Mindful Eating
Simplify. Enjoy. Be Healthy.
Making room for the type 1 diabetes dragon at the dinner table can add to the stress and chaos of mealtimes. Adding a dash of calm may be just the antidote your family needs.
Julia MacPhee C.H.N.C.
www.FitNutrition.ca
[email protected]
What does mindful eating mean to you?
Would you be surprised if I told you that mindful eating is not the same as healthy eating? It is not about eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and drinking your 8 glasses of water every day. Mindful is the opposite of Mind Full. Again, Mindful is the opposite of Mind Full.
Do you sometimes end up eating in the car while driving your kids to their soccer game, eating your dinner in a hurry before that evening appointment, having your lunch at your desk while working on the report that is due today, answering texts or emails on your phone during dinner? Does this sound familiar you? We all do it, it’s called life, and sometimes it’s the only way. But the emphasis is on sometimes!
When we eat with distractions, we are not in tune with our hunger cues and tend to overeat. Further, when we eat in a stressed state, our overall digestion is impaired . This results in bloating, fullness, indigestion, weight gain, cognitive problems, hormonal issues… just to name a few. These are common problems today!
On the other hand, when we eat mindfully, we focus on the food and the positive experience of eating; we are aware of the flavours, sights and smells, as well as the feedback from our body. We eat with our mind fully in the moment. We reconnect with our body’s wisdom, and greater health is the result.
Therefore, let’s look at some practical tips for mindful eating, so you have the tools you need to make choices when it comes to your meal time.
Why Eat Mindfully?
To further emphasize the importance of eating mindfully, here are just a few of many benefits of mindful eating:
But the most important benefit of eating mindfully is that it will increase your appreciation for your body.
And if you love your body, you’re going to treat it well!
Tips from the Trenches
If your home is at all like ours, meal times can be chaotic… cooking, counting carbs, calling the kids to set the table, our cat meowing for his supper, realizing as we all sit down that we didn’t think to pre-bolus… ARRRRGGGHH!
When our family focuses on our meal (instead of the iPad, TV, or the hassles of the day), things feel less chaotic… we are less likely to miss a meal bolus, or miscalculate carbs, or otherwise miss the boat in terms of managing diabetes. Which makes everyone healthier and happier!
~Michelle