Uplift Feature: Have Peaceful Holidays with Mindful Eating
Holidays got you feeling busy and stressed?
Take it down a notch by finding some peace during meal time. Mindful eating optimizes digestion, reduces stress and tells your brain that you’re full.
To prepare your body for digestion you must be in a relaxed state – in the “rest and digest” mode of your nervous system. This allows blood and digestive enzymes and juices to flow into the digestive tract. It also stimulates nerves to create movement within the GI tract to allow food to move from the stomach and through the intestines. When you are stressed, in “fight or flight”, your nervous system is in another mode and all digestive functions stop.
Mindful Eating Facilitates:
- Communication between your brain/nervous system and digestive tract
- Better digestion and absorption of your nutrients
- Satiety to feel full longer leading to less snacking and sugar cravings later
- More even-balanced blood sugar
- Relaxation and calmness
- Better energy, focus and productivity within your day
Follow These Simple Steps to Eat Mindfully:
- SIT: Sit in a quiet, relaxing place to eat your meal.
- STOP: Do not multi-task while eating, such as answering emails, watching TV, working, walking around or driving.
- BREATHE: Take 3-5 deep breaths before eating – count to 5 during the inhale and exhale with a pause in between.
- PAUSE: Smell your food and notice its colors.
- THANK: Give gratitude for: your amazing body and its ability to use this food for fuel, the food and the farmers who grew it, or 1-2 positive things that happened today or that you’re looking forward to.
- CHEW: Eat slowly and chew your food – at least 10 chews with each bite. Put your fork down while chewing, and truly taste your food. Not only does this give you awareness of the flavors, chewing assists digestion since it stimulates digestive enzymes and eating slowly helps your stomach tell your brain when you’re full.
- PAUSE AGAIN: When you’re finished, before jumping up to your next task, pause for another 3-5 deep breaths. Then continue on with your day.
About Uplift: Uplift is a subscription box for a calm, happy and conscious life. Delivered monthly or one-time, the box is simple, beautiful and filled with products and resources for well-being and stress-reduction. Inside the box you’ll find 3-5 products like custom essential oil mists and herbal teas, along with a mini deck of cards with intentions, quotes, yoga and nutrition bits (nutrition tips courtesy of yours truly at Be Balanced Healing), artwork to color and journal prompts. These meant to be collected over time and used indefinitely to support a calm, happy and conscious life. Everything in the box is sourced responsibly, sustainably and locally from trusted small businesses. Every month the box has a wellbeing-related theme and a different philanthropic commitment. There are options for monthly or quarterly boxes, or you can give them one-time as a gift for yourself or someone else. These boxes make creative, thoughtful gifts – for yourself or someone else! Visit Uplift to learn more.
Disclaimer: Nutrition therapy is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or cure for any disease, or as a substitute for medical care. Jen Marshall and Stacy St Germain are not licensed medical providers. Nutrition plans are not intended as a substitution for traditional medical care, nor should be interpreted as medical advice, but instead is an adjunctive and supportive therapy.