Beyond the Diet: Mastering Mindful Eating for Weight Loss and Emotional Balance

Are you eating beyond your hunger?

Sometimes the diet may not be all that matters when you are trying to lose weight. You might have to pay attention to other factors that can make a very big difference to achieve the results you look for. 

For example, what do you do while eating? This is a question whose answer could be very simple, but for many people the most frequent answers are more like:

- "I check social media."

- "I watch TV or Netflix."

- "I pay bills on internet banking."

- "I keep working or studying in front of the computer."

- "I drive to work or wherever." (!!)

- "I feed my young children." And so on...

It's okay to want to optimize time amid the many tasks we have with our increasingly busy routines. The problem is choosing precisely the timing of meals for this. It may seem like an innocent and even clever act (after all, every minute gained is worth a lot!), but the truth is that there are several risks associated with mindless eating.

When we don't dedicate our attention to the act of eating, it takes us longer to identify the signs of satiety, which easily contributes to us eating more than necessary. We don't appreciate the flavor properly, and many times we don't even assemble the plate consciously, putting portions that aren't really consistent with our hunger or foods that don't nourish us or give us much pleasure.

It is important to always eat slowly and chew food very well and remember that our stomachs have no teeth, which is why chewing is so important. Digestion begins in the mouth, as poorly chewed food becomes more difficult to digest. It's important to eat slowly so your satiety hormones have time to communicate.

I'll give you an example if you've already eaten a good part of your plate and for some reason you have to stop eating because the company rings and you have to answer someone, when you come back the hunger is no longer the same. This happens because your hunger and satiety hormones take time to communicate.

You can use the hunger and satiety scale to reflect on your hunger before each meal and after eating to assess satiety. The ideal is to eat at 1 and stop at 5.

10. Absolutely stuffed

9. So full it hurts

8. Very full and swollen

7. Starting to feel uncomfortable

6. Ate a little too much

5. Satisfied and comfortable

4. Starting to get hungry

3. With strong signs of hunger

2. Very hungry

1. Hungry

O. Lion's hunger

In addition to improving digestive processes, eating mindfully is a way to balance emotions. Healthy eating does not depend only on the quality of food, but also on the behaviors we adopt in relation to it. It's important to remember that these tips don't replace an appointment with a qualified and experienced nutritionist.