Eating mindfully when doing everything from home can be challenging. Of course working from home has its advantages, but we need to be careful that it does not affect our eating habits and routines in a negative way. The temptation of eating behind your desk or simply snacking away when working from home is putting an extra burden on us, and might be the reason you have been gaining those annoying Corona-kilo’s. If you are still working from home and you are having trouble sticking to a healthy, mindful routine, read on, because these tips are for you.
Mindfullness
But first, what does it mean to eat mindfully? Eating mindfully is not a diet, rather it uses a form of meditation called mindfulness, which helps you acknowledge and manage your emotions and physical sensations. Using this approach will help you reach a state of full awareness to your experiences, cravings, and physical cues when eating.
Mindful eating is all about paying attention to the way we eat. Research has shown eating mindfully improves digestion, regulates our appetite and helps us enjoy our food much more. Some say it is the opposite of dieting, as tuning into what we eat can be enough to help us make better choices and avoid overeating and binge-eating.
Mindful eating strategies for you to try
- Make time to eat! That doesn’t sound too hard right? But when working from home, you’ll easily find yourself eating breakfast while replying to your morning mails, or munching on snacks without realizing. Mindful eating is one of the most important practices when wanting to improve our health and general wellbeing. For many of us, the endless rush of modern life has cost us our ability to actually sit, enjoy, and appreciate our food. Make it a priority to carve out the space to eat your meals with as little distractions as possible. Plan 30 minutes to eat your meal and actually enjoy what you are eating.
- Slow down the pace when you eat. Like Ghandi said: “Chew your drink and drink your food.” In other words, eat slowly, chew on your food and experience the different flavours. Take breaks between your bites and rate your fullness. Are you satisfied or are you actually craving more? Eating at a slower pace allows your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. If you eat very quickly, chances are higher that you will overeat.
- Eat without distractions – away from the tv, computer or car is important in achieving a healthy eating routine when doing everything from home. Don’t forget to take note of your feelings when you are about to eat. Are you eating out of boredom or sadness? Become aware of and reflect on the effects caused by unmindful eating so you can prevent overeating or mindless snacking in the future.
- But the most important thing when learning how to eat mindfully is to be patient and have compassion for yourself. Especially during these challenging and stressful times. Learning new eating habits won’t be perfect and they don’t have to be. One of the core principles of mindful eating is non-judgment! It’s about learning how your mind and body interact with food and making eating an enjoyable experience.
Good luck with eating mindfully and being conscious of the food you consume throughout the day. You will be amazed how you can change your relationship with food by allowing yourself to understand the emotions that certain types of food and portions bring you. Take notes and be patient, because in the end, practice will make perfect. Start eating mindfully by choosing one meal a day that you want to be conscious of. Once you get the hang of it, you can increase the meals you want to eat mindfully.
So before your next bite, be thankful, take a breath and bon appetit!
