In class last week we got to chatting about food and how easy it is to fall into habits.
If you know me you'll know that I love my food.
But how often do we find that we might be chowing down on something and we haven't actually enjoyed/remembered what we've been eating?
I truly believe that food is one of life's pleasures, and this is why you'll never hear me say not to eat certain things, or that we need to workout to burn off what we ate over Christmas or the weekend.
We're all about building healthy habits that will sustain you and lift you up, not knock you down.
If you want to have the chocolate (because what is life without chocolate?!) have the chocolate.
Be mindful and eat it because you want to and you're enjoying it. No punishment, no guilt.
It's all about balance.
Try these 5 tips to help you eat more mindfully and build great habits around food:
1. When you find yourself reaching for the biscuit tin or the crisps, stop yourself and ask, do I really want this?
2. Slow down and enjoy every mouthful. Notice the flavours, tastes and sensations.
3. Have a smaller portion.
Rather than taking the whole bag of crisps or whole bar of chocolate to the sofa or your desk decant it into a smaller bowl so you can see what you're eating.
4. If you find you don't actually want it, what is triggering the reach for food? Are you actually hungry? Bored? Has it become habit? By becoming more mindful about what we're doing we can become more mindful about our food choices.
5.Meal plan.
Every weekend I sit down and plan our meals (and snacks) for the week so I can buy what we need and have things in that I want to eat. This avoids the dreaded 'what's for dinner' from the kids and means that I have healthy things to hand as well as treats.
Above all, being mindful about what we eat and listening to our body is the first step in making healthy food choices. It's all about balance, eating things in moderation and feeling good from the inside out.
If this has been helpful let us know