Mindful Eating | A 2017 Health Trend for Brides-to-Be

The 2017 wedding season kicks off in April. If you are a bride-to-be you may be trying to get in shape for the biggest day of your life. If you’re like most modern brides, juggling responsibilities at work and home, dieting can be a challenge. There is a trending health topic right now that will help: Mindful eating.

Mindful eating is defined as hearing what our body is telling us about hunger and satisfaction. The design is to make us aware of who in the body/heart/mind complex is hungry. They find out how is best to nourish it. Mindful eating is natural, interesting, fun, and cheap. Due to a trend in mindfulness, bringing this philosophy into food and eating is an increasing trend worldwide.

Brides Magazine interviewed Nikki Ostrower, nutritionist and founder of NAO Nutrition, on 2017 health trends to help brides-to-be. One of these trends was mindful eating. About mindful eating, she said, “When we’re stressed out, we tend to eat really fast or we skip meals and it affects our blood sugar…if we’re [mindfully] eating, digestion is going to be seamless.”

Harvard Health Review says, “A small yet growing body of research suggests that a slower, more thoughtful way of eating could help with weight problems and maybe steer some people away from processed food and unhealthy choices.” Another reason to take a moment and appreciate your food before eating it. (also see this post on emotional eating)

So how can brides initiate the practice of mindful eating? Summer Tomato gives us 9 Simple Tricks To Eat More Mindfully and they include:

1. Chew 25 times
2. Feed yourself with your non-dominant hand
3. Eat everything with chopsticks for a week
4. Put your fork down between each bite
5. Take your first bite with your eyes closed
6. Try to identify every ingredient in your meal
7. Put your food on a plate
8. Sit at a table
9. Eat in silence

In terms of the tricks presented by Summer Tomato, it should be noted that they recommend you put snacks like nuts and dried fruits on a plate. They explain that eating out of a bag makes it difficult to judge how much you are actually eating. Portion sizes are more apparent when the presentation is open on a plate.

If your wedding is planned for this season and you haven’t yet embarked on a diet plan, consider easing into it with mindful eating. Remember, mindful eating involves practices that help you make healthier food choices. Therefore, raw and unprocessed foods, like nuts are great substitutions for unhealthy snacks like potato chips and candy. You can access a variety of nuts for sale in bulk here at Wholesale Nuts and Dried Fruit. Make a quick jump to shop now at this link.

Good luck and happy nuptials!