As the weather turns chilly, it’s easy to cosy up with a heavy meal and an irresistible pudding. But what we eat translates to our skin, painting a picture of our internal health. Did you know that your skin cells rejuvenate every two to four weeks1? Yep, you might literally be made out of donuts if you’ve had a few at the office lately.
Although it’s necessary to take care of our skin from the outside, it’s equally important to care for our skin from the inside. Eating a balanced diet of whole, fresh, clean, and seasonal foods is the first step if you want a radiant and healthy complexion (Eat this for glowing skin). It’s not rocket science, but it can be hard to do. Very hard. Very, very, very hard. If you hate spinach and kale smoothies, don’t despair! Research from Oxford University has shown we may be able to use mind tricks to help us eat healthier and smarter1.
Mind tricks? I know what you’re thinking, but you don’t need a Jedi membership card to get this working for you. It’s called Mindful Eating, and there are four ways to use The Force.
How to trick your mind into eating smarter
#1 Sensual Eating Mind Hack
Eat using all your senses, taking the time to gaze upon, smell, and savour your food. Notch this up by giving your produce a good squeeze as you prepare it in the kitchen. This helps you connect with and appreciate your food, it also slows down your eating speed so that you eat less. Lingerie optional 😉
#2 Conscious Eating Mind Hack
Quit eating in front of your TV/smart phone. Studies show we can eat up to 25% more when we’re not paying attention2. Did you know it takes your brain 20 minutes to start sending out “I’m full” signal? Distraction-eating causes us to eat faster, so we end up eating far more before our brains can give us the signal. That’s a lot of cake-eating time!
#3 Learn-A-New-Skill Eating Mind Hack
Eat with chopsticks or your non-dominant hand. This works by making it hard to eat your food. Eventually you feel full because you’ve taken ages to get the carrots in your mouth. Hmmm… we prefer the chew-your-food method. Just chew each mouthful 40-50 times before swallowing. This should result in fewer fork-to-eyeball casualties.
#4 Squirrel! Eating Mind Hack
Distract yourself before habitual cravings hit. Brush your teeth at 8pm, when you’d normally sit on the sofa with some snacks and watch TV. Give your best mate a call during your 4pm tea break instead of having a bag of crisps, a fizzy pop, and a cookie. If you do this enough, you’ll get better at resisting when temptation calls.
(1) Does your body really replace itself every seven years?
(2) Distracted eating may add to weight gain
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