Mindful eating hit the headlines recently with many experts crediting the practice as an easy way to lose weight without making huge changes to your diet.
The principles involve keeping a food diary, paying attention to your meals, eating slowly and always plating up food and enjoying it at the table.
Fans of mindful eating say that doing so will allow a greater understanding of hunger, satisfaction and fullness and prevent us from mindlessly grazing on calorific snacks.
But does paying attention to what you eat make a difference when it comes to weight loss? FEMAIL'S Joanne Gould ate mindfully for a week to see the results for herself.
The principles of mindful eating involve keeping a food diary, paying attention to your meals, eating slowly and always plating up food and enjoying it at the table FEMAIL'S Joanne Gould tried it to see the results for herself
Day One: Joanne tucked into some melba crackers with smoked salmon which I would probably normally have eaten straight from the pack
I’m healthy in general, but like most people, I’d like to lose a few pounds.
My weight fluctuates by about 7lbs regularly, and at the moment it’s the highest it’s been for a while thanks to a particularly sociable few months that have meant I’ve eaten and drank more than I should.
Having read about mindful eating, I’m definitely guilty of a few of the no-no’s: on a busy day I can demolish a supposedly healthy 200 calorie nut bar without even noticing, survive on black coffee and rarely make time for lunch.
So, I was looking forward to tuning into my hunger and seeing if I could shift a couple of pounds in the process
Here’s how I got on when I followed the mindful eating rules for a week
Day 1
Dinner on Day One was a roast haddock and harissa chickpea dish. Jo and her husband Rich enjoyed the dish more as a result of having it at the table
I don’t usually have breakfast in the week, so I don’t eat until lunchtime today when I tuck into some melba crackers with smoked salmon which I would probably normally have eaten straight from the pack, standing up.
Its nice to make it more of an event and I notice how good the salmon is this way. As I work from home, it’s a real struggle to tear myself away from my laptop and emails, but I do and eat the soup at my dining table with my laptop shut.
I’m busy and on deadline, so I don’t feel hungry for the rest of the day until my husband comes home and I make us a quick roast haddock and harissa chickpea dish.
He moans about not eating in front of the TV as one of our favourite programmes is on, but I think we enjoy the dish more as a result of having it at the table. It’s filling and feels healthy.
Day 2
A Nigella Lawson inspired ‘old rag pie’ - feta and filo - made for a hearty and delicious lunch
No breakfast again and my personal trainer comes over, so I’m starving once we’ve finished, but in a good way. Luckily I have quite a hearty lunch waiting for me in the form of a Nigella Lawson inspired ‘old rag pie’ - feta and filo – and I tuck into this greedily, ignoring the urge to scroll through my phone.
I can’t resist Instagramming it though and it’s kind of boring not having my phone or Twitter to entertain me through lunch when I’m eating alone.
Dinner is a healthy take on a chicken katsu curry. I put quite a lot of effort into making this and I’m gratified to be having it at the table - sometimes I feel like my husband doesn't really notice the time I've taken to make us a nice, healthy meal when he’s absorbed in the latest box set. Today though he remarks on how nice it is, which pleases me.
Day 3
Dinner on Day 3 is a healthy take on a chicken katsu curry which Jo put quite a lot of effort into making
It’s Friday today and after working hard all week, I treat my son and I to a coffee out and about. He has a gingerbread man and whilst I’ve never thought of myself as a snacker I realise how often I must normally nibble at some of his treats, but mindfully restrain myself on this occasion.
I have a sticky toffee latte instead -which is probably just as calorific anyway and I don’t even like it. I skip lunch as I’m not hungry after all that sugar and fat and I know I’m meeting friends for dinner and drinks later.
We have cocktails, wine and lots of meze dishes so it’s hard to keep track of portions, but I’m careful to avoid too much bread and serve myself small amounts whilst concentrating on enjoying each mouthful.
Day 4
Heading to a food festival on the fourth day, Joanne indulged in burgers (left) and wraps (right) which she shared with her husband and son
Joanne was looking forward to tuning into her hunger and seeing if she could shift a couple of pounds in the process
I have tickets for a food festival, so we skip breakfast knowing that there’s a day of grazing ahead.
Grazing isn’t really in line with the mindful eating ethos but I figure if I pay attention to what I’m ordering and eating then it’s still mindful.
I Instagram my food throughout the day as a way of keeping track and share everything with ,my husband and son, thus handily dividing the calorie content by two thirds.
We head to a pub afterwards and I order my little boy some hummus and flatbread for his dinner and have to stop myself munching away at some to go with my glass of wine even though I’m not hungry. I realise this is where I fall down a lot!
We have a late dinner of small venison steak with polenta and greens but really want to slump on the sofa with it.
I feel like maybe we eat this a bit faster to get back to the TV as we’re worn out from so much walking today.
Day 5
Eggs with ham, spinach and bearnaise sauce (left) and shop bought sushi (right) were some of the meals Joanne ate mindfully
For dinner Joanne cooked a big roast lamb leg and took care to fill her plate with lots of veg and eat slowly, savouring the meal
Sunday morning calls for a little treat breakfast of eggs with ham, spinach and béarnaise sauce, which we have at the table with lots of coffee and talk about our day.
My day involves lots of work - even on a weekend - so I settle down to my laptop for the day.
At lunchtime Rich brings me delicious sushi from a local Japanese shop. He didn’t know which I’d prefer so brings me two kinds - if I was eating this whilst typing as I normally do I know I’d have polished off the lot, but putting it onto a plate and stopping work makes me realise how large the portion would be and I feel fuller sooner, saving half for lunch the next day.
For dinner I cook a big roast lamb leg and take care to fill my plate with lots of veg and eat slowly, savouring the meal.
Despite having a desk I never use it and sit at the dining table with my laptop all day, so it doesn't feel like much of a break having dinner there - a change of scene on the sofa would have been welcome.
Day 6
A big challenge was when Joanne had to test eight different cakes for a story she was working on
Stuffed from all the cake-testing, Joanne served herself a tiny portion of chicken tagine and salad for dinner
No breakfast. I've got my leftover sushi for lunch and I’m grateful of a small portion as my day today consists of trying eight different cakes for an article I'm working on.
Still with my mindful eating hat on I cut the smallest slice of each I can manage, plate them and take teeny bites of each, just enough to be able to judge them all! I’m absolutely stuffed by the end and even by dinner time I’m not hungry, so serve myself a child-size portion of chicken tagine and salad.
Day 7
She found that mindful eating made her think about food more. Pictured, a spicy scrambled egg on top of a thepla, a kind of Indian flatbread, for breakfast
On the final day of the challenge, Joanne lunched on a bowl of watercress soup
Weirdly I think knowing I’m doing this mindful eating challenge has made me think about food more, and today I fancy breakfast so I have spicy scrambled egg on top of a thepla (a kind of Indian flatbread) at the kitchen table even though I have stacks of work to do.
I notice that I use food as a kind of crutch so when I’m bored or have writers block or something the first thing I do is go and look in the fridge - but this week has meant I’ve not actually taken anything out to eat!
I wait until lunchtime and have a bowl of watercress soup, which isn’t what I want at all, but is the quickest ‘meal’ I can find.
That evening I have to cook a mini roast dinner for a feature, so we have the leftovers of this for dinner at the table and it feels very indulgent for a Tuesday night - I don’t feel any thinner, that’s for sure.
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