there is no menu to follow mindful eating is about how and why you eat and less about what you eat when you are closely in touch with your eating you know the exact moment you are satisfied to understand why what when and how we eat we have to be compassionate and nonjudgmental this allows us to take a closer look at our behavioursays sveta bhassin mumbaibased dietician and nutrition consultant she adds a human brain consumes a lot of energy to do the daily mental activities this energy comes from carbohydrates in its simplest form glucose which is supplied by the food we eat or from the glycogen stored in our body glucose is also supplied from the proteins stored in the musclesmost of us give in to binge eating during stress in such situations stress hormones are released in our body which protect our organ systems from any kind of damage but create a phenomenal demand on the energy stores of our body this leads to a drop in the blood sugar level followed by a sudden craving to eat something that will give pleasure the socalled binge eating or sugar cravings or the sweet tooth getting active triggers off from this point is it possible to live a stressfree life no but busting out the illeffects of stress is possible yoga meditation and deep breathing exercises balance the stress hormones cortisols eating small frequent meals which are full of good quality proteins and carbohydrates ensure a constant flow of sugar to the brain and minimise drop in the blood sugar levels if you eat in haste while standing watching tv chatting on the internet or mentally preoccupied with something you reduce the satiety value of food the colour texture flavour taste and appearance of foods can impart a sense of satisfaction and contentment even a simple yet balanced meal gives the pleasure of the most exoticlooking food laid out the scientific knowledge of different nutrients and their functions is also important this awareness makes you involved in your eating habits get the most from your mealeat slowly learn to savour your food you may have skipped your meals earlier but no more regular meals are a must big isnt necessarily better when it comes to portion sizes smaller meals eaten through the day are better than three large meals neither stuff nor starve eat slowly allowing your stomach to signal when its had enough eat more during the day and less at night to compensate for the drop in metabolism fatfree isnt necessarily healthy it will still get stored as fat if you overeat its okay to indulge sometimes a piece of cake a scoop of icecream will make you a happy person inputs by namita jain mumbaibased clinical wellness expert