This is the week of learning how to get the most out of food and eating experience. The more satisfied we are, the more likely we will be able to stop when reaching fullness. I’ve collected 10 tips for you.

1.  Learn to trust your gut feel. Ask yourself what you really feel like eating, and then eat that. We might be used to think in terms of what we should eat. This habit might be very strong, so learning to trust your intuition is important – as your body will intuitively know what it needs and will try to let you know. Try to connect to this inner craving. Practice this process of food choosing, and you’ll get very good at it. Learn to trust your body's wisdom. It's important that you've made peace with food to really enjoy eating what you feel like. 

2. Learn to think outside of the box and vary. I noticed that I tend to go back to things I know work well, and eat foods that made me satisfied in the past. But wearing only your favourite shoes all the time will make them lose their appeal sooner. I use an RSS feed from Jamie Oliver’s daily recipe and I’m often inspired by it (I add it to the iGoogle that I use as a home page in my browser, so I see this every time I open my browser). If someone else is cooking for you, they may be out of ideas themselves and appreciate the new input.

3.  Take the time to prepare your food.  Use fresh, colorful ingredients. With a bit of planning and experimenting, this can become an enjoyable activity in itself. If you don’t have a lot of time, don’t worry, many fantastic fun and delicious recipes can be prepared in less than 20 minutes. Many things can also be left over for another day, and even frozen for a week or two later. You can even do this systematically, cook more than you need and leave the half for another time if the time is the problem. Or if you have a good friend who cooks well, you might even exchange.

4. Take the time to eat. If you’re in a hurry, you’re most likely mindlessly rush through your meal. A few years ago, I started waking up earlier, just to have the time for me in the morning. And since then I enjoy my breakfast. When the weather is nice, I try to go out in a local park for lunch. Or go with colleagues. The evening meal is a special time for me and DW. It's often the first moment in the day we really sit and talk to each other. 

5. Eat when you’re hungry. If you’re too hungry, you’re most likely mindlessly rush through your meal. So don’t wait too long to eat, and don’t wait a certain hour. Honor your hunger or you might be overwhelmed by the power of deprivation. 

6. Prepare mentally. Think about this before eating. Or in the morning, as you are getting for your day. Say to yourself that you will be eating mindfully today. Prepare also practically by making sure you have the ingredients you need, and that you have the time to prepare and eat your meals.  

7. Remove distractions. Try not to eat in from of the television, computer or a book. Sit at the table. Even social eating can be distracting, but can also bring additional fun and enjoyment to the experience. It is more difficult, but still possible to pay attention to your bites as you talk to someone. It might seem strange at the beginning, just sitting there and eating, but there is so much going on if you pay attention: the look, feel and smell of food, the chewing and swallowing, the way that the feelings change as you progress through your meals... 

8. Eat slowly, chew and try to be present in the moment. The preconditions are that you are in no hurry and not too hungry. Just try to be present in the moment. Think about how the food feels. How does it look on the plate? How does it taste? What is the texture like? Temperature? How does it make you feel? Put the fork and the knife aside between bites. Not how your feelings pertaining to food and eating evolve through the meal. 

9. Start small. Recognize where you are at the moment with your habits, and start by making small changes. Maybe aim for one mindful meal per day. Adjust any tips you read to your situation.

10. Be gentle and patient with your self. This is a slow learning and healing process.  Above all, don’t judge and  beat yourself up if it doesn’t work the way you think it should be working. 

It’s all about having an enjoyable, fun experience.

Have fun!