Diet Archives - Evidence Based Cleansing

July 10, 2020January 16, 2021

Keto Cleanse: 30 Days of Healthy Detox with Natural Whole Foods

Keto Cleanse
Detox Research:
CleanseJoy
Editorial Team

Are you looking to lose weight without being hungry all the time? Or, do you find that eating carbs make you feel sluggish, tired or cause “brain fog”?

The keto cleanse program below is a healthy evolution of the popular ketogenic diet.

Unlike many fad diets and detox plans that don’t have a lot of evidence, there is actually a lot of science and data on the benefits of the keto diet. With that said, it is important to know that the keto diet has side effects too. And, just like any popular diet that goes viral on the internet, there are many misconceptions and poor advice.

So, in this keto detox guide, we focused on the key practical keto diet guidelines that have proven to help many. You will also find common mistakes to avoid, and some of the early warning signs to watch for.

We hope this guide will help you enjoy the many benefits of the keto cleanse, enjoy eating tasty meals that you love, and achieve your health and wellness goals.

What is the keto cleanse?

Plan overview, story in nutshell

With the keto cleanse diet, you restrict your carbs and replace them with healthy fats. After a few days, your body carbs storage (glycogen) becomes low, to a point your body has no other choice but to use fats for energy instead of sugars.

Once your body and brain adapts to using fats for fuel rather than sugars, the sugar rollercoaster is gone. To many people, this means freedom.
In particular, some of the related benefits may include:

Less hunger compared to high carb diets.
More sustained consistent energy. Including, better brain function.
And, when you don’t consume extra calories, there’s often a significant weight loss. With much less effort.

Perhaps a key difference between the keto cleanse to many typical keto diets, is that the keto cleanse focuses on healthy food options, that can help to:

Support the body’s natural detox systems and organs of elimination. Thus, promore natural and gentle detoxification.
Promote gut health and digestion.

A typical plan duration is 30 days, but you can continue further if you like how you feel.

Keto cleanse diet

In the keto cleanse diet, you focus on healthy whole foods. Not pills and powders. At the same time, you avoid unhealthy foods that can cause inflammation and irritate your gut. Unfortunately, a lot of these inflammatory foods are still common in a typical keto diet eating. Like we said, the keto cleanse is a healthy evolution.

Keep in mind, there is no one diet that works best for everyone. The guidelines we provide in this guide, however, are an excellent start. Use them to tailor the best plan, foods and meals according to your body needs and personal preferences.

Also, a useful online tool to calculate macros, vitamins, and minerals in foods: cronometer.com

Foods to eat on the keto cleanse

See below the list of foods, categorized by: carbs, protein, fats, fiber, spices, and superfoods. On that note, while variation is important, you do not need to eat all of these foods, of course. Find your staples and most importantly, enjoy your meals eating the foods you love.

Carbs on the keto cleanse, how low do you need to go?

Restricting carbs on a keto detox is essential, since too many carbs that convert to sugar can prevent your body from getting into ketosis.

On the other hand, you still want to include whole greens and non-starchy vegetables, so you get enough phytonutrients and fiber (see below) to support digestion and your gut health.

Additionally, greens provide essential minerals and electrolytes that can help prevent muscle cramps many people experience during keto.

But, when it comes to carbs on keto, how low do you actually need to go?

While the amount may vary from one person to another, a good starting point for most people is 50 grams of net carbs a day. To calculate net carbs, take the total grams of carbs and subtract the grams of fiber. These are the carbs that your body can fully digest and convert to sugars.

For the keto cleanse, your carb sources should come from:

Leafy greens. (Eat as much as you desire)
Good examples include romaine lettuce, spinach, etc.
Cruciferous vegetables. (Eat generous amounts, but count the net carbs)
These veggies which include broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale are known to support detoxification in the body.^[1]
You can have them raw, or lightly steamed.
Other non-starchy vegetables that are low in carbs but very high in valuable nutrients include asparagus, celery, and some mushrooms.
Green sprouts & microgreens. (Eat generous amounts, but count the net carbs)
In particular, broccoli sprouts, but also sunflower sprouts, pea shoots and other microgreens have much more phytonutrients compared to the mature plant, and at the same time, are lower in carbs. For example, broccoli sprouts have 10-100 times the amount of cancer-fighting compounds compared to regular broccoli.^[2]
Fruits like veggies such as zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes are a little higher in net carbs compared to greens, but still adds a lot of essential nutrients and flavor to the diet. So, if you like these, eat good amounts, just count the net carbs.
Raw nuts and seeds make the perfect keto snacks, or can turn a simple salad into a perfect keto meal. Nuts and seeds are high in healthy fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, and fiber, but they also include some net carbs, which you need to count. See more on nuts and seeds in the protein section below.

Enjoy fiber’s detox power for your keto detox

So many keto diets restrict fiber which can cause constipation and digestive issues. Fiber, however, (from whole foods, not powders) should always be an important part of almost any diet. (Unless there’s a specific health concern).

In addition to its critical role in supporting gut health and digestion, fiber is a powerful natural detoxifier. Studies have shown that fiber can bind to certain toxins in the gut and at the same time, promote healthy bowel movements that help the body eliminate these toxins.

Simply put, fiber is one of the best natural ingredients you can use to detox your body!

The exact amount of fiber intake can vary from one person to another.
30 grams for men and 25 grams for women is a great place to start.

To easily bring your fiber intake up, on a keto diet:

One medium avocado (13 grams fiber, but only 3.7 grams of net carb)
1 oz of chia seeds soaked in water. (10 grams fiber, but only 2.2 grams of net carbs)

Healthy fats

Eat enough fats, but, choose healthy options.

Early keto diets didn’t pay much attention to the type and quality of fats. That was a long time ago, though, and the research has evolved quite a bit since then. For example, we now know that unprocessed red meat can increase the risk of stroke, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.^[3]

So, it is absolutely essential to focus on healthy fats as a part of your keto cleanse.

Good options of healthy fats include:

Avocados, a true staple in the keto cleanse.
Fresh raw unroasted unsalted nuts and seeds such as macadamia nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflowers seeds, hemp hearts.
Oils and plant based butters: such as raw coconut oil, coconut butter, cold pressed olive oil. For cooking, use coconut oil, as it is much more stable in heat.
Unprocessed meat from 100% grass fed beef or bison.
Wild caught small fatty fish such as wild Alaskan salmon. Limit fish to 2-3 times a week to minimize mercury exposure, though.
Olives. Watch the added ingredients.

Natural unprocessed proteins

Low-moderate amount from high quality sources.

Choose your animal proteins wisely

Commercial meat and farm raised fish are usually fed with a diet they are not supposed to eat. Fish or cows, for example, are not supposed to eat grains or soy! Not to mention antibiotics, GMOs, hormones and other toxic substances that are often used to make the animals grow faster or survive their horrible growing conditions.

The result: highly toxic meat products humans or in fact no other beings should consume. Never. Seriously, the research data on the toxins found in these animal products is unbelievable.

Good sources of animal proteins for the keto cleanse include:

Unprocessed meat from grass fed beef or bison, pasture-raised free-range chickens or turkey, and wild caught small fish, such as Alaskan salmon. As we mentioned above, limit fish to 2-3 times a week to minimize mercury exposure.
Pasture-raised free-range eggs. Eat the entire egg. The egg yolk is a powerhouse of many vitamins and minerals.^[4]

Certain raw nuts and seeds are also high in protein (in addition to the healthy fats). In particular:

Raw pumpkin seeds (2 oz, 18 grams, 4.7 grams net carbs )
Raw sunflower seeds (2 oz, 12 grams, 6.5 grams net carbs )
Hemp seeds (2 oz, 18 grams protein, 3 grams net carbs )
Fresh unroasted unsalted almonds (2 oz, 12 grams, 5 grams net carbs)

Eat enough protein

Since the body can convert protein to glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis, some versions of the keto diet restrict proteins to 10% of the total calories.

For most people, however, this may be too low. You still need enough protein to support healing and repair. As a rule of thumb, 0.6 grams protein per pound of body weight is a good starting point for most people. For example, 120 grams of protein for a 200 pounds male, and 90 grams for a 150 pounds female. Athletes and active people, however, may need more.

Algae: Chlorophyll, detox and nutrients

Looking for a natural whole food that is packed with nutrients but have almost no carbs?

Edible algae, despite not being a staple in the western diet, is one of the most potent source of nutrients, vitamins and minerals mother nature has to offer. And, at the same time, has almost zero net carbs.

E3Live® is the only us grown blue-green algae (Oregon), that has one of the highest natural chlorophyll content among all algae and plants. Chlorophyll, the green pigment found in plants, is well known for its blood detoxification, odor control, wound healing, gut health, and immune system support. Even more, due to its superior nutritional profile with unique nutrients we rarely get from the western diet, E3Live® can help support multiple body systems.

E3Live® is also the only algae in north america that comes fresh. (It is frozen-liquid, not a powder). So, if you are lucky enough to live in a place where you can get E3Live®, all you need is 1-2 tbsp in the morning on an empty stomach.

If it is not available in your area, however, two great alternative you can try are spirulina and chlorella. Just make sure they come from a reputable source.

Spices & salts

Natural salt is important on the keto diet, in order to support initial sodium loss. Replace the standard heavily processed table salt, with natural options such as pink himalayan salt, as they contain additional trace minerals.
Natural spices such as ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and fresh garlic cloves (count the net carbs).
Raw unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. A great way to add nutrients to your drinking water and gently detox your body without worrying about net carbs. Apple cider vinegar also makes a wonderful salad dressing that is completely keto safe. Simply mix it with olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice. Even better, add 1-2 oz of hemp seeds, and pink himalayan salt, and you got yourself a yummy nutritious salad.

Keto cleanse recipes examples

When it comes to foods and recipes, everyone is different. This is not specific to the keto diet, of course. So, it is always best to experiment with the different foods, ingredients and amounts according to your own body needs and personal preferences.

With that said, the recipes below make a great starting point you can use to tailor the recipe to your own needs. If you find that you need to go lower than 50 grams of net carbs a day, you can still use these recipes. Just adjust the amounts or remove some of the veggies to reduce the total net carbs.

Noatmeal Detox Recipe. Low carb oatmeal alternative with flax seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, almond milk, coconut butter, spinach and broccoli.
Cauliflower Rice Detox Meal Recipe. A happy, healthy, tasty and super nutritious cleansing cauliflower rice. Ingredients: cauliflower, red onion, cayenne peppers, garlic, red bell peppers, carrots, scallions, hemp seeds, almonds, coconut oil, himalayan pink salt, chipotle chili powder, turmeric powder, and unfortified nutritional yeast.
Detox Healthy Guacamole Recipe. This recipe is delicious, super nutritious, and can help to naturally detox your body, support weight loss, promote healthy digestion, and even protect your heart. Above all, it will make you feel full, satisfied, happy and energized. Ingredients: avocados, jalapeño chili peppers, tomato, red onion, cilantro, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, lime juice, himalayan pink salt, carrots, and celery.
Low Carb Chocolate Mousse Detox Recipe. A tasty healthy way to boost energy and mood, reduce inflammation, and promote gut health.
Ingredients: almond milk, chia seeds, hemp seeds, hazelnuts, cacao powder, coconut butter, stevia, monk fruit, cinnamon powder, vanilla extract, and himalayan pink salt.

Foods to Avoid on the keto detox

Processed or commercial meat, farm raised fish.
Processed foods and refined sugars.
High or medium carbs. In addition to the obvious bread, paste, rice, wheat, etc. initially, you may also want to limit sugary fruits and root vegetables such as carrots and beets. Keep in mind, many people can eat small amounts of berries or root vegetables and maintain ketosis. So, once you get used to the diet and see progress, you can include small amounts and see how you feel.
Inflammatory foods. In particular: dairy.
Most people can’t tolerate dairy, which can cause digestive issues, inflammation and impair the body’s detox systems. Furthermore, dairy products often contain toxins and chemicals that pass from the cows.
Beans & legumes are also high in carbs.

Keto cleanse supplements

Similarly to the weight loss industry, the keto scene has become a fertile ground for many products, pills and powders. Do you really need any of these? Some may help in the transition, others are completely useless.

Keep in mind, a keto diet on its own takes advantage of the body’s natural ability to use fat for energy. So, from a weight loss/fat burning perspective, you are already covered. Just do the diet right, and let your body do the rest.

With that said, some supplements can help with the transition to the keto cleanse:

Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) , from coconuts

May help with: energy

Due to their chemical structure, the body can utilize MCTs faster than other oils. In fact, studies have found that MCT oils can help improve time to ketosis and the tolerability of the diet.^[5]

MCTs side effects include digestive issues, in particular diarrhea and gas. So, if you consider using MCTs, start with ¼ teaspoon a day.

Another option is to use coconut oil or coconut butter which are naturally high in MCTs. Coconut butter is a really great option because it also has the fiber and minerals from the coconut meat. Not just the MCTs.

If you like coffee, MCTs, coconut oil and coconut butter are great options you can add to your morning (black) coffee. With coconut butter, however, it is best to use a blender.

The bottom line: MCTs can help with energy in the first week or so, but, they are not always necessary. Keep in mind, the keto diet most basic and core function is to support consistent energy levels from your own body fat and the foods you eat. Not from supplements.

Digestive enzymes

May help prevent digestive issues and transition to the new diet.

Hands down, the biggest complaints and side effects people report while on a keto diet, are digestive problems and constipation.

Just like any diet, it can take time for the body to get used to new foods. But, specifically to the keto diet, the high amount of fats, and at the same time, the restriction of bulky carbs that help to promote bowel movements, can cause digestive issue.

Taking a digestive enzymes complex with your meals, can help your body to better digest your foods. For the keto cleanse (and in fact, all our gut health protocols), we use VeganZyme.

With a total of 20 plant based digestive and systemic enzymes, it can support the digestion of fats, animal proteins, nuts, seeds, plants and greens. The addition of the systemic enzymes supports the body’s ability to break down allergens, excess yeast, candida, mucus and other toxins.

Also, to optimize gut health, make sure you take a clean source of plant based probiotics. Especially, if you have a history of digestive issues.
In our gut health protocols, we use Floratrex.

Electrolytes & minerals

Due to initial water loss

Due to the low insulin levels, you may experience water loss in the early phase of the keto diet. This often includes loss of electrolytes such as sodium and potassium leading to muscles cramps, and weakness.^[6]

For these concerns, taking electrolytes and some key minerals (especially magnesium and zinc) is a very reasonable strategy to avoid deficiencies.
If you consider taking electrolytes, make sure to check the sugar content.

Mitochondria support

May help support mitochondria function. In particular, if you are over 40.

Also known as the battery of the cell, mitochondria produce cellular energy. Simply put, they “power” almost every cellular activity in the body.

Here’s the exciting part. Studies have found that keto diet can actually improve mitochondrial function, with a very long list of potential benefits, due to the critical role mitochondria play in our health.^[7]

Since mitochondria function naturally decline as we age^[8], a practical anti-aging and longevity strategy that may help to take advantage of these benefits, is to support your mitochondria health with certain nutrients.

Dr. Group’s COQ10 & PQQ is an excellent natural mitochondria booster option, that based on our experience, can make a significant change in people over 40. The formula combines two of the most potent clinically studied patented mitochondria boosters, Kaneka Q10® Ubiquinone, and BioPQQ®. PrimaVie® organic purified shilajit was added to enhance the absorption of CoQ10 and BioPQQ. As all Dr. Group line of supplements, there are no artificial fillers or binders.

Manage “keto flu” side effects

If you already started a typical keto diet and experience side effects, below are some of the most common symptoms, and natural home remedies you can do that may help.

Mind-mood imbalances: irritability, poor concentration, feeling down, and headaches

BrainOn is a wonderful natural green blue algae extract that is high in two natural components that can help in these situations:

Phenylethylamine (PEA).
Helps regulate dopamine and support mood, focus, and brain function.
Phycocyanin.
The blue pigment in blue-green algae, may help with inflammation, pain, headaches and migraines.

Take 1 scoop of BrainOn in the morning and when needed, up to 2-3 times a day.

Difficulty sleeping

To promote restful sleep, take 1 dropperful of valerian extract before bedtime. Multiple studies found valerian as an effective natural alternative that can safely help improve sleep quality and relieve anxiety.^[9,10]

Constipation

Oxy-powder (ozonated magnesium oxides) uses natural oxygen in the colon to loosen accumulated waste buildup. The body then can easily release these with the stool. It’s a very effective and safe home remedy for occasional constipation that also cleanses your entire digestive tract.

Start by taking 4 capsules at night with a 16 ounces distilled or spring water on an empty stomach. (At least two hours after your last meal).
Expect the next day to have 3-5 bowel movements. Since your body will get rid of a lot of waste buildup, it is best to stay home that day.

Generally speaking, when it comes to constipation prevention, it is important to drink enough liquids, and meet your daily fiber needs.

Digestive issues

For other digestive issues such as excess gas, bloating, and stomach pain, possible things to check/do:

Are you still eating processed foods? “Keto friendly” doesn’t mean “gut friendly”. For example, artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols are known to cause digestive issues.
Perhaps you are sensitive to raw veggies such as cruciferous vegetables?
As we mentioned, in the initial phase of the diet, it is helpful to support your digestion with enzymes. Take 2-3 capsules of VeganZyme with your meals.

Other symptoms of keto diet (usually during the first week) may include:

Muscle cramps and muscle soreness. These are usually due to loss of electrolytes. Consider taking an electrolytes supplement, and increase consumption of leafy greens.
Weakness, low energy
Sugar cravings
Nausea
Dizziness

Is it possible to avoid keto detox side effects?

Despite what you may have heard, it is possible to minimize and even prevent the keto flu. One of the best ways to do so, is to ease yourself into the diet. Especially, if you are used to eating high carb diet or a diet that is high in processed foods. Here are a few tips that may help:

Clean up your diet from all junk and processed foods. This can be done instantly. Replace with the healthy options from the keto cleanse diet menu.
Avoid all refined carbs. Instead, eat natural healthy whole foods. For example, replace white bread or white pasta with quinoa and steamed veggies, or one baked sweet potato.
Cut down all sugary beverages. If you eat a lot of sugars, you may want to follow our sugar cleanse. Sugar additions are real, and can be hard to deal with.
Slowly reduce your carb intake and replace with the options from the keto cleanse diet menu.

October 19, 2019October 28, 2019

Mindful Eating For Beginners: The Mind Body Diet Connection

Casey Rollins
Health & Wellness Author
Master of Education (M.Ed.)

You just got a solid eight hours of sleep; you love your new morning routine with your warm coffee and new ceramic mug, and the weather has finally cooled down to your favorite fall temperature and you can start the fireplace, yes!

Do you ever feel like you’re 100% in the flow of life?

Everything feels a lot lighter because your patterns of behavior are much more habitual. You feel like you’re eating well, you’re getting more steps and/or exercise than usual, your performance at work is at an all-time peak, you’re drinking more water, you’re tasking more efficiently, and you’re generally being more productive and leading a healthier life physically, emotionally, and spiritually. How great does it feel to YOU when you feel like you’re genuinely “firing on all cylinders” as I like to call it?

Cue Paramore’s, “Ain’t it fun, living in the real world?”

Are You Acting On Life, or Is It Acting On You?

Life tends to mirror a tennis match. Sometimes the ball is in your court, and sometimes it’s not; but you must remain mindful that it’s essential to make proactive choices day in and day out, keeping your list of short term and long-term goals close by, to ensure the ball bounces back in your court in time for you to act.

We can also observe a pendulum and make a lot of analogies about the habits (both healthy and unhealthy) that are ingrained in our brains, and our perspectives about resiliency and will.

We all know what the flipside to feeling on top of the world feels like. What goes up must come down, right? Sigh. This doesn’t have to be a dismal metaphor though. Really, our interpretation about different situations carries the weight. If you are willing to let the pendulum swing in its natural essence, your anxiety associated with being on the less desired side is less likely to spike.

About Stress, Eating & The Autopilot Mode

Habits are defined in psychology as, “actions that are triggered automatically in response to contextual cues that have been associated with their performance”.

You exercise habitual behaviors all the time including; washing your hands before eating, washing your body after your hair, putting on your seatbelt before you start your car, etc. All of these habits allow your brain more mental space for other larger events because of the automation of common tasks.

When life gets more chaotic than usual, work starts to pile up on your desk, you add something to your morning routine, but don’t account for the additional time, and now you’re running late to work, we start to feel stressed and crunched on time.

Stress and time management generally run together, as we often over schedule ourselves and under prioritize our most important tasks, which leads us to run on autopilot and pushes our brains into survival mode.

How Autopilot Mode Affects Our Eating

Let me set the stage for you…

You’re in your classroom teaching all morning, your lesson plans are due during your only planning period, you have to go to the bathroom before your students come back, and you try to text your significant other back and make a call to make a dentist appointment, all before lunchtime strikes.

You have been stretched thin all week and haven’t had the chance to grocery shop or even wash your hair the last several days, so you resort again to going through the drive thru and ordering the easiest and quickest thing to consume, a burger and fries.

Your inner self talk is negative and you internally have regret that you should be eating a salad and vegetables, and MUCH less carbs and fried foods but… YOU ARE STARVING AND DON’T HAVE TIME to go down this rabbit hole right now.

You have students who are coming back from recess any moment. It’s go time, again! Sigh. You stuff as much food as you can in your mouth before whipping back into that school parking lot. You take a deep breath and prepare for the final push of the workday…”

Cue evidence based research on mindful eating and what it means to approach your nutrition in a more mindful and fully aware way.

Mindful Eating vs. Diet Trends

Mindful eating is a rather new approach and runs perpendicular to the diet craze that has consumed American society over the last several decades. Rather than depending on a “magical pill” or a cosmetic quick fix that allows you to binge on the same unhealthy foods you have been consuming, a wrap that tightens existing belly fat, or the increasingly popular method of cryotherapy, which drops your bodies temperature in order to speed up metabolism and make the body work harder to keep warm, mindful eating focuses on intentionality.

The difference between mindful eating and other diet and exercise plans is that it is not about rules or guidelines, as many think when they hear the term in conversation. Rather, it is about the individual experience that each person has with his or her complex relationships with food. No one has the same cravings, aversions, allergies, or recipes with the same foods, which creates for a vast amount of literature in the nutrition realm.

Mindful Eating Exercise

The idea to have mindfulness is for people to have their own experiences with food and to be fully present while having them. To slow our brains down in order to be effective in this approach it’s important to focus on all five of our senses while eating: taste, touch, smell, sound, and sight. A famous raisin experiment illustrates this here, under “Practicing Mindful Eating”.

What does your food look like?
What do you anticipate it’s going to taste like?
Does it smell like it looks? Does the smell urge you to keep eating, or does it turn you off?
When you chew your food, what does it sound like? Is it crunchy? Is it soft enough you don’t even have to chew?

Developing mindfulness in different arenas in your life can be strengthened through daily meditations (using moment-to-moment awareness), yoga, body scanning, noticing your breathing patterns during your day to develop a higher level of awareness of self, and practicing mindful eating several times a week.

What is Mindful Eating?

Mindful eating is process oriented, and requires changes in your typical eating behaviors. Those that have mastered mindful eating, throw conventional rules out the window and focus on what their body needs by listening inwards. Problems that mindful eating solves includes distracted overeating, emotional eating, stress eating, improper chewing, selection of unhealthy foods, binge eating, and much more.

Can Mindful Eating Help You Lose Weight?

If weight loss will assist you in living more fully, that is FINE; the problem arises when people get so preoccupied with the sole goal of losing weight (with no emphasis on muscle mass, healthy selection of different foods, eating patterns, etc.) that you lose sight of your intentions to lead a healthier lifestyle, which includes being more present and involved in your own life. You only have one life to live! We have to start making baby steps today in the direction you see your life and health going.

Mindful eating strives to take automaticity out of eating, and challenges you to look closer into the foods you eat.

What elements were required to grow your food?
Was there sun and soil involved, or did a factory genetically process the food you are consuming?

Mindful eating takes the pressure off of counting points, ordering shakes and pre-made meals, and erases the expectations of a particular outcome: i.e.: inches off your waist, hips, thighs, glutes, or pounds lost, new sizes of clothing, etc. It aims to strengthen your bond with eating in a more holistic way.

Developing Mindful Eating Habits Techniques

Some of the attitudes associated with mindful eating and living more consciously include:

Non-judging

Setting aside our previous experience with a food can be very challenging. Being aware of our judgments with different foods is a critical element of mindfulness.

Patience

Living in a fast paced society where our expectations for time management, family demands, and work pressures are at an all time high; patience is a virtue and mindful eating and living take a more understood approach to patience and what it means to be present and aware in the moment. Rather than throwing a handful of raisins, M&Ms, chips, etc. in your mouth; it’s about letting the experience unfold slowly, savoring each bite, rather than quickly trying to satisfy your hunger. It is easier to have more patience with fewer distractions. One of our biggest setbacks right now is having our phones in our hands or having the TV on, which creates a mind numbing sensation, causing you to be less aware of the situation at hand and cause us to eat more and to ingest more quickly

Beginner’s mind

Approaching food experiences like a baby or small child does, with awe and wonder, allows us to experience new and familiar foods in the here and now.

Trust

When we learn to trust our interactions with food and our choices, it becomes more enjoyable to eat foods when we are being mindful of our selections.

Non striving

This is the quality that differs the most from most diet minded approaches, where the main goal is to lose weight, count calories, or any other quantitative measure. There is no pressure or expected outcome when eating mindfully, although weight loss is typically experienced and weight is more likely to be kept off with a conscious change of behavior in the way we eat.

Acceptance

We must accept whatever comes up in the moment when we are practicing mindful eating. We have to be fully present and accept the colorful food that consumes are plates

Letting go

Letting go of the toxic relationships we have with unhealthy foods has to come from examining what the foods do for your overall well-being and letting go of foods that don’t make you feel better.

Tips to Help You in Your Journey Towards Mindful Eating

Before You Eat

Minimize Distractions

Put away your phone, your work, your book, any distraction that will allow for mindless eating patterns. Make sure that eating is the only thing you are doing.

Assess your emotions

Are you physically hungry or are you just bored and looking for something to fill the void in your time? Are you lonely? Are you looking towards food to satisfy another need you are having? Think about what you might need to help you and ensure that food is what your body, mind, and soul needs.

During Mindful Eating

Express gratitude to your food!

Appreciate the long process of what it took to grow the food you are about to consume, prepare it, and make it accessible for you to purchase. When we express gratitude for the things we have, we become more aware of the abundance around us.
Savor each bite and take the time to recognize all the sensations you get from eating or drinking a new food. Be descriptive with the language you use.
Use a timer and giving yourself breaks while eating. This allows your brain to catch up with your stomach and decide if you are still hungry. Ask yourself questions like, “Have I had enough?”, “Is it time to stop?”, or “Am I still hungry or are am I just eating as a time filler?”

When Not Eating

Keep up with your water consumption. You should strive to drink your weight divided by two in ounces of water.
Use a journal to assess your eating journey. Write down tips and tricks that helped you stay on track for the week and add to your journal daily.

Mindful Eating is Not About Perfection

Forgive yourself for slipping up and eating more or faster than you would have liked. Even if you fall off the train, have the audacity to get back on! One night of poor eating doesn’t mean you are back to square one. Thank yourself for your realization that you didn’t eat in the manner you would have liked to, and practice harder the next time.

You Are in Control of Your Relationship With Food

Mindfulness challenges you to be aware of your choices and controlling your own experiences. When it comes to mindfulness on all levels, you have to decide when you’re going to practice it and MAKE it happen!