Mindful Eating for Better Health and More Joy

January was World Mindful Eating Month, but mindfully eating can be your friend anytime of the year.

Mindful eating lets you become aware of the positive and nurturing opportunities that are available through food preparation and consumption by respecting your own inner wisdom. Just like the practice of mindfulness, it encourages slowing down and paying attention to how we are supporting our body toward vitality and wellness.

According to the experts, mindful eating is not focused on what we eat or how many calories, it’s concentrated on why and how we eat. Some say it’s “an internal versus external approach to eating.” Here’s how to do it:

• Set aside time to eat without distraction in a quiet place.
• Begin by being aware of physical hunger, allowing yourself to choose food that is both pleasing and nourishing to your body.
• Take in the sight and smell of the food in front of you.
• As you start eating, concentrate only on the taste, and on chewing it well.
• Notice when you feel a comfortable fullness.

“When we eat with mindfulness, we consider our intentions for eating,” says registered dietitian Lisa Wolk, Certified Therapist in Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training. We might ask ourself, “Am I in the habit of grabbing what’s quick and easy?” “Do I eat just because Aunt Betty cooked something?” This kind of thinking creates more deliberate, often healthier food choices. 

“Mindful eating is rediscovering a healthy relationship to food and our bodies,” Wolk says. “This relationship has always existed and is an innate quality of our being. The wisdom gained from mindful eating can help us remember this.”

Besides the obvious benefits that come from mindful eating – taking the time to pick more nutritious foods, for example – mindful eating offers other benefits that filter into our lives every day. Here are some:

Regulates eating patterns. You will begin to listen to your body’s cues more carefully, eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full. You may also notice other eating patterns emerge, such as distracted eating and eating in response to strong emotions rather than hunger.

Helps with digestion. Mindful eating encourages you to slow down. As you do this, you’ll eat slower and chew your foods more thoroughly, allowing enzymes to do their work. 

Allows us to appreciate food more. Eating becomes a slower behavior as we savor the tastes and textures of our food. It’s like tasting a strawberry for the first time over and over again.

Once you’ve decided to eat with mindfulness, the practice needs daily reinforcement to maintain. There are always tight schedules, last-minute obligations and relatives who – with good intentions – want to feed you. Once you make a commitment to mindful eating, you can rely on these guidelines to keep going:

Practice makes perfect. Try doing mindful eating exercises. This is where you tune out all distractions, pay attention only to the taste, smell and feel aspects of your food, and simply savor it.  

Change your attitude. Pay more attention to how food feels in your body. Acknowledge your responses to food (likes, dislikes) without judgment.

Create a food plan. Planning out what you are going to prepare for the week encourages you to stay on track with healthy choices, but it’s not an absolute. Since our tastes change, it’s OK to explore other options without guilt.

Eat smaller amounts. You may discover that you don’t require the same amount of food you were eating previously. Your awareness of physical fullness is your guide to putting down the fork.  

Seek out support. Whether it’s a good friend or a class on mindful eating, it helps to stay accountable when you’re trying to reach a goal.