Life-Changing Practices for Foodies

Giorgio Aprile is a Coach & CBT therapist focusing on mental health, personal development, and weight loss. With over ten years of experience, Aprile has helped his clients to overcome issues like low self-confidence, anxiety, motivational issues, behavioral/habit issues, and relates problems. Here are some of his main tips to start mindful eating.

1. Be present

Turn off distractions and put away your phone. Instead, focus on the present moment. For example, you're watching TV, and you eat bite after bite chocolate. In a couple of minutes, you've swallowed the whole bar without even realizing it. The result of that is that you're going to put on some weight, especially if you do it regularly. Instead of devouring the sweetness without enjoying it, take your time to really savor the food and try to eat slower.

Also read: DOING THINGS THAT SCARE YOU IS WORTH IT

2. Slow down

When we're eating mindlessly, and we're binging, we speed things up, and we don't even realize what we're doing. With mindful eating, you'll get the ability to slow down, which will allow you to enjoy the food more, and it's also going to allow your brain to catch up so that you feel fuller and satisfied.

3. Focus on your food

If you are eating a piece of grape, focus on the fruit and how it feels when you touch it and smell it. Focus on all the details: the shape, the color, the texture, and the flavor. When you put the food in your mouth, focus on how it feels and whatever comes to your senses.

With these three techniques, you're going to enjoy your food much more, and you will be much more satisfied with your meal. Using mindful eating techniques means that you're much less likely to binge and eat less.

It would help if you took your time to eat. Nevertheless, it would help if you made it fit into your lifestyle. That doesn't mean you need 10 minutes to eat one grape. You only need to eat more slowly and focused on your food.

If you adopt these healthy habits to your daily routine, this will allow you to be much more in control of what you eat, how much you eat, and it's going to allow you to enjoy your food a lot more. This way, you'll be able to reach your weight goals more effectively.

Mindfulness is a skill, and like any ability, it takes some practice, so right now, you're out of your comfort zone. With consistency and patience, you will get much better and comfortable at mindful eating.

If you are interested in mindfulness in general, Aprile recommends reading "Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World" by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. This book will be an excellent starting guide and a wonderful introduction to mindfulness. The authors explain this practice very well and include efficient exercises, including mindful eating and guided meditations.