Your mindset is how you think about things, how you process different emotions, and what your thought process is like. Everyone has their own mindset, which is often influenced by a myriad of different things. With mindful eating, you want to develop a certain type of awareness in your mindset, but also a lot of positivity and acceptance.
Slow Down and Enjoy the Moment
To shift your mindset about eating and food in general, just slow down and enjoy it! This is truly one of the best things you can do. When you think about food as something to not enjoy, suffer through, or be completely mindless about, that will always be how you think about it. But when you can slow down, enjoy and savor every bite, and be more mindful, your mindset will change dramatically.
Take Away All Judgment or Guilt
You should not experience guilt, shame, or judgment about what you choose to eat or how much you eat during each meal. This is probably a result of past diets you have been on, comments you have had about your body or eating choices, or even what you have heard people say to others about what they can and can’t eat. But the truth is, there is room for any food in your life, as long as you don’t have an allergy or aversion to it.
By understanding that all food is allowed and removing that guilt, you start working on having a more positive and accepting mindset with food.
Flip Every Negative Thought Into an Accepting One
It may not be possible to always turn a negative thought into a positive one, but with mindfulness, you can get to a place of acceptance. It is unrealistic to think your mindset and thought process is going to be 100% positive and uplifting all the time. But what you can do is start flipping those overly negative and judgmental thoughts and instead just accept what is. This is a big part of mindfulness, as you just accept the current moment and where you are right now.
Take a Deep Breath Before Practicing Mindfulness
Breathing techniques are often used with mindfulness because they help to center and ground you. All this takes is spending a few minutes before you start eating to take deep breaths, and focus on your breathing. It is a good way to get into the practice of mindfulness and can help you clear your mind and go into your meal with the right mindset.