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HomeUncategorizedThe surprising reason why you must eat with six senses!!

The surprising reason why you must eat with six senses!!

Mindfulness is such a buzz word these days.  It’s used sometimes as a throw away remark to solve just about every single problem we have!  Whether you think it’s just a fad or if you are one of the people who believe in it or even if you are on the fence on this one, I can tell you that mindful eating works!  In reality, I use the word mindful but you could just as easily replace it with joyful eating, or satisfying eating or delicious eating even!!  The key to ‘mindful’ eating is that you experience eating in the here and now and with complete and utter guilt free enjoyment! 

The Anti-Diet Lifestyle takes mindful eating to a whole new level and will train you to eat using not just five but six senses!!  Don’t worry, there’s no spirituality involved if you don’t believe in it, you can just as easily call your sixth sense an instinct and there’s no doubt that instincts exist.  You only have to look at our fight or flight responses or a reflex action to know that there are aspects of our human bodies and minds that we don’t fully understand or control.  With this in mind, please keep an open mind as you read this blog because it will help you to not only enjoy your food but also to feel fuller and satisfied without a shred of guilt to be seen!

What are the six senses?

See

Hear

Touch

Smell

Taste

And then there’s the sixth sense, let’s call it intuition

And then there’s the sixth sense, let’s call it Intuition

How to eat mindfully

Set the scene

If you are new to this, I would suggest that the first thing you do is set the scene.  If you are not new to this, set the scene!!  This is because your surroundings play a big part in talking to your sub-conscious mind.  If they are positive and beautiful you are more likely to have positive and beautiful results.  The opposite speaks for itself, negative and ‘ugly’ results.

As a beginner, it will be best if you learn how to do it and make it a habit at home.  That way, you have full control of your surroundings.  If, however, you’re not able to for whatever reason, try a restaurant.  The key here is that you are somewhere you can fully engage with your food without distraction from friends, your partner, your children etc.  Circumstances will obviously dictate when and where but you will need to arrange a ‘date’ night with yourself on a regular basis until you are a veteran mindful eater!! 

Here are some reasons for this

Beautiful surroundings are more likely to put you in a positive state of mind

If you are comfortable with your surroundings, you can concentrate 100% on the task ahead.

You do not need to worry about the judgement of others

You are giving this task utmost importance

Your surroundings will enhance the experience (once you are used to it, your surroundings will be less influential to the experience of eating mindfully)

If you are at home:

Set a table, if you don’t have a table, use a beautiful tray, the best that you can afford.  Spend time arranging your table and tray for example:

Use a beautiful table cloth

Place appealing place-mats with care

Light a candle

Place a vase of flowers

Light an incense stick

Play soothing music that you love (not rock n’ roll!!)

Place a favourite ornament in the centre of the table

Use your best plates

Use your best cutlery

Use the fanciest glass you own for your choice of drink – this is not necessary but if you prefer to have a glass of water, juice whatever then do so

Place some positive affirmations beside you, a plaque or an inspiring picture will work great for this purpose

You

Dress up for the occasion – if you love dressing up

Dress down for the occasion – if you love cosy, comfortable clothes

Do NOT wear tight fitting clothes

Dinner

Pick one or a selection of dishes you absolutely love – remember this is not about nutrition right now, this is about learning to eat mindfully

Ideally, cook everything yourself but if this is totally impractical, purchase the object or objects of your desire

If you are outside

At a restaurant, choose the table that appeals to you the most.  Look for a window seat or further inside if there’s nice lighting or a candle or if it’s beside a beautiful picture.  You will feel better straight away.  It is more difficult this way, but if can be done.

Have a picnic!

If the weather is good enough, plan a picnic at the park! 

Use the best cutlery you have

Use the best plates you have

Use the best glass you have

Set a beautiful table cloth on the ground

Pick a spot that’s visually appealing to you

Pick a spot that’s physically appealing to you, such as in the sun (if you like sun) or in the shade (if you prefer shade).

‘Trying and failing, the ups and downs.  It’s like a heartbeat, without it, we would die’

Why does being mindful help when you are eating?

It will allow you to enjoy your food

It will keep you in the present moment

It will stop you feeling guilty

It will teach you how to eat again

It will teach you how to feel full – this is a major reason why we binge it.  We stuff food down our faces so fast and furiously that we forget to wait for the full signal our body is dying to give.  Once you are full, you will feel satisfied and you will not need to binge eat.

Let’s begin

When you eat, do so WITHOUT guilt. If the feeling rises up, be prepared to expel it immediately, over and over again:

See – take the time to look at your food, notice its shapes and its colours

Hear – as you chew or bite, notice the sound it makes

Touch – pick up your food with your hands (where practical to do so).  Notice its texture, it’s weight and it’s feel (is it smooth/rough, is it heavy/light etc)

Smell – Notice the smell/s.  Try and identify each smell, let your mouth water

Taste – Really taste your food.  Don’t rush it, experience it and experience it slowly.  Try and identify each item of food by its taste alone

And then there’s the sixth sense, let’s call it Intuition – this is the best part!!  Imagine the food making its way into your body, giving you energy, satisfying your hunger, extracting any nutrients.

Every now and then (you might like to time it to begin with, say every 5/10 minutes) – Stop and think about how your body feels.  The reason for this is you are teaching your mind to engage with your body (like it did effortlessly when you were a child) so that you can pick up the ‘full and satisfied’ signal.  Do not worry, at first you may find that you binge as you have always done.  With time, persistence and actual application of this process, you will begin to ‘find your full’.  When this happened to me, I was euphoric, I couldn’t believe what just happened because for years I was always either starving or stuffed to the point of feeling sick!

Repeat . . . Repeat . . . Repeat!!!

Do this exercise often until it becomes second nature!  Without knowing it, you will find that you have changed!! 

Written by Sherry Taylor

Author of The Anti-Diet Lifestyle

 

 

The Anti-Diet - Sherry Taylor
The Anti-Diet - Sherry Taylorhttp://theantidiet115550288.wordpress.com
Sherry Taylor was born in Lahore, Pakistan. Her parents moved to England in 1974 and she now lives in Kent with her husband and two children. Her father, pen name Adam Zameenzad, was a published author of 7 novels and he instilled in her a love for writing. She is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction work. Passionate about the well-being of others and in particular about weight-loss/fitness, her non-fiction work concentrates on these subjects. Sherry battled with weight-loss issues for years before stumbling upon a solution that worked for her. In a bid to help others in this situation, she wrote The Anti-Diet Lifestyle in which she shares her secrets for weight-loss success without the need for conventional dieting. Sherry also runs a Facebook page aimed at individuals looking to lose weight: https://www.facebook.com/TheAntiDietLifestyle/
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