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I was on my fifth diet, trying to lose weight so I could get rid of my prediabetes. I remember opening my box of food for the month and crying as I placed the prepacked items of food in the pantry. Looking at the food, I said to myself, I cannot eat like this for the rest of my life. While I was losing weight, I wasn’t learning how to maintain the weight loss and get healthy.
Unfortunately, that is the truth about dieting. The dieting industry is a billion-dollar industry, and each day one of us starts a new diet that will change our lives forever.
Today, I want to share a powerful tool to help you manage your health and weight without adding another medication or starting a new diet. It’s called mindful eating.
Most of us eat for convenience rather than for nutrition. We eat for instant gratification rather than long-term health benefits.
Can you imagine learning how to eat your meals slower so that you get to experience the tastes and textures of your food rather than wolfing it down in a hurry, eating over the stove or sing, or snacking on the go?
I want to help you see the food you eat as medicine that nourishes your whole system and tastes delicious!
So what is mindful eating?
Mindful eating means taking the time to honor your body by choosing nutrient-dense whole foods that you prepare with care; yes, that means cooking more meals at home and eating your food slowly and attentively, using your five senses to enjoy it.
It means setting aside quiet time in your schedule to prepare and enjoy eating your meal without rushing or multitasking at the same time.
Mindful eating is a way of saying to yourself: “I respect my body enough to be completely aware of what I put into it and of the way I eat.”
Think of this type of eating as a meditation. It means choosing to be present with your food and how you eat it.
Eating mindfully helps to:
- Sense intuitively when you are full
- Gain way more satisfaction from eating
- Develop a healthier relationship with food
- See food as medicine
- Discover new tastes and textures
- Improve digestion (less gas and bloating)
- Regulate bowel movement
- Discover food sensitivities
- Create healthy habits that enliven you
You might be asking; how will I know if it’s time to learn to eat mindfully?
It’s time for you to practice mindful eating if you answer “YES” to any of these questions:
- You get bloated after eating
- You scoff down your food like there is no tomorrow
- You eat just to feel full, not to enjoy the tastes
- You eat to numb out
- You want to learn to enjoy healthy foods
- You crave sugar or starchy foods
- You have difficulty focusing or foggy brain
- You feel lethargic after eating
- You have allergies or hay fever
- You feel addicted to eating foods that aren’t healthy for you, but you can’t stop
- You tend to gain weight quickly, especially in your belly
- You have extra pounds that won’t come off with diet and exercise
If you answered “YES” to any of the question above, it is probably time for you to re-think how you are ingesting your food.
To help my clients take control of their eating , eat more mindfully and learn to enjoy their food more, I teach them how to use the 20-minute meal. Research shows that “your brain knows you have eaten enough when it receives specific signals to indicate satiety or fullness. The more satiety signals that get triggered, the more full we feel. “
Starting with your next meal, follow these simple steps.
Step #1:
• Check the clock before you start to eat.
• Eat your meal at the pace you usually would
• Check the clock at the end of your meal
• Write down the date and how much time your entire meal took. You can do this in your journal or in a notebook.
Bonus Tip: No judgment here.
The 20-min meal journal is NOT a food journal. It’s NOT about being “bad” or “good.” It’s about discovering if you’re taking enough time during your meals for your gut and brain to communicate to you what the right amount of food is for your body. The first time I did this, my meal lasted 3 whole minutes. I repeat, no judgment.
Step #2:
• At your next meal, increase your mealtime by 5 minutes more than your last time
• Document your mealtime, when you started to feel full, your mood, and your what you discovered about eating slower in your 20-min meal journal.
Step #3:
• Keep repeating Step #2 with each meal until meals last at least 20 minutes
• Document each day in your 20-min meal journal
Step #4:
• Note at what time during the 20-minute meal that you feel satisfied and when you begin to feel full in your 20-minute meal journal
Step #5:
• Make each meal for the next 7 days a 20-minute meal (or longer!)
The goal of the 20-minute meal is to help you enjoy your food, realize when you are full so that you stop overeating, and lose weight naturally, eating the foods you love. Isn’t it time that you started to enjoy your food instead of stressing about and feeling guilty about what you ate? I think the answer is yes.
Remember, my friends, you are stronger than you give yourself credit and more blessed than you know.
Let me know how you did, I would love to hear from you. You can post in the comments, or DM on Instagram @iamreneereid. I will talk to you soon, don’t forget to share this episode with someone you love. There are 88 million people in the U.S. struggling with prediabetes. Let’s help them out.
Until next time,
Remember, my friends, you are stronger than you give yourself credit and more blessed than you know.
With Peace and Love,
Renee
The Diabetic Toolbox 