Mindful Eating

 Try our top tips on mindful eating:

• Sit down at a table to eat and allow enough time to relax over your meal
• Follow the 20+ rule at every meal so you are eating slowly
• Enjoy your food – savour every mouthful especially as portions will be smaller after surgery
• Try new foods, tastes and textures. Make the most of herbs and spices to really increase the flavour of your meals
• Put away your phone or iPad over meals so you can concentrate on what you are eating
• Don’t eat at your desk – make mealtimes an occasion even if it is just escaping to the staff room for a bit
• Get the family together for your main meal – don’t just sit in front of the TV or let the kids take their meals to their rooms. Make it a time to catch up and talk about everybody’s day

Avoiding future temptations: When you are trying to lose weight there are always going to be times when something tempts you, but the trick is not to let it tempt you to give up altogether. Even if you give into a particular temptation remember the bigger picture and keep going! Temptations can come from anywhere: -        Passing a bakery and smelling the freshly baked bread -        Seeing an advert on TV for a high calorie treat -        Someone buying you a box of chocolates -        Popping into the supermarket to get dinner and seeing the cakes laid out -        Passing McDonald drive through when you are feeling a it peckish -        Bobbing into the corner shop to get a bottle of water and picking up a chocolate bar -        Paying for your petrol and stocking up on crisps -        Buying treats for the kids but eating them on the way home -        Having too much alcohol which weakens your resolve These are just a few examples, but the list can be endless. You can’t avoid every different situation so it’s better to try and work out some coping strategies to help You could try the following: -        Don’t keep goodies in the house at all -        Buy in kids treats that you don’t like -        Stock up on healthier or lower calorie snacks so you have something ready if temptation strikes – chopped fruit salad, nuts, sugar free jelly pots, low calorie hot chocolate sachets Try and identify the main times or triggers that tempt you and work around them: -        Pay for your petrol at the pump -        Cut down on alcohol -        Ask for non – food-based gifts -        Take water with you -        Don’t go to the supermarket on the way home – plan your meals and have dinner already at home, defrosted and ready to cook -        If you can don’t carry money or your card with you all the time -        Allow yourself a fun sized choc bar when you see TV adverts for goodies -        Change your route through town if you need to so you aren’t passing that bakery you love or that sweet shop you often pop in to And remember – everybody is tempted, and everyone gives in sometimes – it doesn’t make you a failure or a bad person, it just makes you human 🩷Gastric Band Clinic 🩷Nic, Specialist Bariatric Nurse 🩷13+ years of experience supporting & adjusting bands for thousands of patients on their health & weight loss journey Check out my socials for plenty more hints & tips 👇🏻 @gastricbandclinic