Many people in China are getting into mindful eating to solve weight problems. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Beijing Mindfulness Center conducts workshops and classes on how to improve a person's well-being. One of these classes is on mindful eating.
Li Sansan, 29 years old, is a student of the center and is fascinated by the benefits of mindful eating. She sat in a dimly lit room with soothing music in the background.
She said, "It feels really different when I eat my food this way. I feel so relaxed and pleased. I can actually feel which food my body wants if the food can give me more strength and if I want to eat more," Li said.
Li said that she lost 5 kilograms at the first week when she was eating this way.
"It's not just about losing weight. I am also healthier and in a better mood since I feel more in control of myself," Li said.
Mindful eating is a practice among Buddhists and has been known to fight eating disorders and obesity, according to Dalida Turkovic from Serbia, the executive coach and founder of the Beijing center.
"A slower, more thoughtful way of eating could help with weight problems and maybe steer some people away from processed food and other less healthy choices," Turkovic said.
"Currently in China, mindful eating is practiced only during fasting retreats or in temples, but as more people are paying attention to healthy eating, it is becoming more popular," she said.
Erica Huang is the ambassador of the Food Revolution that originated in the U.K. The Food Revolution was started by Jamie Oliver and aims to fight obesity.
Huang believes that mindful eating will help a lot in solving the misguided approach to eating in an industrialized place like China.
"Most Chinese people lead a fast-paced life, especially for white-collar workers in big cities. They just see eating as a task to solve quickly so that they can get back to work. They don't focus on the food. It's just a means to feel full," Huang said.
