Nutrition
A Simple Guide to Mindful Eating by CLAIRE CARLTON, MS, RD, LD/N
Happy New Year! January brings a lot of well-intentioned goal setting for all areas of life. I especially love that the New Year can represent a clean slate and pave the way for healthy habits. It can be tempting to fall into the trap of starting yet another fad diet, detox or cleanse, but I’m hoping to introduce you to a new approach. Out are the days of counting every calorie. Instead, welcome a new attitude toward food by tuning in to your body and listening to its internal wisdom! 28
wellness360 | JAN/FEB 2017
Mindfulness is a practice that involves paying attention to both emotional and physical states as well as the environment around you. When applied to eating, mindfulness can be an effective method of managing chronic disease and promoting weight loss or management. The application of mindfulness to eating emphasizes the non-judgment of food choices; there’s no need to label foods as “good” or “bad.” In other words, we are not attaching morals to our food choices. This approach can also be referred to as intuitive eating. To practice mindful or intuitive eating, it is important to consider the internal and external cues that influence what, when and how much we eat. Think about a strict fad diet and the rules associated with adhering to it.