Mindful Indulgence is a practice that can transform our perception of eating food, which is going to be beneficial for our health as well as for environment also.
All of us have our sensations towards food. Recent studies have said that a normal eater spends almost three hours of his day eating and the rest of the days is fixed for something else.
And because of these 21 hours of doing other functions in a day, we could not be minutely aware of the food that we are consuming every day. And from this, it becomes obvious that this lack of attention towards eating will open up our chances of being vulnerable to various types of health issues and diseases, such as obesity, Diabetes, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, coronary ailments (heart diseases) etc.
Moreover sensitivity towards our environment is also very necessary. We have to be sensitive about impact of our every behavior on our environment. Single and tiny steps by individuals towards environment health along with healthy and mindful eating habits can make huge reforms in environment. Corona has shown us the value of healthy living and healthy environment. We all have seen the healing effect of earth during lock down.
A Brief Idea Of Mindful Food Indulgence for healthy 2022: What Is It?
As we have already mentioned earlier, when we do not show any attention to the food that we are consuming every day, we make a path for various diseases to ruin our healthy life affecting the environment also. And a revolutionary practice against this in the modern world is known as “Mindful” food indulgence.
The term ‘mindful eating’ is quite self-explanatory. It is a great practice of becoming mindful or be attentive towards all the food items that we are taking in a day from waking up in the morning to sleeping at night.
In this era where the internet is available easily, you can easily check the nutritional values and calories of your daily diet. In this way, you can be sure of the fact that you are not overeating or falling under your healthy calorie intake.
According to human psychology, it is also proven that when we become attentive towards the food that we are taking, our indulgences towards junk and unhealthy food dupe down to a considerable extent. We become used to healthy food items such as vegetables, seeds, nuts, fruits, healthy oils and proteins. Otherwise, following a diet could have been much harder.
Practicing Mindful Food Indulgence for Healthy 2022
Mindful food indulgence is simple and easy if done correctly. We will provide you with proper guidance along with all the tips and tricks that make this healthy practice simpler for you. So, without further ado, let us get started with the points.
- Upgrade Your Shopping List
When you buy unhealthy food items, then you consume unhealthy food items. This is as simple as it gets. Therefore, the key to mindful indulgence is updating your shopping list. At once, it is tough to get rid of all the toxic food items, but you can lower it at least and in place of that, go for items in the healthy isle.
As a pound of broccoli and carrots is going to be much more beneficial for your body compared to those cakes and ice-creams.
- Avoid Extreme Hunger
It is a better idea to munch on handful of nuts or 2 spoons of healthy seeds than to be extremely hungry and go for huge amounts of food to fill your stomach. This is how you keep that calorie meter down. Apart from keeping yourself restricted to two or three big feasts in a day, go for seven to eight small meals. Add on fresh and seasonal fruits in your daily diet. This will help control diabetes and weight also.
- Show Thankfulness To Your Food
It is a wonderful habit when you show respect to the food that you are going to consume. Do not forget to show your share of gratitude to your food silently and enjoy every bit of it. Kids learn from adults. They keep observing us for whatever we do. Do not waste food.
- Small Portions Are Better
The portion of food that you are having is extremely crucial when it comes to following a healthy diet. It is better if you can measure the food you are having but we know that it sounds odd and is impossible to follow all the time. For this reason, adapt an idea of the portion of food that you need according to your daily calorie (the must-have amount) intake and try to stick to it. Diet experts say that the diameter of your plate should be less than or equal to nine inches. Initially it is difficult but slowly this can be inculcated in your routine.
- Practice Enjoying Your Meal
When we are not attentive towards the food that we are having, we barely understand the value of enjoying and cherishing the flavors of it. We just fill our craving out of our recurring seasons of gluttony.
Cooking and eating can be as rejoicing as a form of art when you become mindful of your eating. Then you can enjoy the different flavors, colors, textures, and tastes of your food.
With the small and healthy portion of food on your plate, you automatically tend to rejoice in it, even more, feeling the aroma, the amazing ingredients and everything.
Moreover you can enjoy your meal by solely concentrating on your food. Avoid watching television, mobile phones, chatting while having meals. This way you will not only enjoy your meal but prevent over eating and weight gain.
- Thorough Chewing Of Your Food Is Important
Take your time to eat your food. Apart from enjoying your food, it is crucial to thoroughly chew your food before swallowing. This helps in two ways.
Firstly, it will help you relish the taste much better where you get a kick of all the ingredients and seasonings. And the greater benefit that comes from chewing is that digesting your food becomes much easier. Digesting properly chewed food is a walk in the park for your digestive system. This will help the blood to absorb all the essential nutrients in your food.
There is no rule on how many times you must chew your food. Depending on the texture of your food it can be 20 to 40. For example, chew 20 times for a mouthful of rice and 40 for a slice of steak.
- Use Nature Friendly Materials/ products
Being thoughtful about nature’s health along with individual health is also a very important step towards mindful indulgence. While going out for grocery shopping carry a fabric bag or any other Eco friendly bag. Have seasonal food. This will increase the health value and cut off the preservative intake by the body.
- Daily Stress Relieving Exercise
Mindful indulgence also include adding some stress relieving exercises to our daily routine as screen time has also increased since Corona times.
Wrapping Things Up
So, these are some of the proven tricks and tips that we must follow to practice mindful food indulgence for healthy 2022. Following all these instructions can be a bit boring and tough at the start but once you develop a habit of it, it will be a wonderful habit that will stay with you forever. Choosing a healthy lifestyle with a healthy dietary habit against all the odds makes you a winner in the long race of your life. Apart from keeping you away from all health ailments, practising mindful food indulgence will be a nourisher of your state of mind and for healthy 2022.