It seems that most people at some point in their lives have wanted to lose a few extra pounds. I am notoriously a skinny girl but even I have struggled with losing some weight. I have always been a healthy eater but I do love good sweets so I have struggled with finding that balance of indulging but not too much. Healthy eating for weight loss is a huge key to weight management along with exercise. I try to indulge in healthier foods like smoothies instead of candy. It is important to remember healthy eating can include choosing healthy foods and choosing to eat mindfully.
Mindful lifestyle choices are surprising helpful with weight loss! Part of that is that a mindful practice can reduce stress. According to Paul Jenkins, Nutritionist and the Founder of DNA Lean, “stress hormones can result in an increase in fat storage. This is because hormones such as cortisol increase blood glucose, consequently stimulating insulin release. Insulin is linked to fat accumulation. Performing a 15–20-minute meditation first thing in the morning is proven to reduce stress and stress-related hormones.” This reduction in stress is a great first step towards losing weight.
Healthy Eating For Weight Loss
Nathalie Botrosis is a psychotherapist, certified health coach, author, and ex-serial dieter who knows first hand about the struggles of weight loss. By transforming her day-to-day relationship to food, she created a freer, healthier, happier lifestyle that led to a profound change in her body. She is on a mission to share the message that anyone can change their own story and live happily and healthfully while losing weight at the same time by simply beginning with self-love and respect. Her new book, IF YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT SHOULD I EAT A SKINNY GIRL?, is the roadmap to the bon-vivant (French for “well-living”) lifestyle and will help readers change their relationship to food and their bodies. In her book, affiliate link below, she shares a series of tips and tricks for healthy eating for weight loss while finding a balance with enjoying your lifestyle.
Mindful Eating For Weight Loss
Today, I get to share an excerpt from Nathalie Botros’ new book. This excerpt focuses around mindful eating for weight loss. I hope these ideas inspire you make these new healthier eating habits part of your routine and then you read more to learn even more tips about healthy eating for weight loss.
The Bon-Vivant Girl, Nathalie Botros, Copyright 2017, shared with permission of Nathalie Botros.
Excerpt from Chapter 5 If I Chew My Food Really Slow, Will I Burn More Calories? (Tips About Eating Mindfully at Home)
Eat Sitting Down at a Table Without Distractions.
In our busy lives, we don’t take our time to eat. We keep eating on-the-go without noticing what we put in our mouths. The result is we become hungry very quickly again. It always amazes me to see people walking down the street eating their simple breakfast, lunch, or dinner on-the-go…
So, what should we do? If you are with your family, it is easier because you all sit around the table and share a meal. By the way, why do you think the Mediterranean diet works? Because you eat with your loved ones and share your food.
If you don’t have family around you, don’t lose hope. The only thing you need is to take your time with food. First of all, sit down at a table to eat. Don’t eat your meal standing up at the kitchen counter. Then, try not to play with your phone, your PC, or any other distraction. It is your time to enjoy every bite of your dish.
Most of the time, people think that I never eat home, being a socialite and all, but staying home and cooking is one of the great pleasures in my life. I love recreating dishes that I tasted at restaurants, and modify the recipes. For me, eating at home is a ceremony. I had difficulty giving up my phone at first while I was eating, then it became a game. If you put your phone on silent for the duration of your meal, when you are done, your phone is full of messages!
Don’t worry: The world can survive without you for fifteen to thirty minutes, and think about all the updates you will have afterward.
On your next meal, I want you to try this out. Take your time, enjoy the food you cooked and plated with love.
Eat Slowly & Chew Your Food.
In my family, we have a motto: “Eat fast. Otherwise, you will starve.”
Over the years, I’ve learned to pace myself. Don’t get me wrong, if I am famished, I am capable of inhaling my food. I work on myself to calm the speed.
Eating slowly will reduce your quantity of food intake, is better for digestion, and makes you feel satiated faster. One reason is the effect quicker ingestion has on hormones. Our hormones tell us when we’ve had enough food while we are eating, but it takes time to occur. So, if we wolf our food down, our body doesn’t have enough time to tell us that it’s full. Scientists seem to agree that it takes about twenty minutes for the brain to send the message to your body to stop eating.
So, you know what you have to do. Take your time to eat. Also, let’s not forget that we’ll have more time to admire our cooking!
Again, the meal should be a pleasure, not a burden to get over with.
We have to chew our food, not inhale it.
Don’t forget to chew your food. I am not going to ask you to do it thirty-two times, but if we chew well, we will be satisfied faster, absorb more ingredients, and not have any digestion problems.
When we chew, we transform large particles into smaller ones which are easier to digest. Chewing also sends signals to our body to start getting ready for digestion, like providing your mouth with more saliva to ease the digestion. And finally, the longer you chew, the longer it takes you to finish your food, and as we have discussed above, slow eating helps you to eat less.
And guess what? By simply taking your time to chew, you can maintain or shed weight.
I hope these simple tips on mindful eating for weight loss inspire you to success in your weight loss journey and to finding the perfect balance for eating what you want in a healthy way. What are some of your best practices for healthy eating for weight loss?
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