Mindful eating, day 16: Focus on your hunger.

Today's challenge: Focus on your present hunger.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE Focus on your present hunger. Wait to complete today's challenge until you're moderately hungry and have the time to both prepare a meal and eat it mindfully. You'll be completing another mindful eating exercise from the Center for Mindful Eating, this one by Alice J. Rosen, MSEd, LMHC. It will help you understand what you truly want to eat in order to satisfy hunger. Once you're ready, get into a comfortable seated position or lie down on your back. Then follow these steps: Notice your mood and any unpleasant, pleasant, or neutral feelings that arise.  Bring awareness to your body. Inhale and exhale deeply, focusing on your natural breathing pattern. Now, notice your hunger. Where are you feeling this sensation?  Rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10, validating your hunger.  Ask yourself, what would satisfy my hunger right now? What flavors, smells, colors, and textures are you craving? What temperature food would be most appealing?  Imaging yourself eating these foods. Would this imaginary meal satisfy you? If you have the ingredients available to prepare the meal you imagined, do so and eat it mindfully. If you don't, try your best to replicate key aspects of the imagined meal with ingredients that you have on hand. The full meditation is 15 minutes long and can be found here. With only five days left, you're almost finished with the challenge. You've come so far!   LISTEN NOW   Until tomorrow, The Healthline Team Follow us View in browser   To see all newsletters, click here.   Our services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. See additional disclaimer information.   Privacy Policy  |  Unsubscribe    © 2020 Healthline Media 660 Third Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94107