Mindful Nutrition

The word mindful has long been brandished around various circles over the last few years. But with the hectic lifestyles we lead, it is often brushed aside as “hippie nonsense” or “rubbish twaddle”. Therefore very few actually take the time to understand what is actually means and even fewer take any active steps towards finding a more meaningful approach to nutrition.

But why is this? Is it people these days just do not have the time to recognise how they actually think of feel about their health and nutrition? We are so busy running a well executed time table of work, home, feeding time, children, sleep, repeat and simply, the sheer thought of having to juggle a well imbedded routine is just one straw to far? Or is it that we lead such robotic and system driven lives, with our heads firmly placed in either a computer, laptop, smartphone or TV; and quite often more than one at the same time. That we are becoming so far disconnected to the nature of ourselves that we now live our lives by a stream of notifications and alarms.

I’ve even heard people say that it is because they have no time to spend on themselves. And even state that they DON’T want to spend time on themselves as they don’t feel worthy or are worried it would open up some flood gates of unaddressed issues.

Yes my friend, I shout! These are the exact reasons why you are most in need to a mindful approach.

Why have we become so mindless?

As a society we can probably all remember being sat at the dinner table as a child, and being told “eat all your food up” or “I want to see a clean plate”, and as a child the pressures or consequences that came with that, “they’ll be no dessert” or “you’ll sit there until it has all been eaten”. This has in turn instilled unto us, now as adults, a guilt for leaving food on our plate. As a result we have become a society of individuals of not wanting to waste food.

Now this is not to point the finger at parents, nor is it saying that food waste is okay, it most certainly is not! It is more about understanding our bodys need for food consumption, and addressing the the “eyes bigger than your belly” concept.

As time has progressed, so has the decline in our relationship with food. We have become busier, often leaving little time for people to even think about what their next meal is, let alone having the time to prepare one, resulting in quick grab food often rammed packed with added salt and fat. We have become a generation of eating on the hoof, and the increase in fast food and take always are evident of this.

But as we have also moved away from the family orientated gathering also known as a family meal time, we have instead substituted it with quick meals; Consumed with little or no thought, whilst glued to TVs, Laptops and smart phones. Quite often unaware of the food that we are even eating, let alone the calories or how much of it we have consumed and whether we are full or not. When was the last time you sat down at a table, together as a family, without the TV, or mobile phone?

It is very scares we sit down to a good hearty, wholesome and nutritious meal with the family, instead it has been replaced, by a hot scotch microwave meal and a bag of frozen chips. I mean how many of us learnt to cook from our parents or family members? It seems to be a dwindling number as the generations pass and unfortunately resulting in an alarming increase in obesity, diabetes and heart disease to name a few.

If we were more aware of the ingredients we were putting into a meal, or if we took a moment to review the actual ingredients listed on the back of our ready made, or heat in the microwave foods we would be disturbed by the vast content or refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, added salt and sheer lack of nutrients.

I’ve heard it from clients and friends and family alike, “but its cheaper to by packet food and freezer food” No my dears it is not – nor is it as nutritious and filling as foods made from fresh produce. They are often full of empty calories, which are calories consumed which provide little nutritional value to your body. Eg: sugar, fats and refined carbohydrates, leaving you feeling hungry with the need to consume more food a short time after.

Empty calories = empty pockets and empty stomachs.

So what exactly is Mindful Nutrition?

Mindful nutrition is partly as the title suggests; Being mindful about our nutrition, having a connected awareness of what your body is telling us. As well as what it really needs and understanding the fundamental functions of food, and the impact that it has on your body.

However, it doesn’t end there! Its is about the balance and understanding about what we are putting into our bodies, beyond the limits of our plates. Its about taking the time to recognise and understand what our body is actually telling us, from hunger to pain, whilst also helping to support and protect against troublesome symptoms and conditions such as emotional eating by repairing our relationship with food one meal at a time.

What difference will it make to me?

Mindful nutrition is about finding what is personal to you. What is it that you are feeling, what is it that you are really needing or craving for, and simply addressing those issues in a mindful way.

By doing this you will not only find a connection with food and how is can help you. You will start to build a better relationship with the food on your plate and what you are putting into your body. It can also provide you with a greater understanding about your body and how to best provide for it, both physically and mentally.

How does it work and how can I be more mindful of my nutrition?

Mindfulness is the act of focusing attention on present-moment experiences. Apply that to a meal, and mindful eating means actually paying attention to the food you’re eating, making you less likely to thoughtlessly plough through a bag of potato chips, for instance.

“The only thing you have to focus on is the food,” says Michael Mantzios, a mindfulness researcher and lecturer in health psychology at Birmingham City University in the U.K. “Mindfulness brings you back to the present moment, back to the present meal.”

As eloquently put by Michael Mantzio it is about being present in the now, and being aware of what we are consuming. Its about stopping or pausing for a moment to focus on our body and how we are feeling? Ask yourself.

What is my body saying?

If your tummy rumbling, or is it aching? Is that rumble or ache because you haven’t consumed a meal for the past 4 hours or is it because you feeling anxious? Often people will mistake feelings of upset and anxiety for hunger. (I will do another blog for you on how stress and anxiety affect our food consumption).

If it is anxiety, do we think that the feeling will go away if we eat something? No, probably not so why consume additional calories when they are not required? Instead pay attention to the anxiety your feeling and address the root cause instead, thus alleviating yourself of the physical symptom.

Another example can be fatigue, often when we are tired we feel that we need to search for food, and often this will be found in the form of fats, refined carbohydrates and sugars. This is because we feel the sudden rush of sugar hitting out blood stream making us feel motivated again – well for a very short period anyway. Eventually our body dumps a large amount of insulin into our blood stream to counter act the sugar buzz and then we dip low very quickly. This process, when exploited over and over again can lead to insulin resistance which is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes. It is quite often not even food we are craving either but the need for rest, sleep and a chance for our body or mind to catch up.

So next time your feeling tired and find yourself reaching for the crisps or open pack of cookies; and remember when we’ve had our fill, there is only a few left and we don’t like to waste food, we are probably not even craving food, but rest!

1. Recognize what is going on

2. Allow the experience to be there, just as it is

3. Investigate with kindness

4. Natural awareness, which comes from not identifying with the experience.

or

1. Stop – stop what you are doing

2. Take a breath – take a deep breath and clear your mind

3. Observe – What is it you are feeling?

4. Proceed – with an informed decision

These are known as grounding techniques and they are designed to make your stop, and reflect on actually what it is we are after. When it comes to nutrition the first step often, regardless of whether your decision is to eat healthier or to lose weight, mindfulness and awareness is key. For you to be able to change your lifestyle habits, and make them long term we have to turn of the autobot within us which has for years had us reaching for the wrong foods time and time again, and learn to rewire ourselves into

1. What are we feeling

2. What are we wanting?

3. And what we are going to do about it?

When we are able to reconnect and understand that many of our moments scavenging the cupboards for food, which have no real nutritional value has been due to a lifetime of mindless programming we can learn to rewire the very reason we are not reaching our goals. Empowering us with a better understanding that the only way we will change the path we are on, is to get of the merry go round and make small steps until we find the road we were looking for.