Mindful eating. These are two of the hottest buzzwords of the year.
Mindfulness spilled into the mainstream in the when basketball coach Phil Jackson wrote about the subject after retiring from the sport.
You don’t have to be a Zen Buddhist like Phil Jackson to be mindful. Even if you don’t have an elevated sense of awareness, mindfulness is an integral part of healthy eating.
Eating With Empowerment
Empowered eaters are mindful of their appetite and satiation. In particular, empowered eaters view food as more of fuel for the body than positive reinforcement.
In short, food shouldn’t be a reward. Rather, food should be viewed as something essential for functionality and happiness.
Instead of living to eat, empowered eaters eat to live.
Finding Rewards Outside of Food
Can you imagine rewarding yourself with your favorite foods every time you reach a goal?
Such “milestone eating” is a trap.
Though the human metabolism is fast enough to process food at a rapid rate through the teenage years, it slows during adulthood. The time eventually comes when food-as-a-reward backfires in a big way.
Instead of rewarding yourself with a delicious dessert, consider an alternative.
Examples of reward alternatives to food include:
- Time in the sun
- A video gaming session
- Listening to your favorite musicians
- Playing a sport
- Engaging in artistic expression
- An extra hour of sleep
If you insist on rewarding yourself with something to eat, consider a healthy food reward such as:
- A no-sugar sucker
- Flavored water
- A protein bar
- Dried fruit
The moral of the story is you can make yourself feel good without turning to a candy bar or bag of chips after a job well done.
Get creative, take pause to consider alternatives and always take the healthy route.
Put a Cap on Rewards
Continue to reward yourself for reaching personal benchmarks and they’ll add up quickly.
Both the rewards and the pounds, that is.
Micro accomplishments followed by food rewards inevitably lead to obesity.
Take a cue from the kids when considering your approach to empowered eating. The average child is willing to tell his parents he is full and wants to stop eating.
In contrast, adults tend to do the opposite, clearing their plate. Some adults finish their plate as they consider it a necessary reward for a day of work.
Though kids don’t bear nearly the same level of responsibility as adults, they are wise beyond their years when it comes to satiation. Revert to your childlike mentality when eating, stop munching when full and digress to other fun distractions.
Such is empowered eating.
Be Aware of Your Personal Psychology
There is an argument to be made that your self-analysis is nearly as important as that of an New Jersey food psychologist. Try performing some introspection to heighten your awareness of your personal cues.
If you are like most others, you tend to ignore your cues for hunger when the prospect of food is presented. If you aren’t aware of your personal psychology, you’ll end up eating when you aren’t actually hungry.
Eating when not hungry is often called habitual or boredom eating. Make a concerted effort to control your impulse to eat by mentally digressing to a distraction.
Examples of helpful distractions away from food include:
- Work
- Hobbies
- Listening to music
- Discourse with friends
When in doubt, run in place, do some pushups or crank out 100 sit-ups to get your mind off the topic of food.
Food as a Crutch
Those who struggle with food often use it as a source of comfort. When life presents lemons, it is a mistake to make sugary lemonade.
Instead, make all-natural fresh lemonade or better yet, metaphorical lemonade.
Feelings of sadness are inevitable. Self-soothing with candy, processed salty snacks or calorie-packed alcoholic drinks is a tempting shortcut to feeling better.
Instead of falling into temptation, practice empowered eating in which you only turn to food when hungry.
Substitute dialogue, play and exercise for tasty treats and you’ll finally gain control of food.
Control food and it won’t control you.
Breaking the Cycle
Think back to the last time you were sitting at your desk and thinking about food as a reward. Chances are it occurred fairly recently.
Though uncomfortable, the truth is that most people reward themselves with chocolate, alcohol and other forms of oral satisfaction. Granted, food rewards are motivational.
The problem with relying on food as a reward is that it creates a destructive loop. The food-as-a-reward loop gradually reduces personal power.
Reclaim your relationship with sustenance and you’ll finally view it as fuel. This empowered approach to eating is recommended by food psychiatrists in Basking Ridge and beyond.
Viewing food as fuel feels good physically, mentally and spiritually. Nourishment is meant to power the human body and brain, catapulting you to new physical and mental heights.
Transitioning Away From Food as a Reward
Change begins with a new mindset.
Provide your body with sufficient food to feel strong and you’ll no longer be tempted to devour unhealthy treats after a miniature accomplishment.
Above all, do not undereat!
Begin the morning with a healthy breakfast that serves as a bridge to lunch. Enjoy a lunch with diverse nutritional offerings and you won’t be nearly as tempted to eat unhealthy snacks.
Wrap up the day with a dinner of modest size. If you are craving dessert, enjoy a small treat with all-natural sugar or no sugar at all.
Such a paced and measured approach to eating minimizes the temptation to reward yourself with tasty delights. Moreover, three square meals a day also reduces the temptation to overeat during one sitting.
Teaching yourself empowered eating also requires eliminating restrictive food rules. Chances are you have at least a couple rules.
Though some limits are necessary, strict rules are problematic. In particular, labeling specific treats as off-limits makes the temptation to devour them that much stronger.
Consider the result of a study published in the Public Library of Science. The study revealed depriving individuals of their favorite food caused heightened desire and frustration. Moreover, the study results revealed a greater emotional response to eating.
Another study published in Eating Behaviors determined those with a greater self-imposed food restraint were inclined to eat more than when their self-control was at a low point.
This somewhat surprising truth remained consistent even when the participants didn’t abide by a restrictive approach to eating.
The mere attempt to bypass food led to a heightened desire to overeat. Moreover, a separate study published in Frontiers in Psychology found those who selectively avoided chocolate suffered heightened cravings.
The moral of this story is that it is best to be food neutral. Place little or no moral value on food restrictions and you’ll find those foods have less of an emotional charge.
Fast forward several months and you’ll find you are nearing the point at which you no longer consider food to be a reward.
It is at this point that you will respond to pangs of hunger without even the slightest bit of guilt.
Attentive Eating
Savoring every bite is critically important to mindful eating. Such attentiveness ensures the eating experience is valued as an important event in the day.
The alternative is mindless eating in which you rapidly devour as much food as you can find until you feel full. Unfortunately, such a haphazard approach leads to obesity as it takes the stomach a minimum of 20 minutes to communicate fullness to the brain.
Recognize the importance of the gut-brain connection and proceed accordingly.
Continue to practice emotional awareness prior to eating and also while eating. Such mindfulness ensures you live in the moment.
Remain present in the moment and you’ll find you enjoy every single bite. Savoring every morsel with a measured and patient approach to eating ensures you are sated.
Leave the Past Behind
Chances are your parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents rewarded you for good behavior.
Got an A on the test? Here’s a pizza.
Won the spelling bee? Enjoy this plate of brownies.
Cleaned your room? That calls for a couple pieces of cake, now doesn’t it?
Most parents and other guardians are guilty of using food as a reward because it is an effective behavior control method.
Starting today, do yourself a favor by leaving the past where it belongs – in the past.
Recognize the inherent flaw in using food as positive reinforcement for good behavior and you’ll close that chapter of life for good.
Now is the time for optimism and excitement.
You are finally becoming the empowered eater you were meant to be!
A Food Psychologist is Here to Help
Eating psychology is going mainstream. Though the psychology of eating was once taboo, it is now socially acceptable to discuss the topic in therapy sessions and elsewhere.
If you are interested in empowered eating, you deserve credit.
Your interest in personal empowerment shows self-worth. It also reveals the power of your open mind.
Schedule an Appointment
Contact our food psychologist for help. Our eating psychologist will analyze your unique psychology and develop a personally tailored strategy for food empowerment.
Give us a call today at 908-844-8547 to schedule an appointment.
