Even if there are many things to correct in your life, a few simple, well-directed changes can trigger your healing and awakening processes. Most of the time, we are overwhelmed with options that eventually lead to confusion. So every monthly challenge is a guide for you to discover new simple habits and life-hacks to incorporate into your routine. They are simple, yes, but effective!
This month’s challenge will work as a trigger for your awareness of your food and the consciousness from which you eat it. Many people try to improve their lives and health just by changing what they eat but, even though that’s also important in a mindful diet, it won’t be that efficient unless you address that aspect of your life holistically.
Your body, your mind, your emotions, and even your spirit get involved in every bite you take. So, you need to be aware of all of them when you eat and when you do other things that have to do with eating, like choosing food, cooking it, and digesting it.
Join our Monthly Wellness Challenge now and start improving your eating habits like never before.
Each monthly challenge is composed of 4 simple activities for you to focus on one per week, and most of them will take less than 10 minutes a day! There are weekly trackers that help you see how far you’ve come and keep you going.
It’s fine if you want to do several or all the activities at the same time, or keep doing the first week’s activities while progressively adding the next ones, or even continue them after the month is over! But it is better to follow one habit at a time and do it well, than to try to do several without completing any of them.
- Explanation of each week’s challenge and its importance.
- Basic instructions for each challenge that you can follow along.
- Weekly trackers that you can print out and track your progress.
- Prompts and quotes to inspire you daily.
- Tips to get the most out of the challenge.
- Lists of ideal foods and other complementary hacks.
The activities are designed to be as simple as possible, and adaptable to the needs or conditions of everyone. Please read the instructions and suggestions for each activity carefully. If you still have doubts or find it difficult, we include four activities per month, so you can focus on the ones that are easiest for you.
Table of Contents
Do you remember the taste of each of the side dishes from your last meal?
What do you usually think about while you eat?
Can you lose weight naturally and consciously, just by changing the way you eat?
These are some of the questions that lead us to think about Mindful Eating and consider its use. Well, just as with our thoughts, we can change our reality to make the most of the circumstances, in the same way your consciousness while eating can be a determining factor in the nutrition and benefits you get from food for your well-being.
Read on to understand the basics of Mindful Eating which, along with our Monthly Wellness Challenge, will help you implement healthier eating.
What is Mindful Eating?
The Origins of Mindful Eating
Although the practice of Mindful Eating has only been popularized for less than a decade, the application of its principles has been cultivated since ancient times in spiritual currents around the world, including Tibetan Buddhism. However, if you are a dedicated meditator or lover of living in the here and now, you will realize that the practice of Mindful Eating belongs to anyone who wants to be happy and enjoy the present, which includes enjoying every meal.
Thoughts, Emotions, & Food
When we eat, our whole being is involved in it. No matter how conscious we may or may not be of it, during meals we process emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Therefore, mindfulness practice is perfectly applicable in these contexts, and an excellent way to complement your meditation practice and personal mastery process.
Health Benefits of Mindful Eating
Does Mindful Eating Work for Weight Loss?
The Fundamentals of Conscious Eating: What is the Mindful Eating Cycle?
There are 6 questions that serve as an anchor and starting point for anyone who wants to start eating more consciously and integrally. They are organized in the form of a cycle, to denote that they are all equal to each other, so they should all be respected and taken into account.
The cycle is as follows, and below we explain each of the questions.
Why do I eat?
This could be considered the first of the questions because it addresses the thought itself, which is the seed that will influence all what we select to eat and how we channel that energy.
Ask yourself why you eat, with the intention of finding out if you resort to it out of true hunger, or simply for not-so-good reasons for which eating is not the real solution. Examples of causes of ‘fake hunger’ are:
- Anxiety
- Addiction
- Depression
- Adaptation to the social environment (especially if there is no hunger or you know that what you will eat is not healthy)
Asking yourself this question will help you not only to eat better but to empower yourself by developing the habit of observing and taking responsibility for your own thoughts. It will also help remind you to bless your food, either alone or in communion with those who accompany you.
When do I want to eat?
Many of the times we eat unhealthy foods it is outside of the main meals, and in the form of snacks. In addition, eating at unregulated times is seen as a lack of control of the internal fire, which ultimately impacts negatively on stomach and metabolic health.
Watching the times of day when you eat, and focusing on the here and now as you do so helps you nourish yourself and live better.
This question also encompasses one of the most commonly used practices of Mindful Eating: slow eating. Taking time to savor your meals can improve your mood, as well as your digestion and absorption of nutrients.
What do I eat?
How Am I Eating?
Have you observed your eating posture?
What about your attitude?
What are your most frequent emotions and thoughts?
Are you distracted by your phone or in some other disrespectful way while eating?
These are some of the questions to ask yourself before this pillar of Mindful Eating. Your way of living in the here and now when you eat says a lot not only about you, but also about how the energy you are receiving may end up being channeled.
Going deeper into this question can lead to the application of some ‘hacks’ or changes that help you eat more consciously. For example, you could switch to eating with chopsticks or with the hand opposite to your usual one, in order to eat more attentively and/or slower.
How Much Do I Eat?
Especially for people with metabolic and economic problems, or in need of weight loss, this question is very valuable. Controlling not only the quality but also the quantity of food can be very difficult for many.
However, Mindful Eating helps you not only to take this into account, but to learn to eat less while nourishing yourself equally or even better. That’s because when you eat slower, you can better digest (and assimilate) food’s nutrients.
Where?
You can use this question in two ways.
- ‘Where do I eat?’ It’s about the place where you eat. Put affection on your table or the place where you eat every time, and focus on being in the present. Preferably without using the phone.
- ‘Where will I direct (or how will I use) the energy I’m getting from this meal?’ This question is an excellent choice for right after eating, while digesting food. With it you will have a healthy excuse to rest for even a few minutes while you meditate on the answer and organize yourself for the next thing to do.
Basic Mindful Eating Practices
The following habits are among the fundamental resources to harvest mindful eating in your routine.
Initial pause and blessing
One way to ensure that you don’t eat in a rush and in a mindful way is to give yourself a few initial seconds to bless the food. Be thankful for it and become aware of what you are eating and for what purpose.
Eating slowly
In the case of main or larger meals, it should take you at least 20 minutes.
Chewing well
As a bonus of slow eating, make sure you have chewed your food very well, preferably in small bites. It helps you not only to eat better, but to digest better.
Screen Break
Stop using phones and electronic devices during the meal, and put them far away.
Mindful & Multisensory tasting
Enjoy the moment and take time to observe, smell and taste in detail what you eat. Listen also when you bite it in your mouth and, if it is conducive depending on the food, feel its texture when you hold it.
Practicing mindful tasting with a chocolate
This is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to practice mindful tasting. Chocolates, especially dark and gourmet presentations, provide an exquisite and tasty experience, while being a very healthy snack.
