We rarely experience real hunger when we want something to eat. We try an unusual dish to satisfy our curiosity. We eat cake to improve our mood. We go with colleagues to a business lunch to switch. The list can be continued for a long time. “Saturating the physical body with tasty food, we often try to satisfy needs that are not related to physiology,” says wellness expert Lyubov Bogdanova. Exit? Saturate the mind and emotions when they need it.
Make a 200-item list of pleasures. Write down everything that makes you happy. Caring for plants, playing with a pet, breathing exercises, archery, cinema, learning a foreign language, yoga, sports, outdoor exercise, a walk in the park, a fragrant bath, massage, reading, socializing, traveling, dancing, music… Life offers a lot of options. What exactly to choose, you decide. Start including at least a couple of such pleasant moments in your every day so that your mind and heart do not starve. You will have to make an effort only at first. Gradually, it will become a habit, like brushing your teeth or washing your hands.
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- Why We Eat… When We’re Not Hungry
Do not hurry. When you think it’s time to eat, ask yourself what needs to be fed – the body or the mind? If the mind, then offer him an alternative in the form of a pleasant recharge from the list of 200 pleasures. The easiest option is to take a few slow deep breaths or go for a walk. Do you still want to eat? Drink water: We often confuse thirst with hunger. If after 15 minutes the desire to eat has not disappeared, choose a really tasty meal and savor it piece by piece without distraction.
Turn off the TV. As well as a computer, tablet and other gadgets that distract from food. Is what is on your plate not worthy of attention? And if not, how did it get there?
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- Learn to eat mindfully
Chew 50 times before swallowing. There are no teeth in the stomach. The digestive process begins in the mouth.
Don’t deprive yourself of your favorite foods. Below is an example of how best to eat high-calorie sweets to get the most out of them.
Chocolate Meditation*
- Choose a chocolate you have never tasted before.
- Unwrap the wrapper and inhale its fragrance.
- Break off a piece and carefully examine its color and shape.
- Put the chocolate on your tongue to start melting and notice if you feel like pressing it against your palate. There are more than 300 different flavors in one piece of chocolate. Try to feel at least some of them.
- If you notice that you are distracted, just note what exactly, and then return to the tasting again.
- When the chocolate has completely melted, swallow it slowly. Feel it flow down.
- Answer the question: Did the chocolate taste better this time than if you ate it at your usual speed?
* Exercise from the book by M. Williams, D. Penman “Mindfulness. How to find harmony in our crazy world” (Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2014).