As a chronic dieter for most of my life, it hasn’t been easy to kick the dieting habit. I grew up in a home where food was so restricted that my siblings and I learned to “sneak” snacks and sips of soda. My mother was on and off diets for as long as I can remember, a habit she unknowingly passed on to me.

I loved my mom dearly, but one of our last conversations was about dieting. She was in hospice, and I was on Jenny Craig. I remember when my brother brought a bowl of microwave popcorn into the hospital room and I reached for it, and my mom gently chided me for breaking my diet. “Tara, you’re being bad,” she said. I know those weren’t her last words to me, but it’s what I remember.

Since then I’ve tried many weight-loss approaches — intermittent fasting, cutting carbs, Whole30 and, most recently, Noom — all of which have felt like restrictive diets wrapped up in various marketing packages. “Diet culture has been so shape-shifting that even diet companies now are saying, ‘We’re not a diet,’” said Evelyn Tribole, a registered dietitian and co-author of the book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach. “But yes, they are.”

There’s mounting scientific evidence to suggest that restrictive dieting makes you want to eat more, slows your metabolism and makes it even harder to lose weight in the future.

Tired of the dieting roller coaster, I made the decision about a year ago to never diet again. I put my energy into practising mindfulness, learning to meditate and enjoying cooking.

The science of mindful eating

No restrictive diets have ever been proven to result in sustainable, long-term weight loss for the majority of people who try them. To be sure, there is only limited research on the effectiveness of so-called nondiet approaches, often called mindful eating, intuitive eating or attuned eating.

What all these approaches have in common is they don’t restrict foods but, instead, focus on paying attention to internal cues, such as hunger, fullness and cravings. But it takes practice. In one study, it took participants at least 10-15 tries — and for many people it took 38 or more attempts — to begin to reshape their eating behaviours through mindfulness.

A Brown University, US, study of 104 overweight women found that mindfulness training reduced craving-related eating by 40 per cent. A review by scientists at Columbia University, US, found that training in mindful eating often resulted in at least one benefit for metabolic or heart health, such as better glucose levels, lower cholesterol or improved blood pressure.

A 2014 review of 20 mindful-eating interventions showed improvements in psychological health, including less depression, better self-esteem and improved quality of life.

I’m sharing tips from readers about mindful eating.

-- Eat on a fancy plate: I love this tip for turning an everyday meal into a celebration. Creating a colourful and appetising plate of food and revelling in the joy of cooking and eating are all ways to practice mindful eating.

-- No multitasking while eating: Many readers have discovered they have a habit of looking at their phones, reading, doing work or watching television while eating. “My biggest ‘aha’ moment so far: slowing down and really being present while I eat,” shared a reader. “I put my phone or book elsewhere and just focus on the taste, smell, texture, look of my food. I enjoy the food so much more when I savour it!”

-- Use smaller plates: A number of readers told us that using smaller dishes has helped them serve smaller portions and tune in to their body’s hunger and satiety signals. Seconds are an option if you’re still hungry.

-- Ride the wave of food cravings: For many readers, accepting that food cravings are normal has been a revelation. Evan Forman, a psychology professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, US, and director of the university’s Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science, teaches his clients to “ride the wave” of food cravings by identifying the craving, noticing how they feel and accepting it, rather than trying to suppress it.

-- Just add vegetables: Some readers suggested adding more vegetables to meals — rather than restricting other foods. “I vowed never to diet after having a daughter but rather eat healthfully and be active,” shared a reader who has focused on eating more vegetables. “I didn’t want her to obsess like my friends, sisters and I did.”

-- Get more sleep: Mindful eating made several readers more aware of a tendency to snack at night and to snack more when they stayed up late. A number of studies show that foods can affect our sleep and that lack of sleep can affect our eating patterns.

NYTNS