Don'T Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight

by Rujuta Diwekar

Guidelines Before eating: Switch off your phone, TV and computer. Wash your hands (use a soap). Serve yourself half of what you usually eat, on a nice, clean plate. Preferably adopt the crosslegged posture or sit at your usual dining place. While eating: Drink a glass of water. Start eating (preferably with your hands) and eat slowly. Chew your food slowly and deliberately. Use the entire mouth and don’t just chew from 1 side of your jaw. While you still have food in your mouth don’t pick up the food from your plate (Keeping food ready in your hands or on your spoon means you are eating fast and will ultimately overeat.) Eat with all your senses and think about how the food is nourishing you from within. Now if you want to eat some more, serve yourself a second helping from the other half that’s left. But don’t eat it all. After eating Don’t be in a rush to get up and get going. Stay where you are for a few minutes. If you’re clearing up yourself, pick up your plate and clean it with water before leaving it in the sink. (Food that dries up on the plate will sometimes stay on the plate even after washing, and can cause stomach discomfort at a later point.)