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We might have all heard of the word mindful, or the form of meditation that helps us recognize and manage our emotions and feelings. Maybe we have read an Instagram post that says “Be Mindful” or your Apple watch buzzes randomly to tell you to take a moment of mindfulness. Now, let’s combine mindfulness and eating.
What is mindful eating? Mindful eating is “using mindfulness to reach a state of full attention to your experiences, cravings, and physical cues when eating”. Moral of the story, we are trying to be fully focused on our meals and eating experiences. Why? To promote weight management, avoid binge-eating, form a good relationship with food and overall feel better about the food choices we make.
This might sound like a really hard task to complete, especially when we might eat when we are stressed or have a bad day, eat past being full and ignore those body signals telling us we are full (like Thanksgiving dinner!), or eat and multitask (how many of us eat while scrolling through our phone, watching T.V. or even driving). The world around us moves very fast and there are many factors that interfere with mindful eating, but don’t worry, we are here to help!
Here are 4 ways to help you eat mindfully:
Slow down!
During one of my nutrition classes in college, we were given one Hershey Kiss on our desk as a test to see if we would eat it mindfully. Well naturally I saw it, unwrapped it out of excitement, and chopped away on it until it was gone, which was very quick! The way I ate that chocolate was mindless…
We want to take the time to eat slowly so our body and brain work together to enjoy our food and process it. The signal between our brain and body typically takes about 20 minutes before it kicks in, so by taking it nice and slow we avoid overeating and feeling overly full. Best ways to slow down when eating are eating at a table, chew thoroughly (chewing 25 bites or more), or put your fork down between each bite.
Engage the senses
Use all 5 of your senses when eating your meal. What do you hear? Crunch, snap, crinkle. What do you see? Focus on color and shapes. What do you feel? The texture of each food item may be different. What do you taste? Spicy, sweet, salty. What do you smell? Try to target the spices involved in the meal.
By using these senses, it helps us be fully attentive to the food we are about to consume and also helps slow us down too. This is a fun exercise to do at the dinner table with your family, roommates or friends.
Eliminate distractions
Eating is an activity on its own, so turn off the T.V. and put the phone down. Be with yourself and your meal. This gives us the opportunity to really focus on our meal but also enjoy what it has to offer us. Food is fuel and gives our body energy, strength, vitamins and minerals and pure joy! Therefore, enjoy all it has to give us by ditching the distractions.
Listen to your hunger cues
Typically, when we are hungry, we might hear some faint grumbles from our belly. This is the cue that we should eat. If we are waiting till we are uncomfortable, irritable, weak, or have headache or episode of dizziness, we have waited too long! When we wait too long, we risk overeating or selecting the not-so-great food choices when we do decide to eat.
We also don’t want to overeat either to the point we feel nauseous, uncomfortable, or stuffed. We want to eat till we feel comfortably full. To eat within these nice ranges, we need to stay alert and in tune with our body. Here is a link to a hunger scale that you can use to stay on track. Try to stay within the neutral range or between 4 and 7.
If this sounds like a lot, take it one step at a time. Maybe just try to turn the T.V. off tonight with dinner or next time you eat a Hershey Kiss try to slow down and enjoy it by using all five senses. We are not perfect, but little changes can go a long way!
Good Luck and we are always here to help!
This blog was written by Amanda J. Stahl RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition. For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook. Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs. We’re here to help.
References:
https://www.mindful.org/6-ways-practice-mindful-eating/
https://www.headspace.com/mindfulness/mindful-eating
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/mindful-eating/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mindful-eating-guide#intro
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