Don’t be mistaken! Losing can be a good thing, especially when it comes to losing weight.

Did you know that conscious eating can result in healthy weight loss?

If you feel bloated, heavy, or sluggish after eating and switching to healthier foods is still not helping as you thought it would, it could benefit you to observe the way in which you eat.

Many nutritionists and health professionals are focused on simply what people eat. I am far more concerned with how people eat.

The job of our digestive system is to process food until it is liquified so that vital nutrients can be transported to our cells. If we are not chewing your food well, our gut has to work that much harder to break down our food.

Our teeth were made for chewing, and that’s just what they’ll do… Oh wait, sorry. Got carried away. But it’s true! When we use forks, we are literally shoveling food down our mouths. It’s easy to forget to chew when we eat while talking, walking, driving, or watching TV. Eating while stressed, angry, or bored can also cause us to forget to graze with awareness.

Swallowing whole chunks of food not only makes us tired due to an overburdened digestive tract, but it can also result in bloating, gas, inflammation, and weight gain.

All I can say is… SLOW DOWN. Chew. Breathe while chewing your food. Put your fork (or better yet chopsticks) down between bites. I practice eating with my non-dominant hand in order to eat slower and chew more. Do what you can.

Your digestion will improve when you chew your food well. Improved digestion is a precursor to healthy weight loss .

Oh, and a secret: When you chew your food well, the flavor begins to change. Healthy food tastes fantastic, and unhealthy processed food begins to disintegrate and taste like chemicals. Chewing can be like a teacher as to what is nourishing for our bodies and what foods should be avoided. How cool is that? And not only will you feel me empowered to know how to feed yourself properly, but many people claim they feel full while eating less food. Our bodies can signal satiety to our brains in a more balanced way when we chew our food and eat slowly.

Allow eating to be a meditation, and see what happens! You won’t know until you try. Bon appetit!