As a personal training I like to know exactly what my clients are aiming for when it comes to their health & fitness goals. Last week I was reading over one of my clients goals and it was – to start eating mindfully – no eating and being on the phone. And this made me really think. It made me really think about how often I eat on the go and then don’t really realise that I have actually eaten. I often wonder where the other half of the sandwich is, or the end of the carrot, or the glass of smoothie went – and usually the answer is, I ate it, but while I was doing a thousand other things so I didn’t actually realise I was doing it.

Not only are you missing out on the flavours, and whole enjoyable experience around eating, but you will also find often you will consume more because you will actually forget you have already eaten, you aren’t focussed on portion control or listening to your body’s signs that you have had enough.

When eating on the run, we often eat for the sake of it – rather than listening to when our body is hungry, acknowledging this, and then preparing a healthy meal.

Eating mindfully is about making simple choices and embracing a more compassionate relationship with yourself around food. Here are a few tips to help with starting to eat mindfully today:

• Sit down to eat every meal and don’t multitask while you eat. Don’t read, don’t watch TV or browse the internet. Pay attention to the experience of eating and what you are actually fuelling your body with.
• Watch for a tendancy towards emotional eating. Don’t beat yourself up when this is the case, but instead be aware of the emotions that are present and be compassionate with yourself
• Learn to determine a feeling of genuine hunger, and do your best to only eat when your hungry.
• Find natural foods that you really enjoy – then sit down and enjoy the experience.

Remember its not about being perfect. It’s about trying to improve on our current habits and if that means you nail it 80% of the time, then that’s ok. It’s a journey to finding the best solution to ensuring you eat mindfully.

In need of fitness inspiration to kick start your health goals? Then join Coreliving today for unlimited training for 4 weeks for just $10/week. Call Amy – 0412230926