Chewing on wellness: MINDFUL EATING

We do eat while driving, or munch on junk food while watching TV or sipping latte while reading the paper, or while reading this post here...Ah, do we know that to eat in this manner is eating abundantly because we tend to tune in to our body's hunger and satiety signals by tuning out distractions...."When you're distracted, you end up eating more," says Brian Wansink, PhD, author of the book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think an eye-opener - and appetite-buster - of an instructional book.

WELLNESS PICKS did the rounds and picked bits of wisdom such as "serious chewing". But really, here are ways to bring mindfulness to our meals:

START WITH A BLESSING OR INSTRUCTION. Simply getting conscious about the fact that we are eating with the intent to enjoy the meal and nourish our body gives our brain and biochemistry a chance to ready themselves - and it gives us a chance to become fully present for the rest of our mindful-eating experience.

SHARPEN SATIETY SIGNALS. Before and a few times during each meal, ask: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how hungry am I?" See if we can stop eating when we feel satisfied, not stuffed.

TUNE IN TO OUR SENSES. Really look out and smell our food before we taste it, strive to fully experience each bite, and track the sensations as our satisfaction rises and then plateaus - a sign that our hunger is subsiding and our body is signalling "enough."

SLOW DOWN. Put our fork and knife down between bites and chew each bit of food a little longer. Wansink's research reports that Slender people chew their food 30% more than overweight people. True enough, we are likely to get more flavour and, therefore, more pleasure from less food. So, consider serious chewing.

BE AWARE OF OTHER PEOPLE'S INFLUENCE. We tend to mimic the speed at which our tablemates eat (as well as how plenty they eat). The book says, "When eating in a group, be the last person to start eating and then pace yourself with the slowest eater - and the best chewer - at the table."