You’re munching on a bag of chips while watching your favorite Netflix show. The show’s over and you look down in your lap only to find a pile of chip crumbs at the bottom of an empty bag abyss. Where’d they go?
They magically disappeared…into your pie hole.
Sound familiar? If mindlessly finishing off your favorite snack while in a distracted state is your norm, then this article is for you. Keep reading if you’d like to become a more mindful eater.
According to the Center for Mindful Eating, mindful eating is:
- Allowing yourself to become aware of the positive and nurturing opportunities that are available through food selection and preparation by respecting your own inner wisdom.
- Using all your senses in choosing to eat food that is both satisfying to you and nourishing to your body.
- Acknowledging responses to food (likes, dislikes or neutral) without judgment.
- Becoming aware of physical hunger and satiety cues to guide your decisions to begin and end eating.
In short, mindful eating author Michelle May says,
“Mindful eating is eating with intention, while paying attention.”
Before you pick up your fork and eat your next bite, consider these 5 tips to help get you started on your journey towards becoming a mindful eater:
- Notice your thoughts about your food. Start by checking in with your emotional state and your general feelings about what you are eating. First, why are you eating? Do you have a physical hunger sensation? Are there other emotions involved? What are your thoughts about your food choices? Are these foods that you enjoy? What are you hoping that the food will do for you? Is it a taste thing? A craving? Or more of a nourishing, fuel thing? Notice all of your thoughts surrounding your meal or snack with self-compassion and non-judgment. Simply notice how you feel and let those feelings pass through you.
- Scan your eating environment. How is your eating space supporting your eating experience? Are there items in your environment that might threaten to distract you from enjoying your food, such as a TV, computer, or cell phone? Is there clutter on your table that might take away from the eating experience? Scan your eating environment and make adjustments, as you wish, to support your eating experience. If you want to go all out on creating a peaceful eating environment, break out the placemats, fake candles, and soft music for a full dining experience.
- As you begin to eat, notice the smells, flavors and textures. Is it a pleasing experience? How does the food feel in your mouth? How does the food compare to what you expected it would taste like? Is it what you hoped it would taste like, or do adjustments need to be made to make it more pleasing to your senses?
- Check in. Mid-way through you eating experience, consider putting the fork down and checking in. Check in with your emotions, your fullness level, and the flavors and textures of the food. Is it still satisfying? Is it still giving you what you need? How many more bites might be needed to hit that satisfaction point? Your body will tell you when you’ve had enough – it’s just a matter of slowing down and really listening.
- Embrace self-compassion. Each and every eating experience is an opportunity to learn. There will be times you eat more than you are hungry for, eat too quickly, eat in a distracted manner, or in an attempt to sooth emotions. These things happen and it’s OK!! Identify and name that critical voice and try to silence your internal critique with gentle and soothing self-talk of self-compassion. You’re experimenting with food and always learning what works best for your body. We’re all a work in progress.
Instead of speeding through life, slow it down a bit. Eating is a joyful activity that we have the pleasure of experiencing multiple times per day. Consider how fortunate we are to be able to experience so many different types of food, with the abundance of varying flavors, colors, and textures. Don’t let those joyful eating moments pass you by. Use all your senses and take it all in. Discover the joy of mindful eating.
Dr. Dawn Clifford, UCAN Director