When most people try to lose weight, they watch one number: the scale. But not all weight loss is...
Mindful Eating Strategies
By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center
Published: September 2, 2021
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During your medical weight loss program, it’s important to develop healthy eating habits. Mindful eating is a way of eating that involves complete awareness of your food and how you digest it. It can be a useful tool when it comes to digestion, portion control, losing weight and eliminating “mindless” eating. In fact, mindful eating can even enhance how enjoyable your meal is.
How to Practice Mindful Eating
When you aren’t mindful of the way you eat, you might end up eating more than you had planned, or eating too quickly. These are both bad habits to form when trying to lose weight. Having proper portion control as well as awareness of what and how you’re eating is how you become a mindful eater. Here are some ways to eat mindfully:
- Focus on every bite. Every time you take a bite, be aware of the food. Acknowledge its texture and flavor.
- Slow down. One of the more important aspects of mindful eating. Relax while you eat and take your time. Often, your stomach is full before you realize. By slowing down the pace of your meal, it gives your brain a chance to know when your body is full.
- Finish chewing. Don’t take another bite of food until you’ve finished chewing and swallowing the last bite.
- Don’t multitask when you eat. Distractions cause you to lose track of how much you eat. It’s easy to eat three times as many chips as you first planned if you’re mindlessly watching TV during lunch.
- Start small. Since you may be new to mindful eating, don’t create an unrealistic expectation for yourself. If you can be mindful of just one meal or snack every day, you’re already better off than you were before.
Benefits of Mindful Eating
Mindful eating has many benefits, and combined with healthy dieting and an active lifestyle, it’s an incredibly beneficial tool for working toward weight loss success. Some benefits of mindful eating include:
- Reduce the possibility of over-eating and feel satisfied with less food since you’re able to understand when you’re full sooner.
- Improve your digestion by slowing down your eating process.
- Enjoy your food more by embracing all aspects of its taste and texture, while savoring every bite.
Nick
Nick's Story
"I wish I would have come here first. We spend all our time reacting to the next great weight loss tip or program. It might work for a while, but does not last and we end up yo-yoing from one fad to the next – as we gain more weight." Read More
Gina
Lost 44.5 lbs
"I had no trouble adhering to the meals and they really helped catapult my progress! The classes were so beneficial to me because they helped change my thinking about how I viewed health, nutrition, and fitness.
I will always have my relationship with Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. They truly helped me change my life forever." Read More
Lauren
Lost 60 lbs
"Dr. Ziltzer and everyone who I have come in contact with at the Scottsdale Weight Loss office have been so encouraging and I look forward to seeing them each week. It is now a year and 2 months later since I started. I am down 60 lbs., which is the average amount a 9-year-old weighs, it is crazy to think I lost a whole person! I feel amazing, I hit my goal weight in November 2021 just before Thanksgiving. Nothing on my body hurts anymore..." Read More
Chuck
Lost 66 lbs
"The best thing I did was call the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. I have a lot more energy, I'm not hungry, and it feels great.
You can take it from me that this is a program that produces results. The staff is always positive, supportive, and never judgmental.
Your visits always result in positive reinforcement, no matter if you had a good week or a bad week." Read More
Emily
Lost 101 lbs
"Here I am at the lowest I have been since high school weighing in at 155lbs. I have lost 101 lbs, BMI of 39 when I started, to 21.6, and of course at body fat % of 47.1 to 26.5%. I told myself by my 30th birthday I wanted to be confident in the way I look and I owe it all to SWLC. The entire staff is so welcoming and they are rooting for you just as much as you are rooting for yourself...." Read More
Reviews
Meet Our Team
Robert Ziltzer, MD, FACP, FAAP, FOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Diana Bone, FNP-C
Specializing in Obesity Medicine
Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, MFOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Kristen Ash, FNP-C, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Alicia Earley, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
