Yes, it can help with weight loss! In fact, this is the very first place I start with my weight loss clients (I am a nutritionist). Losing weight is not about dieting but about learning how to eat a healthy whole food balanced diet and listening to your body.
I prefer to call it mindful eating versus intuitive eating. Have you ever eaten in front of your computer, at your office desk, in front of the TV, or while driving, only to look down and wonder where that entire bag of chips went? You didn’t even realize you ate the entire bag! This is called mindless eating.
Instead you want to shift this into being present, being aware of the food that you are eating.
Today’s society greatly contributes to mindless eating. We have apps instead that tell us how much sleep we get, how many macro’s and calories we are eating, how many steps we are getting and our heart rate during workouts. While these additions can be useful, the issue is that we listen to the gadgets instead of listening to our bodies.
Our body is constantly telling us what it needs and wants. Our ancestors didn’t have the obesity rate in the U.S. that we now have. We didn’t have the lifestyle health issue of CVD, diabetes and metabolic syndrome that we now face. And people, were not going on diet after diet like we do now. We do not need to count points, count steps, or anything else if we just listen to our bodies!
But in our go-go society, we do not pay attention to it. Society has created this culture where it is normal to eat on the go, get a meal in 5 minutes and then consume the entire thing in another 5 minutes, walk and talk on our cell phones while eating our lunch, and we wonder why we have health issues?
In fact, in the U.S it is like we are proud that we work so hard, that we are so busy, that we just don’t have any time to eat. But look at the price we have paid.
We want to switch back to mindfulness and listen to our body.
You need to pay attention. How do you feel when you eat a dark leafy green salad? How do you feel after a fast food burger? Energized, bloated, fatigued, clear headed, headachy, irritable, etc?
When you start to make the switch to whole foods and you pay attention to how your body feels when you eat them, then you are more inclined to keep eating those foods. You will remember how you feel say when you eat a processed, packaged meal.
Noticing this could take around 30 days, so be patient and give it time. And if your diet consists of mostly, sugar, white flour, additives and chemicals, you may not feel great early on as your body adjusts to the whole foods-there is a period of time you may think you are better off eating the processed foods-this process can take anywhere from 2 to 7 days for most.
So yes, mindfulness/intuitive eating can help you with weight loss.
Here are the basic “rules” to follow with mindful eating in order to lose weight.
1. Do not eat any food in front of the computer, while working (take a lunch break for God’s sake!), in front of the TV, in front of the Fridge, while standing/walking, in the car.
2. Instead, eat meals and snacks at a table
3. Before you eat, look at your food. Is it vibrant in color, look pretty and appetizing or brown, beige and bland looking? Take in the smell of the food. Be thankful for the food. Take three deep belly breaths before your first bite of food.
4. No liquids with your meals and snacks.
5. Chew each bite of food 15-20 times! (very important!). Enjoy and savor each bite instead of inhaling your food. Appreciate this time to nourish your body.
6. Pay attention to how you feel, before, during and after the meal. Were you hungry? Do you feel satisfied? Do you feel very full?
7. If portion control is an issue for you, use a smaller plate such as a dessert plate instead. Fill the plate with vegetables, vegetarian or meat sourced proteins, leafy greens, small amount of carbs such as quinoa, sweet potato or beets for example, healthy fats such as EVOO, avocado, raw nuts and seeds.
Following these steps early in the weight loss process can help dramatically. Some people need more support with learning how to eat balanced meals and portion control, but these are good first steps towards weight loss and eating a healthier diet.
Best of luck with your weight loss journey and if you need more support feel free to reach me at ____@____.com
