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Everyday Benefits of Mindfulness and Meditation
This is not airy-fairy, woo-woo and whales in space. The benefits of present-moment awareness are profound and far-reaching. Check out this excerpt from my book Mindful Mastery.
WELCOME TO NOW
Eating with awareness is at the center of mindful eating. Begin by asking yourself why do I want to eat right now? Dig deeper and ask, what affect will this food have on my energy, my weight and my health? You can also assess your level of hunger before and during the meal. These steps will anchor you in awareness (and enjoyment) while you are eating.
ENJOY EVERY BITE
Pretty simple, huh? Enjoy your food. Savor what you eat without judging how “good” or “bad” the food is. That’s right. Judging yourself for what you eat is total bovine scatology (bs). If you get nothing else out of this book, please find a way to let go of assigning a moral equivalent to food.
I am not talking about dietary practices you choose because of religious or ethical beliefs. I am simply referring to labeling something like broccoli as “good” and a candy bar as “bad.” They are simply caloric and nutrient delivery systems.
EAT LESS AND ENJOY EVERY BITE
If you’re uncertain about how to start eating less and with more awareness or think, “there is no way my family will ever sit down for a meal without their phones,” may I offer something for you to practice? The acronym, BASICS, can serve as a reminder of how to practice more mindful eating. No one has to know J.
LIFE HAPPENS
I know you are successful in many areas of your life. Let’s learn from areas in which you excel and apply it to your behavior around food. What do you do well? C’mon, I know you can name at least one thing!
SCIENCE AND MINDFULNESS
Many researchers in the growing field of mindfulness assert the purpose of eating any meal is to focus on the experience. This is because mindful eating practices make you more aware of cues, which signal hunger and fullness. The result is you may eat less and, yes, lose weight.
LISTEN TO YOUR GUT
Diets don’t work long term. They don’t work long term because they disregard your thoughts, your lifestyle and your emotional and physical feelings. Paleo dude just doesn’t care about the many factors which influence how, why, when and what you eat. Keto man won’t be close enough to you to smell your breath. Eat-once-a-day guy is not forced to work with your grumpy, hungry ass all afternoon.
SCIENCE AND MINDFUL WEIGHT LOSS
The results of a study led by Dr.Janet Daubenmier at UC San Francisco found mindfulness training not only helped participants lose weight, but also reduced their metabolic risk factors, including waist size, blood pressure, triglycerides and blood sugar levels.
IS STRESS MAKING YOU FAT?
You know the scary things stress can do to your health. Stress raises your blood pressure, lowers your immunity and decreases your performance in everyday tasks. Over time, chronic stress makes everything less enjoyable. Now don’t get stressed out, but stress can also make you fat.