Set Up Triggers That Program Yourself to Eat More Mindfully

Mindful eating, or paying more attention when you eat, prevents you from overeating and makes meals more enjoyable. To make this a lasting habit, food writer Darya Rose recommends creating triggers that will remind you to pay attention.

For example, starting to stab a bite of food with your fork is a defined action that occurs several times throughout your meal. For me, this action is now a trigger that forces me to ask myself if there’s already food in my mouth. If there is, I am reminded to set my fork down again and focus on chewing instead. It’s amazing how well this works. In this situation, the reward I receive for following through on the habit I’ve scripted (putting down my fork) is getting to appreciate and enjoy the bite of food already in my mouth. This is actually incredibly satisfying.

She also recommends other little tricks you can use to "program" yourself into eating more mindfully. For example, you can use setting the table as a reminder to drink half a glass of water or even set a recurring alarm to remind you to count your chews.

Mindfulness in general takes work to develop, but this practice can have a profound effect on your health and life as a whole.

Mind Over Fatter | Medium

Photo by Ollie Crafoord .

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