How to Improve Your Eating Habits

The first step to changing anything is understanding yourself and your habits.

For example, it’s difficult to know why you’re angry if you don’t step back for a moment and reflect on when you began feeling the emotion.

In medicine and many other areas of our lives, we tend to treat symptoms rather than look for causes.

You’re angry, you try to treat the anger rather than looking at what caused the anger.

You have high blood pressure, you take blood pressure medication rather than taking a look at what caused the high blood pressure.

It’s a societal behavior and it permeates many areas of our lives.

Tip: If you want true change, if you want to embrace new lifestyle habits and you want to achieve goals, then it’s really important to look for root causes.

Here’s an example of why.

Let’s say that you want to start exercising but every time you set a goal like “I’m going to go to the gym every day” it eventually fades away.

You may start out for a week or two and go to the gym every day and then you’re going four days, then three, then you skip a week altogether and... You know how it goes.

It happens to everyone.

The solution is to understand your motivation and to have awareness about why you want to achieve that goal and what will actually help you achieve that goal.

Awareness is the key here, and it’s the same for ending emotional eating.

First, you have to be aware of a few things about yourself.

Let’s look at them individually here.

When do you eat? When do you eat during the day?

Do you eat three meals and two snacks, or do you find yourself eating all day long?

Start paying attention to when you eat.

You might grab your planner or calendar and just put a star on the times when you eat so you start creating awareness about when you feel hungry and when you eat during the day.

You could also just write down when you eat and what you eat on a piece of paper or In Notes on your phone.

How you track it doesn’t matter.

The point is to start paying attention to your habits.

Now, here’s the trick to awareness.

Often when we start paying attention to our habits, we change our habits. So you may find that all of a sudden you’re not emotional eating.

You may want to track your eating habits for a few weeks or even jot down when you feel like eating so that you start to create awareness about what triggers your eating.

Let’s look at that in more detail

What are you feeling before you decide to eat?

Explore physical, mental, and emotional feelings before you eat.

Are you feeling hungry?

Tired?

Overwhelmed?

Angry?

Stressed?

Sad?

Just jot down what you’re feeling.

Don’t judge the feelings or sensations.

Jot them down, eat, and get on with your day.

This is about awareness, not judgment.

Do you decide to eat or is it automatic and unconscious?

The goal is to make eating something that you decide to do.

That’s what awareness is about.

Once you know why you eat and what you eat you can start changing your behaviors.

You can say, “Oh, I’m super stressed and I want a burger, but I know that I just ate an hour ago so I’m going to go take a walk instead.”

You can make an educated and thought-out decision about how you respond to stress.

I know it sounds simple. It’s not.

It will take time and patience with yourself.

It’s all about shifting your mindset, finding the motivation to make healthier decisions, and achieving your healthy lifestyle goals.

Conquering Mindless Eating: My Journey to True Wellness

1st picture

I had no idea that I had a serious problem with emotional eating

I kept falling off the wagon with dieting and eating healthy. 

2nd picture  

I went on yet another restrictive diet plan

Lost 40 pounds

But learned NOTHING about nutrition, eating real foods, and how to overcome my emotional eating.

3rd picture

I slowly started to gain the weight back.

I stayed stuck (here) for 4 years

 In those 4 years I suffered with

Hormonal imbalance

Toxic relationships

 Emotional eating/mindless

 A miscarriage  

Chronic depression

 Anxiety

An unhealthy relationship with food

Deep sadness and regret

 Low energy

Having trouble getting out of bed and doing daily task

 Loss of focus and lack of motivation

Could not concentrate on anything.

4th picture

I finally realize that dieting won’t fix my struggle with emotional eating

I finally ended my struggle with mindless eating for good

Discovered mindfulness and clean eating

Was desperate for change

No longer wanted to live in misery

The pain of me not changing got greater than the pain of change

I made a decision to take back control of my life

Started running outside to reduce stress, anger and clear my mind

Now more laser focus than ever

I now have a healthy relationship with food

I understand the benefits

I’ve been able to keep the weight off for good

I learned how to manage my emotions better so that it no longer controls me and my life

I learned how to make peace with my mind

26 Mindfulness Meditation Tips and Best Practices

1. Don't expect perfection in the beginning. It takes a while to effectively learn how to silence your racing mind.

2. Focus on your breathing and nothing else. 

3. Forget about yesterday and tomorrow, your past and your future. Live in "the now" and be mindful of nothing but your present experience.

4. You can meditate anywhere.

5. You can meditate whenever you have a few minutes of spare time.

6. Meditation does not necessarily mean closing your eyes. If this helps to minimize distractions, then do it, otherwise, it is not necessary.

7. Do what works best for you. Find a meditation practice that caters to your unique personality and situation.

8. Beginners should start with simple breathing meditations, focusing on your breath.

9. If you feel restless, try walking with mindfulness, also called walking meditation.

10. Focus softly, not intensely. Your mindful focus should be calm and soft in nature, not intense and overwhelming.

11. Forget about a "right or wrong" way of meditating. Get some good guidance or training, and get started.

12. You don't have to put your hands, or your body for that matter, in any specific position. Just get comfortable.

13. Incense, rugs and chanting are not required. If these and other objects or activities help your meditation practice, then use them. Otherwise, they are not necessary.

14.  You do not have to belong to a specific religion or spiritual belief to benefit from meditation.

15.  Never meditate on a full stomach, or while you are extremely hungry.

16.  When your racing mind chatter distracts you, recognize it for what it is, then return your focus on your meditation.

17.  If meditating while seated, don't sit longer than is physically comfortable for you.

18.  Guided meditation can be a great way to start, to help you practice properly and receive the most benefits.

19.  Reduce the number of distractions in your meditation environment.

20.  Remember the "why" of your meditation. Why are you meditating? What results or benefits are you seeking? Remember this motivation.

21.  Seek like-minded individuals. There are countless communities online and off where you can share your mindful meditation experience, helping as well as being helped by others.

22.  If you don't see changes right away, stick with it.

23.  Turn your meditation into a lifestyle and a daily practice, rather than something you mark down on your calendar that you "have to do".

24.  Do not judge, just experience.

25.  There is no winning or losing in meditation, there is just meditating.

26.  Spend more time in nature, enjoying meditation sessions in natural environments whenever possible.

15 Ways to Boost Your Mood Naturally

1. Eating a piece of dark chocolate, natural or organic, and unsweetened, can instantly boost your mood. Chocolate triggers the release of endorphins which cause feelings of joy and euphoria.

2.  The things you smell contribute to your mood. Frankincense, lavender, rose and basil are just a few scents proven to boost your mood.

3.  Taking a "cat nap" is a great way to re-energize your mind and body. Often times your blue mood exists simply because you are worn down physically and mentally.

4.  As few as 5 to 10 minutes outdoors can boost your self-esteem and emotions.

5.  Give a loved one a telephone call when you are feeling down. Speaking about what is causing your sadness is sometimes enough to improve your mood.

6. The exposure of your skin to sunshine creates the production of vitamin D in your body.

7. Practicing gratitude, listing the things you are grateful for, helps remind you that you have more to be thankful for than to be sad about.

8. Exercise creates a rush of "feel good" hormones and emotions. Exercise can be defined as any physical activity of a moderate to intense level.

9. Crying, letting it all out, is better than blocking your emotions for getting past some sad event.

10. A simple task like folding laundry or washing the dishes can get your mind off what is causing you to be sad.

11. Clean up, organize and simplify your life. Clutter is a major cause of anxiety in the human brain.

12. Draw, write, paint or enjoy some other type of creative outlet. When you are creative, you move to a positive emotional state.

13. People who own a pet have lower levels of stress, depression and anxiety.

14. Meditation, focusing on the "now", is a wonderful and free stress reliever. It can help you move past feelings of sadness as well.

15.  Prioritize your life, and you will be able to put your sadness into its proper perspective.

15 Ways to Practice Mindful Eating

1. Get rid of the distractions

Usually, when you pair eating with any other activity, you will eat mindlessly.

It’s actually a good idea to sit down in silence and really taste and appreciate the food you’re eating.

Use a fork and knife, take your time, and eat slowly to allow your body to register satisfaction/fullness and enjoy every bite.

Devote all your attention to your meal from start to finish.

2. Use all the senses

Use your sense of touch and smell to enjoy your meal.

Pay attention to the aromas, the textures, and the taste of every single bite.

3. Think before you eat

Identify any pitfalls that may lead you to scarf down your food.

For example, if you have had a stressful day, identify this fact, and become aware of it so you can deliberately avoid stress-related mindless over-eating..

4. Make a list

Begin to think about what triggers you towards mindless eating.

Is it the TV?

Your phone?

Perhaps, it is emotions or even going out with friends and family.

Once you have your list you can make mindful choices in those situations to stay on top of your eating habits.

5. Stop finishing your plate

We’re all used to finishing the entire plate and eating those last few bites even if we know that we’re full, but sometimes it’s better to just save it for another meal.

In case you don’t want to eat leftovers, then you should try to make it a habit to put less food on your plate.

Better yet, use smaller plates with strategic portions of each food group, and then you don’t have to worry about portion control.

6. Never eat from the bag or box

When you take a whole bag of chips to the couch, you will likely eat way more chips then you should, the same goes for ice cream or even something healthy like nuts.

Instead serve yourself a small portion in a bowl, a handful of chips, nuts or a small portion of ice cream, and then eat only what is there.

7. Learn to identify real hunger

The next time you decide to grab a bag of chips, make sure you ask yourself if you’re in the mood for a fruit or a vegetable.

If the answer is no, then you need to be aware that you weren’t really hungry, and maybe you are just bored or stressed about something.

8. Eat more slowly

It actually takes up to 20 minutes for you to digest food and realize its effects.

That’s why you want to make sure you eat more slowly.

This may be difficult at first, so you need to come up with a creative way to get yourself to eat slower.

For example, try eating with your other hand or using chopsticks for every meal.

9. Reduce portions even when you’re eating out

When you are ready to order, make sure you tell the waiter to pack up one half of your food to go and to only bring you the other half while you’re at the restaurant.

Also, as soon as you sit down, make sure you say that you don’t want bread at your table.

This way you won’t even have to look at it, which will surely make you avoid overeating.

10. Try to avoid eating more junk food when you’ve just started eating healthier meals every week.

You may decide to eat more sweets and snacks as soon as you start eating a healthy meal per day, but this will only make it harder to stick to healthy eating.

We generally do this because we feel like we deserve it for managing to even start eating a little healthier.

However, you ultimately end up overeating instead of maintaining a healthy balance.

11. Have a plan when eating in groups

When you eat your meals with a group of people, you will surely eat much more. Have a plan and stay committed to your health and wellness goals.

12. You shouldn’t skip meals

Skipping meals will make it much harder for you to become a mindful eater.

When we skip meals, we let the hunger take over our brain and that leads us to whatever is closest to us, which is not a healthy decision in most cases.

It also makes you more likely to overeat when you finally get a plate of food because your blood sugars are low and you are starving, making it very difficult to make mindful decisions about food.

13. Eat every 3 hours

Pay attention to the signals your body and mind are sending you instead of following your habits.

Try eating a small meal every three hours, which includes real whole food, lean protein, vegetables, and a small portion of healthy fat, like avocado or olive oil.

This helps keep your blood sugars stable and accelerates metabolism.

14. Try taking the "eating pause"

The next time you’re eating a meal, try taking a break from eating for a few minutes during the meal.

After 5 minutes have passed, look at your plate and try to determine if you’ve had enough to eat.

Don’t ask yourself if you’re full. Instead, ask yourself if you’re still hungry.

If you’re still experiencing hunger, then you should go ahead and eat; but if you aren’t hungry anymore, then it’s best to save any leftover

food instead.

15. Don’t let tricky food labels fool you

The next time you’re in a supermarket, make sure you don’t let certain food labels fool you.

In most cases, foods that are advertised as sugar-free or low fat are incredibly unhealthy. The products may be sugar-free, but they contain a huge amount of artificial sweeteners.

Similarly, a product may be low in fat, but it probably contains a lot of sugar