Roots and Wings by Dan Mager MSW

Author:Dan Mager, MSW
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781942094685
Publisher: Central Recovery Press, LLC
Published: 2018-06-12T16:00:00+00:00

Mindful Eating

Many people, both in and out of recovery, eat emotionally—that is, they eat in response to stress or emotional discomfort (anxiety, fear, loneliness, boredom, anger, or sadness). Sometimes, this is also an attempt to fill a sense of internal emptiness. When people behave this way, they eat without thinking about what or why they’re eating; they may not even taste the food, which they chew quickly and incompletely. Have you ever finished eating something only to realize you don’t know how it tasted?

Mindful eating is the antithesis of stressed or emotional eating and the antidote for it. Mindful eating means paying conscious attention to the experience of eating using all the senses. It emphasizes the awareness of taste, as well as colors, textures, smells, and sounds, during the process of eating. For instance, when mindfully eating an apple, you might notice the color, feel how smooth it is, take in its fragrance, listen to what it sounds like when you bite into it, and taste it fully, one bite at a time.

By making the experience of taking food and drink into the body much more conscious, eating mindfully slows the process of ingesting, tasting, chewing, and swallowing. The intent is to pay close and careful attention to the sensory aspects of your food and the process of eating and to eat deliberately rather than unconsciously shoveling food into your face. The result is that you will eat more slowly, taste your food more thoroughly, chew your food more completely, and swallow it more patiently. All of this contributes to healthier digestion. Over time, this practice—even if you only engage in it occasionally—can help you change your relationship with food to one that is more present-centered, satisfying, and healthier.

•Before you eat, bring your awareness to the activity. Are you actually hungry and need nourishment in preparation for some activity, or are you eating out of some sort of emotional dis-ease?

•As much as possible, try to eat before you get to the point of being extremely hungry.

•Take two or three deep breaths to relax and connect your mind with your body.

•Appreciate the food you’re getting ready to eat.

•Consider what it took to get that food from its origins to your table.

•As you eat, notice the aroma(s), texture(s), and color(s) of your food.

•Take one bite at a time, tasting it fully.

•Chew your food carefully, savoring it.

•Swallow it slowly.

•Wait until you’ve completely swallowed one bite of your food before taking the next one.

•Pause briefly and take an intentional breath—in and out—between swallowing and taking that next bite.

•As you eat, remind yourself to breathe.

•Pay attention to when you feel satisfied or begin to feel “full.”

•Stop eating when you reach this point, rather than continuing to eat until you feel “stuffed” and uncomfortable.

•If there is food left, store it for another time.

•Notice how you feel when you are finished eating.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.