11 Tips for Mindful Eating During Summer
Mindful eating involves being present while eating, slowing down, and using all your senses as you eat. For many of us, we often pay very little attention to the food we are eating and simply scarf it down without much thought. I can certainly recall plenty of moments of regret after mindlessly overeating just because a giant bowl of popcorn or chips was right in front of me. How did the entire bowl just disappear?
Mindful eating can increase awareness of how much you are eating and why you are eating. Maybe, for example, your late-night ice cream habit is being triggered by boredom, stress or loneliness. It can be difficult to change some of these eating habits and food connections. Replacing snacking with other activities, like calling a friend or family member, journaling, some sort of physical activity, or deep breathing can be helpful.
Eating mindfully can also help you develop a positive relationship with food and aid with weight loss or maintenance. Summer can be a challenging time to be mindful of your eating when there may be extra gatherings, concession stands, food trucks, icy treats, etc. Thankfully, we can put some strategies in place to set ourselves up for success.
11 Tips for Mindful Eating
- Before eating, take a moment of gratitude and a deep breath to calm your body down.
- Get rid of technology like phones, computers and television while eating.
- Use all of your senses to pay attention to your food as you eat.
- Slow down your pace of eating. Make time to just eat and have conversation for as many meals as possible.
- Use a plate or bowl for snacks at gatherings instead of grazing.
- Buy vegetables from a farmers’ market to incorporate into your meals.
- Eat your vegetables first at the family barbeque.
- Sit down at a table when eating inside, and eat outside occasionally.
- Listen to hunger cues from your body and consider when you are actually hungry.
- Wait a few minutes before going back for seconds.
- Be aware of your food choices. Just because a food is available, it does not mean you HAVE to eat it!
Drinking Should be Mindful, Too
One potential roadblock to mindful eating is consumption of alcohol and high-sugar beverages. If you are going to be drinking more than one alcoholic beverage at an event, a helpful strategy is to drink a glass of water in between beverages. Overall, having plenty of low-sugar drink options available can help cool you down and avoid mindlessly drinking sugary, high-calorie drinks all summer long.
Unfortunately, a typical 8-ounce glass of lemonade has 25 grams of sugar. That is not a very large glass of lemonade, but it is nearly equivalent to the recommended daily sugar intake for many of us.
Instead, try these refreshing, non-alcoholic, low-sugar ideas:
Whether it’s family vacation, a day at the pool, or a weekend at the lake, when you practice mindful eating consistently, you can enjoy summertime and still maintain control over your eating and health.
Learn more about health and wellness benefits.
By Merissa Kringen, LiveNOW Health and Wellness Coach
