Who’s ever found themselves opening the fridge or cupboard just because they’re bored, or bought some food because they are upset or tired? In fact who has only realised that’s what they’ve done after they’ve eaten that chocolate/those chips, or have only just realised what is happening when you have read it right now?
You’re not alone! Many people (myself included) have been guilty of emotional mindless eating. But the days of turning to a king size bar of Galaxy Chocolate have gone – thank goodness, because I know that had a huge impact on my skin problems, my energy and my self-worth.
So what’s mindful eating and how can it help?
A mindful eating approach helps us with the decision of what we eat and why. Food full of salt, sugar, processed and readily available might taste good in that moment of sadness/ stress/ excitement, but it isn’t actually good for you.
Eating mindfully is being aware of this and being able to choose a more positive, healthy choice instead of just shoving the first thing you see down your throat.
Eating with intention:
The intention of offering yourself the best nutrition possible; for your skin, your mind and your energy. Will this food nourish your body and leave you feeling satisfied, clean and positive?
Eating with awareness:
Awareness of the look of your food on your plate.
Look: picture the deep red colour of a cherry
Smell: I can tell you I never savoured the aroma of my Galaxy bar before I devoured it!
Texture or feel as you eat: imagine the warm, smooth texture of pumpkin soup or crisp crunchy texture of Vietnamese cabbage salad.
If you have emotions like stress or sadness recognise that these emotions are there but try to express them in other ways rather than eating them into a food coma. Chat to someone, go for a run, write in a journal…don’t let that stress lead you to make a food choice that we all know will result in your feeling “blah” 🙁
So how to start?
It’s easy to live our lives on autopilot, but that leads us to never really thinking about what we’re doing or why we’re doing it. So in the end we’re doing a lot that isn’t worth it.
Starting to pay attention to what we’re doing helps to trigger a realization in us and to spot unhealthy habits when they pop up. If we can spot them we can stop them! The more aware we become of the emotions that send us to the fridge the stronger we are to take ourselves to a yoga class or health coach to help, instead of relying on our good old friend Galaxy chocolate.
*Skin problems can be a result of incorrect nutrition, hormones and stress.
If you need a hand with any of these problems contact. Stress reduction, Increased Energy & Motivation, Mindfulness, Yoga, Pilates & Nutrition to help bring vitality to your life: [email protected] to get in touch with me
Venessa Nickless Yoga, Health Coaching & Pilates Practitioner in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Her adrenal exhaustion, terrible skin problems and digestion issues led her to taking steps to revitalise her health & energy by changing diet; which includes daily use of SkinB5 supplements and skin products to this day.
She changed her fitness regime; focusing on Yoga and Meditation to increase energy and changed career so that she could help people to achieve the clear skin and confidence that they deserve.
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