Mindful Eating for Health and Weight Loss

In my professional hypnotherapy practice, I have found that many people have trouble with weight loss because they are eating way too fast, mindlessly and on auto pilot. We live in a very stressful society that really encourages multi-tasking and doing everything, including eating, very quickly. This not only makes weight loss extremely difficult, but it makes eating less enjoyable.  It is also very unhealthy as the digestive system was never designed to process large chunks of food.  In my hypnotherapy practice, I let people know that by eating slowing down and engaging in mindful eating, you become fuller quicker and it is easy to eat less without feeling deprived.

I encourage people to participate in mindful eating to speed up their weight loss. Mindful eating also helps people become healthier because it puts less stress on the digestive system.  Mindfulness is moment by moment awareness and focusing on one activity at a time. All we really have is the present moment. If you are washing the dishes in a mindful way, you simply focus on the act of washing the dishes.  You focus on the warmth of the water, the texture of the different plates in your hands, the sound of the water, etc.  It is the same with eating. Instead of surfing the internet, watching TV or reading a book while you eat, you simply just focus on your meal, the flavors, the textures, etc.

I encourage people to engage in mindful eating the same way that they would engage in getting a massage.  You would never, ever go to a massage therapist and tell them to get the massage done as quickly as possible so you can leave.  You would want to savor every moment.  You would never cut your vacation to a tropical beach short so that you could work on your to do list.  It is the same with your food.  Mindful eating is about enjoying and savoring every bite.

With mindful eating, It is best to spend at least 20 minutes eating your meals. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to recognize that the body is full, and when people eat slower, they find that they cannot eat as much, and feel satisfied with smaller portions. Mindful eating is a natural way of eating less without feeling deprived.  Many people try to eat small portions but they eat it way too fast, inhaling their food, and then wonder why they feel deprived and unsatisfied, want to eat more a short while later and have difficulty losing weight. They also wonder why they are constantly thinking and obsessing about food. Overeating is also very expensive and in my hypnotherapy practice, clients have told me that when they slow down and engage in mindful eating, they find that they save a lot of money.

I recommend that people focus on chewing each bite at least 20 times and look at a clock when they begin eating and make a conscious decision to spend 20 minutes or more eating their meal. When five minutes have passed, you should be done with a quarter of your meal. When 10 minutes have passed, you should be done with half of your meal, etc. Many people find that by the time they are three quarters of the way done, they start feeling full and don’t need to eat the rest of the food.  Weight loss begins to happen naturally when you eat this way without feeling deprived.

Many people have a problem with not finishing their food and with throwing it away. Most people have been programmed from childhood to clear their plate and were told stories of the starving children in Africa. I tell people that it is now the 21^st century and it is actually much healthier to throw food away sometimes. You can also put leftovers in a ziplock bag and make a pot of soup at the end of the week.

While you are practicing mindful eating, you should give thanks to yourself for providing such a healthy meal and for taking so many positive steps to improve your life.  You should also acknowledge that eating this way will help you to lose weight. It is best to only eat while sitting down and before you eat, and to write down what you are eating. If you are familiar with the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), you should do a few rounds of tapping before you sit down to eat. You should create a beautiful environment to enjoy your food, with fresh flowers, a candle, nice dishes or nice placemat, if possible.

Before you begin eating, really notice the beautiful meal you have put together. Next you should look at your food and admire the different colors and take in the aroma. As you begin eating, really be mindful to chew each bite 20 times, and think about the food nourishing and healing your body, knowing that is providing exactly what you need to lose weight. You should put your fork down in between bites and take a small sip of water. Take a deep breath or two. Notice the warmth or the coolness of the food. Notice how all of the different flavors come together perfectly.

Notice the different textures of the food. If you are eating with others, really enjoy their presence and the conversation with them. Let the meal be about the conversation and enjoying the company of your loved ones and let the food be secondary.

The more you practice mindful eating the easier it will become and the easier it will be to lose weight. Also, as a professional Hypnotherapist, I program this new behavior into people’s subconscious minds, so it becomes more automatic and will have Self-Hypnosis Mindful Eating Download that you can order. Most people find that when they practice mindful eating, they become satisfied with less food, it is easier for them to digestive their food, it is easier to lose weight, they enjoy their food more, they feel happier, and they save a lot of money.

Mindful Eating Steps:

1. Only eat when hungry.
2. If you are familiar with the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) do a few rounds of tapping on overeating and food cravings before you sit down to eat. If you don’t know the EFT, you can go to my hypnotherapy website, www.sanfranciscohypnosisclinic.com/eft.html to learn more.
3. Set a beautiful table with nice dishes, candles and fresh flowers if possible.
4. Only eat while sitting down.
5. Write down what you are going to eat before you start eating.
6. Give thanks to yourself for providing such a healthy meal and for taking so many positive steps to improve your life.
7. Before you begin eating, really notice the beautiful table you have created.
8. Look at your food and admire the different colors and take in the aroma.
9. Get a clock and put it where you can see it and consciously decide to spend at least 20 minutes eating your meal. Be mindful to chew eat bite at least 20 times.
10. Focus on the food nourishing and healing your body.
11. Put your fork down in between bites, have a small sip of water and take a deep breath or two.
12. Notice the warmth or coolness of the food.
13. Notice how all of the different flavors of the food come together perfectly.
14. Notice the different textures of the food.
15. If you are eating with others, really enjoy their company and the conversation with them.
16. Stop eating when you are full.
17. If there are leftovers, either put them in the refrigerator, throw them away or put them in a zip lock bag in the freezer and make soup at the end of the week.
18. This is a process and know that it will get easier with each meal you have.
19. Give thanks to yourself for loving yourself and making positive changes in your life.

If you need more help with mindful eating or weight loss, I work with clients privately in my San Francisco office.  I can also work with clients on the phone or over Skype.  You can contact me here.  I have also created a self-hypnosis mindful eating download, that you can order that will program this whole process into your subconscious mind and will make this process a lot easier to implement into your life.  Here is another article about mindful eating that you might like.