#FoodWasteFriday: Mindful Eating
Mindfulness means focusing on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. This can be applied to the way we eat. The goal is to shift focus from external thinking about food to exploring (and enjoying!) the eating experience.
Mindful eating enables us to experience greater pleasure and nourishment from our food. Through mindful awareness, we become more attuned to our body’s signals of pleasure, hunger, and fullness.
We notice the food thoughts and beliefs that don’t serve us and encourage those that do. We make choices that support our health and well-being and those of the planet.
When we engage in mindfulness in our meal preparation and eating, we pay greater attention to the type and quantity of food we consume, and what goes to waste. This strategy is not only beneficial for our minds and bodies, but also for the environment as we are mindful of the food we waste!
Mindful Eating Tip
1. Begin with your shopping list. Consider the health value of every item you add to your list and stick to it to avoid impulse buying when you're shopping. Fill most of your cart in the produce section and avoid the center aisles—which are heavy with processed foods—and the chips and candy at the check-out counter.
2. Start with a small portion. It may be helpful to limit the size of your plate to nine inches or less.
4. Appreciate your food. Pause for a minute or two before you begin eating to contemplate everything and everyone it took to bring the meal to your table. Silently express your gratitude for the opportunity to enjoy delicious food and the companions you're enjoying it with.
5. Bring all your senses to the meal. When you're cooking, serving, and eating your food, be attentive to color, texture, aroma, and even the sounds different foods make as you prepare them. As you chew your food, try identifying all the ingredients, especially seasonings.
6. Take small bites. It's easier to taste food completely when your mouth isn't full. Putting your fork down between bites can help you slow down if you tend to be a fast eater.
7. Chew thoroughly. Chew well until you can taste the essence of the food. (You may have to chew each mouthful 20 to 40 times, depending on the food.) You may be surprised at all the flavors that are released.
8. Eat without distraction. When we eat in front of a screen, we are typically more focused on what we are watching or working on than what we are eating. Try turning on some relaxing music or having a conversation with family or friends during meals.
9. Listen to your body’s hunger cues. All too often we eat out of boredom, emotions, or convenience. Take a few deep breaths before eating and throughout your meal. Try this diaphragmatic breathing - https://www.health.harvard.edu/lung-health-and-disease/learning-diaphragmatic-breathing
10. Practice, practice, practice. At first, we eat slowly when we practice mindful eating. The slow pace can be likened to the training wheels we use to learn to ride a bike. As we become more practiced and hone our attention skills, mindful eating becomes more natural. We can learn to eat mindfully, not only slowly but at different paces, in different settings, alone and with others.
Mindful Eating Exercise
Ready to give it a whirl?! Try out this Mindful Tea Exercise. Prepare a cup of tea and use it as a time of meditation.
1. First observe the cup, the color, the shape, the weight.
2. Put your hands around tea cup, feel the warmth, on your hands, over your face.
3. Take in the smell and lift the cup.
4. Take a sip, taste the tea, feeling the warmth as you swallow.
5. You may notice judgement coming up: “I chose the wrong tea”, “I should get to work” … Whatever it might be, allowing them to come and to go.
6. Simply returning to the actual direct experience in the moment, just now…
Mindful Eating Resources
Mindful Eating Script from James Madison University’s Counseling Center
Mindful Eating video, Mayo TEDx Talk from Karen Mayo
The Mindful Eating Workbook: Simple Mindfulness Practices to Nurture a Healthy Relationship with Food book by Vincci Tsui
Tiffany Roe Instagram account (Therapist, focuses on mental health and IE)
Food Psych podcast hosted by Christy Harrison. Here’s a good episode to start with
Stress is an inevitable part of life, but we do have the power to embrace a calmer state of being with the steps above. Adapting mindful eating practices may even bring mindfulness into other parts of your day!
