Mindful Eating
How we eat may be as important as what we eat.
Our relationship with food and eating is complex and interesting. It started when we were babies. Its ability to comfort and nourish us started then. The foods that we desire and that make us feel happy first appeared at our family dinner table and on holidays. In our contemporary cultures, our desires have also been strongly influenced by advertising and by what we see as we walk through the grocery store.
Mindless eating involves eating 'automatically', eating when we aren't really hungry but the food is in front of us; not paying attention to the food we're eating; and overeating because the food is there. All people eat 'mindlessly' or automatically sometimes. Some people do this with a frequency that leads to significant problems with weight or with eating unhealthy foods. Other people overeat compulsively when stressed or in response to other triggers (such as eating a self-defined 'bad food', thinking to themselves "I've blown it, so I might as well keep on going"). In fact, binge eating disorder — eating very large amounts of food at one time at least 1-2 times/week — is the most common eating disorder, characteristic of about 30% of both men and women who are moderately or morbidly obese (BMI > 34). For other individuals struggling with weight, the extra amounts may not be so extreme at one time, but occur frequently, if not at most meals and snacks.
Some individuals who struggle with weight identify eating as their primary way of coping. Eating a favorite food can feel like the only comfort option available when we are stressed, tired, sad or anxious. It doesn't take much time and it feels helpful in that moment. Using food to comfort ourselves some of the time is a normal human behavior, but for some of us this type of eating has impaired our ability to know when we are really physically hungry and when we are physically full — eating becomes a primary source of comfort. This can lead to problems with weight management and with a wide variety of chronic health problems.
Paths to Mindful Eating
By calming the mind and body in some simple ways you can move through your day with more ease and calm—eating more slowly and enjoying the food more with all of your senses.
By acknowledging and starting to understand the emotions associated with food and eating, and by using mindfulness and awareness practices you can change your relationship with food. These techniques help you to eat less and truly enjoy your healthier food choices more. Doing so can help you stay balanced at a healthier weight and experience a calmer, peaceful, and even joyful relationship with food.
Core Practices
- Bringing your awareness to your experience of eating, rather than approaching meals or snacks mindlessly or automatically.
- Learning to distinguish between physical and psychological hunger.
- Learning to savor each bite of food — and stopping when your taste buds get 'tired'.
- Learning to stop before becoming overly full.
- Choosing foods both for personal satisfaction and for nutritional value.
- AND learning to become more self-accepting in creating a healthier relationship to eating and food.
