The way you think about food and use it in your life has a big impact on how effectively you can manage your weight. Become more mindful of how you treat food and you will be more successful at weight loss. The following tips can help you to achieve this mind-body balance concerning food.

1. Pay attention to your hunger cues. Eating out of habit or boredom is very costly; listen to what your body is telling you as you begin and end each meal. By heeding the internal signs, you will be providing yourself with the nutrition you need without over doing it. Eat slowly and deliberately until you become familiar with the internal signs of fullness and avoid eating for any reason other than real hunger and sustenance.

2. Know what your most dangerous trigger foods are. Some foods go down so easy and are so utterly pleasurable it’s hard to stop eating them: avoid these at all costs. Weight loss can only happen when you are in control and cognizant of everything you’re consuming. Stay away from the desserts, snacks or buttery-rich side dishes that keep you going back for more.

3. Dress-up your meals. They say appearances are what makes food more desirable, so learn how to present and garnish your meals in the most attractive ways. The better it looks, the more satisfied you will feel, even if you’re not eating as much. It doesn’t have to get complicated or expensive either, the best looking and tasting foods are often the simplest to prepare! Invest in a health-conscious cook book and learn new ways of creating mouth-watering appeal.

4. Understand and appreciate the nutritional value of what you eat. Trading off cheese sticks for a salad may not seem like a good deal to your taste buds, but since your mind is in control, you can alter your perception of the deal as it goes down. Think about how good things are for your body and how much they will help you to reach your goals in weight loss. Instead of focusing on the greasy salty flavor, focus on the metabolic benefits and health of your internal organs. You can condition yourself to appreciate and thus enjoy!

5. Never eat emotionally. We all do it occasionally, but if you’re trying hard to lose weight, emotional eating is something you must strictly avoid. Look for other ways to satisfy your soul, like meditation, music, exercise or creative expressionism. Find healthy ways to vent your feelings that don’t involve food. Although you may feel at a loss initially after removing comfort foods from your life, you will reach your weight loss goals much quicker and develop much healthier coping mechanisms in the process.

Adopting a more conscientious way of eating will help you manage portions and content and improve the results of your weight loss efforts considerably. Start putting more thought into what you eat and why and you will find yourself developing more will-power and finally achieving your weight loss goals!