Mindful eating

As I noted below, I'm not actually trying to lose weight. I'm trying to eat well, and get lots of exercise, and improve my overall health. (But I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't be sad if I dropped a couple of pounds along the way!)

Eating "well", of course, is a very subjective thing. It depends on your lifestyle, how much time you have, how much money you have, your level of interest, and a dozen other things. It varies from person to person, and from day to day within the same person.

That said, here's what "eating well" means to me, most of the time. If I can keep this up say 85% of the time, I should be able to manage the other 15% without worrying about it too much. These guidelines are a combination of WW's Good Health Guidelines and Canada's Food Guide, plus a bit of my own intuition.

• 5-7 servings fruit and vegetables (this seems to be the hardest one for me - the others come pretty easily most days. I am a work in progress.)



• 6 servings grain products, whole grains as much as possible



• 2 servings dairy



• 2 servings lean protein



• 2 tsp healthy oils (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, flaxseed)



• 1.5 litres water



• Multivitamin



• Limit sugar and alcohol



• 30-60 minutes of physical activity

While following the above guidelines, I also try to practice mindful eating. This is what it means to me:

• Eat only when actually hungry; stop when satisfied.



• Avoid eating when bored, sad, or just wandering into the kitchen.



• Limit snacking - eat only at planned mealtimes or when actually hungry.



• Try drinking water or a ten-minute distraction if feeling "hungry" at non-meal times.



• Stay off the internet when eating!

The "stop when satisfied" thing isn't actually all that hard for me, if I'm paying attention. The key thing is to remember to pay attention!

One of the cool tips I've learned is that your body will let out a little involuntary sigh when you've had enough to eat. (I actually sigh three times - it's pretty unmistakeable, if I'm paying attention!) So the key there is to a) listen for the sigh, and b) stop eating when you hear it. It takes practice, but it's a really interesting little cue to know what your body is up to.