Conscious eating

One of the more helpful weightloss tips I've heard is being conscious of what and how you're eating.

Something I've tried that really seems to help is taking just 1 bite or small portion of foods you eat all the time and really experiencing it. Feel, closely look at, slowly taste and chew the item. Notice the smell, texture, mouth feel, taste and aftertaste. You might discover that something you frequently eat and thought you really liked isn't so good. I discovered I actually don't like most milk chocolate, like Hershey's chocolate. They just tasted flat, waxy and had a sour rancid breath aftertaste.

Try the same thing with whatever food you often crave. Most fast food, if you take some time with it, just tastes like lots of salt and half rancid grease. When you have that in mind, it's much less tempting!

You can use this technique to understand what it really is about that item that you want. Are you after something sweet, salty, savory, sour, crunchy, creamy, or just something you can pop in your mouth? Once you know what it is you find satisfying about that food, it's easier to find a healthy food option that fills the same niche, and you may find that you enjoy the healthy alternative even more when you truly experience the food instead of just chowing down.

Really experiencing your food also works to help find healthy options more appealing. I love to take a perfect ripe apple and really enjoy it. The crispness on the first bite, the almost creamy crisp texture of the interior and the sweet aftertaste are wonderful. Some of them are so sweet it's almost like honey. I actually crave many healthy foods now, knowing how good they really taste!