Eating with Care

I am often asked for advice about "how to" change eating habits. Below is a short list of suggestions:
1) Slow it down
- Notice what you are eating, and that you are eating
- Pay attention to how your body feels as it is satisfied with just the right amount of food
- "Fast foods" is an oxymoron
- Stop eating when you are satisfied. Boxing up leftovers is OK - even at home
- Be sure to notice if you're actually thirsty - try water first
- Brush your teeth right after you eat
2) Make it special
- Sit down. Prepare the meal for a guest (you qualify as a guest)
- Use smaller plates and serve yourself only the food you need - with care
- End a meal with a ritual - whether it be a dab of dessert, tea, an after meal mint
3) Notice what is driving the eating
- Ask yourself if you are really hungry - or feeling anxious or some other charged emotion that you are uncomfortable with
- Have a list handy of other things you can do to meet the actual need. Make it easy
- Know your difficult times and act preventively
- Enlist the help of a friend
4) Focus on gratitude
- Thankfulness is just what it says: being full of thanks. It is the fast track to not feeding an emptiness that doesn't really need food
- Expressing gratitude before a meal helps the mind engage in the right framework for eating in the most nourishing way possible

Above all else - be mindful. If you are stuck in a pattern of eating you don't like, chances are that either: a) it's just a mindless habit, or
b) there is a recurring inner anxiety (be it from loneliness, stress or whatever that is "gnawing" at you) - and you are feeding it with food instead of dealing with the underlying root.
In either case, increasing the capacity to notice - or be mindful - will help to open up the space to deeply and authentically make change.
Please note: There is a list of suggestions in Appendix D of my book, "Mindful Eating: Mindful Life"
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