamed of what you have eaten.

This feeling of guilt makes us enter a negative loop, leading us to slimming or restrictive diets to compensate for the binge we have had, leading us to an unhealthy relationship with food.

Normally, when this happens to us, we choose foods rich in carbohydrates or processed products with high levels of sugar since it has been shown that ingesting sugar reduces the stress hormone called cortisol, and this gives us pleasure to mitigate that stress for a few seconds, but unfortunately it does not disappear, rather the opposite since it comes back again and again.

In short, we often use food as a drug to escape from problems, cover up emotions or reward ourselves , and all of this comes down to satisfying that inner emptiness we have.

All of this is normal and happens to all of us, since throughout our lives we go through moments of loneliness, grief, separations, work stress, feelings of inner emptiness and many other causes. But when this stress or anxiety about eating occurs from time to time and has a justified cause, there is no need to worry. The problem comes when we eat compulsively and without being aware of it on a continuous basis, since we move into a chronic state that can lead to eating disorders that require professional attention.

This concept goes further, that is, it not only implies being aware of what we eat and how we eat it, but it covers the entire process before and after eating. 

That is why I want to share with you 10 guidelines that will help you follow a healthy and conscious diet:

1. When shopping, read labels carefully to avoid consuming ingredients that do not provide nutrition.
2. Prioritize the purchase of fresh and seasonal products , reducing packaged and processed products.
3. Cook with enjoyment, paying full attention to the process and being aware of the ingredients you use.
4. Eat in a pleasant environment , avoiding all types of electronic devices.
5. Take a deep breath before you start eating.
6. Give thanks for the luck you have to be able to eat and above all, nourish yourself with all the nutrients your plate has to give the best to your body.
7. Chew food well.
8. Pay attention to flavors, smells, and texture and how foods work together.
9. Stop eating when you are full to avoid a state of heaviness and abdominal swelling.
10. Don't judge yourself for how you've eaten. You have to change the feeling of guilt by observing and asking yourself why you have eaten without being aware of it and naming the emotions-feelings that have led you to eat without being aware of it.
     

Applying mindfulness to your lifestyle is a meditation technique that will help you live in the present and combat cravings.