As a mindfulness methods health consultant, I often hear from clients who struggle with their relationship with food. They might feel guilty or ashamed after eating certain foods, or they might feel like they’re constantly battling cravings or overeating. One approach that I often recommend to these clients is mindful eating. Mindful eating is a practice that involves paying attention to the present moment, without judgment and calming your emotions while eating. By using this approach, clients can learn to eat what they want and fully enjoy it, while also nourishing their bodies and improving their overall relationship with food.
What is Mindful Eating?
Mindful eating is a practice that involves being present and aware while eating. It means paying attention to the sensory experience of eating, such as the taste, smell, texture, and appearance of the food. It also means paying attention to how your body feels during and after eating, such as feelings of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction. Mindful eating is not about restriction or deprivation; rather, it is about being fully present and engaged with the eating experience.
Benefits of Mindful Eating
There are many benefits to practicing mindful eating. Some of the key benefits include:
1. Improved digestion: When we are fully present while eating, we are more likely to chew our food thoroughly and eat at a slower pace. This can improve digestion and reduce digestive issues like bloating, gas, and indigestion.
2. Reduced overeating: When we are mindful while eating, we are more likely to tune in to our body’s signals of hunger and fullness. This can help us avoid overeating and consuming excess calories.
3. Improved satisfaction: When we are present while eating, we are more likely to fully enjoy and savor the food we are eating. This can lead to increased satisfaction and reduced cravings for unhealthy foods.
4. Improved overall health: By practicing mindful eating, we can develop a healthier relationship with food and improve our overall health. This can lead to benefits like weight loss, improved blood sugar control, and reduced risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
How to Practice Mindful Eating
If you’re interested in trying mindful eating, here are some tips to get started:
1. Slow down: Eat at a slower pace and take time to savor each bite.
2. Eliminate distractions: Turn off the TV, put away your phone, and focus solely on the act of eating.
3. Use your senses: Pay attention to the taste, smell, texture, and appearance of the food.
4. Tune in to your body: Check in with your body throughout the meal to see how hungry or full you are.
5. Practice non-judgment: Avoid judging yourself or your food choices. Instead, practice self-compassion and acceptance.
6. Choose foods you enjoy: Mindful eating is not about deprivation or restriction. Choose foods you enjoy and savor them fully.
7. Be patient: Like any new practice that is being brought into your life, mindful eating takes time and patience to develop. Be kind to yourself and keep practicing.
How you can start eating mindfully
It’s important to take small steps toward eating mindfully. If you frequently eat while distracted, and typically rush through your meals, it may take weeks, if not months, to undo those habits. If you’ve followed a diet for years, or on and off for decades, this mindful-eating process may take a few months, if not years, to fully embrace. Pick a few of the following tips and implement one at a time for a week or two until it feels normal to you. Work your way through the list slowly.
First, take an inventory of your current behaviors, food habits, and food rules. Assess what feels most important for you to tackle first. You want to be ensure your full attention is more present at meals, so you start by removing distractions. You will want to eat slower and take more time with your meals and snacks than before. Also, slowly let go of strict food rules, and tune into the sensory experience of foods you enjoy, but have been unconsciously restricting.
Once you’re ready, start with some of these tips to eat mindfully:
- Set a timer for all your meals to begin with. Allow yourself at least 10-15 minutes to eat and increase that gradually as your schedule permits.
- While eating, aim to identify flavors in each bite of food. Pay close and undivided attention to the textures and sensations of the food. Start with simple foods like fruit and notice the sweetness or tart flavors. Are they crunchy or soft in texture?
- Remove distractions one at a time, until you are eating with no distractions (e.g., your smartphone, a television, computer, anything you may be in the middle of reading, a podcast or radio show, etc.)
- Pay close attention to your hunger levels before and after eating. Give yourself open permission to eat more, or less, depending on how hungry you feel.
- Note how full you feel after eating. Give yourself permission to eat more or less, depending on what will satisfy your needs.
- Notice your satisfaction with meals or snacks from this day forward. Did you fall into a destructive craving, or try to dismiss it with something “healthier”? Are you able to eat foods you enjoy? If a meal or snack is unsatisfying, we often continue to search for something else to eat.
- Notice emotions that come up before, during, or after your meals. Use this same philosophy for cravings. Use it for the times when you feel compelled to eat but don’t feel physically hungry.
- Incorporate additional mindfulness practices in your weekly routine like a morning or evening meditation and some yoga if you can work it in.
- Use a journal to track your eating and start using a supportive group before meals to help get your mindset in mindfulness mode. This way you will pay attention to each bite of food like we spoke of earlier in this article. The group you use can be a simple Facebook group, and take part in reading some of the groups’ posts, comments, and ask questions for at least 5 minutes before turning to food for comfort during emotional stress.
Conclusion
Mindful eating is a powerful tool for improving your relationship with food and your overall health. By tuning in to your body and fully enjoying the eating experience, you can learn to eat what you want and fully enjoy it, without guilt or shame.
If you struggle with overeating, binge eating, or emotional eating, practicing mindful eating may be a helpful tool to add to your toolbox. Remember to be patient and kind to yourself as you develop this new skill, and enjoy the benefits of a healthier, more satisfying relationship with food.
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