Within the framework of a healthy diet, we have to take into account the foods we use and their preparation, but the way we eat them is also important: consciously, without anxiety, and being in the present. Although we sometimes do not take this into account, it is the first step to start eating healthily and feeling better.
Eating is a basic need, just like sleeping or going to the bathroom. And we should treat it as such, eating only when we feel hungry.
But in our fast-paced society, it has become just another activity that “must be done,” and we have automated it. We eat because it is time, or because we are not feeling well, and we confuse real hunger with the need to fill ourselves with something.
> My 15 tips to help you eating without anxiety:
- Eat like a foodie, like a person who enjoys eating.
Give intention to the smell, the taste, the texture of each food. Give a lot of importance to all the senses while eating, and enjoy all your dishes as if you were eating the best menu at the best restaurant you have ever been to. - Keep in mind that eating while standing or taking advantage of a walk to grab a quick bite to eat is not going to help you eat without cravings. Therefore, sit down and take a little time to eat, being aware of what you are doing.
- Surround yourself with positive energy while you eat.
If you share your meal time with coworkers or friends, try to make sure they are people who have positive energy and who allow you to enjoy the time you have reserved for yourself and your plate.
Avoid surrounding yourself with people who are constantly complaining, criticizing, and talking about how bad the world is, or how bad it is.
And if you can’t get away from these people, try to eat at another time, or eat alone, because, in the end, you will put the energy you have around you in your mouth. - Forget about the TV, mobile phone, table,t or any other screen while you eat.
If you eat at home or eat alone, avoid screens, which will cause you to be distracted. And above all, avoid the news, which will bring the same negative energy we talked about in the previous point. Ideally, you should be alone or with your family/friends and your plate, with as few distractions around you as possible. - Choose the prettiest tableware you have to serve your food on and serve it in the most appetizing way you can think of. You deserve a beautiful plate. Set the table with a nice tablecloth, choose the dishes you like the most (those you save for a special moment), present the food beautifully (make it a super appetizing composition), and turn the act of eating into your party.
This gesture in itself is an act of infinite love towards yourself, it will make you more present and more aware of the food and the gift in front of you. - When you sit down to eat, don’t do anything else, just eat.
Whatever time you have to devote to eating, focus on eating, but don’t do any other tasks or activities.
This way you will avoid getting distracted and you will be able to notice how much you are eating, whether you are feeling full or hungry… So when you sit down to eat, don’t do anything else.You can apply this same thing to any other area of life, and it will help you focus on the task or activity you decide to do at any given moment, so that you can do it well, being fully conscious and with all your presence. - Put down your fork between bites.
If you eat continuously, without ever letting go of your fork, you will eat much faster. On the other hand, if you put your fork down after each bite while chewing your food thoroughly, you will eat more slowly and reduce your anxiety. - Before you start eating, sit down, move away from the table, and take three deep breaths.
If you’re one of those people who arrives at the table with super-charged energy (because of the kids, because of work stress, because you wanted to cook quickly and not waste more time in the kitchen, or because of whatever you have on your mind) and starts gobbling down food, follow these three guidelines before you start eating: sit down, move your chair a few centimeters away from the table, and take three deep breaths.This will help you lower your energy and start eating much more calmly.And if you are away from home and don’t want to do it in front of people, go to the bathroom or somewhere where you won’t be seen, take 3 deep breaths, and come back to start eating. - Use your non-dominant hand to pick up the fork or spoon.
The gesture of bringing food to our mouth is very automatic with our dominant hand. But if we do it with the other hand, which we are not used to, we will have to be more present and eat more slowly. - Measure how hungry you are at each meal.
If you measure your hunger on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 = very little hunger and 10 = very hungry), it is advisable to have a level of 5 – 7 at mealtimes.If you arrive at mealtimes very hungry (level 10), you will feel like nothing is satisfying, and you will eat at full speed and in much larger quantities.
But if you arrive at a lower level (level 5), you will have more room to regulate the speed, quantity, and even type of food you are going to consume.So if you notice that your digestive system is in a hurry for lunch or dinner, you can introduce a healthy intake between meals, and regulate the level of hunger and anxiety with which you will arrive at midday or night. - Be thankful for what you have on your plate and for the possibility of being able to eat every day.
If every time you eat you stop for a moment to give thanks for being able to eat a healthy dish full of nutrients that helps take care of your body, you will be putting intention, awareness, a nd presence into your eating. - When you feel hungry, drink a glass of water first.
Thirst is often confused with hunger because the warning signs are very similar.
Therefore, when you feel a little hungry, drink a glass of water first and wait half an hour. If you are still hungry after this time, then eat, but if the feeling has disappeared, you will know that what your body was asking for at that moment was only water. - Don’t punish yourself in moments of weakness.
It’s very important to be kind to yourself. So focus on your achievements, reward yourself, and celebrate when you do things well.
And when you do things “wrong”, take the opportunity to analyze where the behavior comes from, to see where that anxiety comes from. And when you find the reason why it happens to you, accept your circumstances and set the intention to do better next time. - Plan your meals and prepare the recipes for the week in your 4-burner session.
Planning is the best way to ensure you have a tasty and healthy diet at any time of the week. Because if you arrive ravenously hungry, in 5 or 10 minutes you will have a balanced dish ready to eat.
Otherwise, you will end up eating the quickest and easiest thing you can prepare, and your choice will probably not be the best one. - Make healthy foods visible.
Make sure that the foods that are most visible in your home are the healthiest ones. This will also be very useful for children.Turn your home into your temple. Make sure that the only thing in your home is healthy food. That way, when you have an anxiety attack or crave something, you’ll only have healthy food at hand.
And to finish with all this advice, I want to remind you that the most important thing is to always think about yourself, and choose yourself at all times. Because we live trying to please others, and we constantly leave ourselves in the background.
And as my friend Ana Moreno says, when you want to eat things that you know are not good for you (whatever the situation), ask yourself the following question:
