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Before she started mindful eating, Sarah Fraser hated herself. She went to her first Weight Watchers meeting when she was 12 years old (which she still jokingly gives her mother a hard time about), and admitted that she had no sense of self-worth, believing that even once she was able to lose the weight, she would only ever be seen as a ‘former fat girl.’ It wasn’t until after she cycled through just about every fad diet in the books, from diet pills to laxatives, that she decided to give mindful eating a try–and her life changed for the better.
Mindful eating is a practice which implores you to to listen to the cues your body provides you with in choosing what and when to eat. The mindset hinges heavily on trusting yourself around food and believing that your body knows what it needs in the moment it sends you a signal. According to Healthline, some of the key principles of mindful eating are, “Eating slow and without distraction, only eating until you’re full, and learning to cope with guilt and anxiety about food.”
Sarah’s advice for people starting out with mindful eating is to go slowly, and allow yourself time to adjust to the new mindset. “For most of us with disordered eating, we’ve been yo-yo dieting for years, so we shouldn’t expect to master mindful eating in just three months. It took me three years to stop binge eating, love myself, eat with ease around all foods, and lose 30 pounds naturally.”
For those struggling with disordered thinking about food, mindful eating is a serious exercise in trust. However, Sarah says that while you may make mistakes, you shouldn’t give up. “You’re going to slip up, and it’s okay. The beauty of mindful eating is once you ‘get it,’ you’ll never go back.” She says that once you learn to trust yourself around food, your entire life will change, from relationships to your health.
Since she began mindful eating, Sarah has lost a total of 55 pounds and is the healthiest and happiest she’s ever been. “I never count calories, I never count steps, I exercise because it brings me joy and makes me healthy, that's it. Mindful eating gave me self love and respect. It gave me the power to leave a toxic work job, start my own business. Once I realized that my self worth was more than the number on a scale, I realized I can achieve anything I put my mind to. And I don't give one lick what people think of my appearance or weight. It's a feeling like no other.”
