How to eat more mindfully
Have you heard of mindful eating before?
The Center for Mindful Eating defines mindful eating as “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…[and] using all your senses in choosing to eat food that is both satisfying to you and nourishing to your body and becoming aware of physical hunger and satiety cues to guide your decisions to begin and end eating.”
What mindful eating is
Mindful eating
Allows you to be more present with the entire eating experience in a non-judgemental way
Encourages exploration, experimentation and curiosity to help you reconnect with your body and food
Helps you check-in your thoughts, feelings and behaviours around food
Helps you enjoy the whole experience of eating – from grocery shopping, through to food preparation and eating
Helps you remove things like judgement and shame, and move away from disordered eating towards a healthier relationship with food
Also has various physiological health benefits, including improved digestion, more stable energy levels and reduced stress
What mindful eating is not
When people hear the term ‘mindful eating’, they often think it means you need to sit in a quiet room all alone with nothing but you, the food in front of you and your thoughts. This is not what mindful eating is. Nor is the idea of mindful eating to do it for the entirety of the whole meal every single meal. Striving for that sets us up for yet another success / failure ultimatum in a very black and white mentality…which is the type of binary and rigid mentality we want to steer away from (especially when working on our relationships with food). It also instils the idea that mindful eating is ‘good’ and therefore anything that isn’t mindful eating is ‘bad’ or ‘less than’ and that we are failures if we don’t do it properly or all the time. remember that a key part of mindful eating is to remove judgement and allow for flexibility, experimentation and exploration.
Mindful eating may not be for everyone
Mindful eating may not be appropriate for certain people, like those with an eating disorder or struggling with particular aspects of disordered eating. Please talk to a nutritionist or dietitian familiar in this area to find out if it’s suitable for you or not. As always, for more guidance, please reach out to me here.
How to eat more mindfully
If you feel mindful eating may be helpful and supportive for you, here are a few suggestions. Feel free to try them all and see what resonates with you most - perhaps they all will, perhaps not. We are all different and different things help people differently. Enjoy being open and curious to the experience of mindful eating. Explore how these suggestions impact your enjoyment of meals and your ability to connect with food in a loving supportive way.
1. Take a few deep breaths before eating
This is such a lovely and accessible way to slow down and become more present. You might like to close your eyes and say thanks for the meal your about to eat, say an affirmation to yourself, or even tell your tummy that yummy food is coming. Or you might like to keep your eyes open and notice all the colours, textures, shapes, etc of what you’re about to eat.
This helps to give your brain a chance to tell your body that food is coming and therefore supports the digestive process. It helps you better absorb nutrients, feel more satisfied and satiated, and helps you enjoy your meal more. In fact, digestion begins in the brain with the cephalic phase of digestion, which is initiated by things like the sight, smell and taste of food, and accounts for about 30-50% of the digestive process.
Taking a few deep breaths is also a lovely practice whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed around food, whether that be when you’re at the supermarket deciding what to buy, when you’re preparing food, or even after eating.
2. Engage your senses
This is another lovely way to help you slow down and bring you into the present moment. Observe what the food looks like, including the colours and shapes – like the bright red smooth consistency of a passata sauce, the rich shiny orange mixed with fibrous strands in orange segments, the green cloud-like shapes on broccoli, or the white holy texture of a piece of sourdough bread. Notice the various smells and tastes of the food too – sweetness, sourness, spiciness, bitterness and saltiness just to name a few. Notice the textures and consistencies in your mouth or with your hands – like the dry feeling of a cracker, the meltiness of chocolate, the chewiness of a muesli bar, the smoothness of yoghurt or the warmth of a soup. Even see if you can notice sounds – like the sizzling of food in a fry pan, the crunch of toast, or the slurp of a cup of tea. This is also a great way to help keep building that self awareness about the sorts of foods and meals you enjoy – perhaps you love warm spicy dishes like curries, the salty crunch of peanut butter on toast, or the cooling smooth quality of smoothies.
3. Notice your thoughts and feelings (without judgement)
An important part of mindful eating is being more aware of your thoughts and feelings without judgement. I like to liken this to having a childlike curiosity and being open to exploring yourself more. This is key to building self awareness so you can become more aware of various aspects and patterns when it comes to your relationship with food. When it comes to meal time, ask yourself these questions
What am I thinking? E.g. “I’m so hungry but I’ll only have a small serve”, “why can’t I stop eating” or “this really doesn’t taste that yum but it’s the healthy option so I’ll make myself have it”
What am I feeling? E.g. overwhelmed, happy, calm, angry, energetic, lonely, content, ashamed
What am I noticing in my body? E.g. a racing heart, butterflies in your tummy, relaxed muscles, tense muscles, fatigue, a warm belly, slow breathing, shallow breathing
You could also ask yourself these questions in any instances around food – e.g. when you’re writing your shopping list (e.g. are you having thoughts like “I better not buy ice cream again or I’ll just eat it all in one go”), when you’re cooking (e.g. are you feeling overwhelmed because you’re rushing to cook as quickly as possible), or when you’re tidying up after a meal (e.g. does your stomach feel uncomfortably full to the point of feeling ill).
Remember, the idea here is to become more self aware…not to judge, critique or berate yourself. Through being more self aware, you can understand yourself and your relationship with food more, which can be incredibly empowering.
4. Create a beautiful eating space
Intentionally set up a space in your home where you can sit down to enjoy your meals. This will typically be a dining table of sorts, perhaps in your dining room, living room or kitchen. Make it a beautiful and enjoyable place to be. Perhaps you might like to get yourself some nice place mats and coasters, a few beautiful bowls or plates to eat from, a favourite glass to drink from or some lovely serviettes. Perhaps you could even pop a nice rug on the floor, photos or an artwork on the wall nearby, or pick a bunch of flowers and put them in a vase on the table.
When you’re using this space for eating, make it a place free from distractions like the tv, your phone or laptop. If you’re used to having one of these while eating (many of us are), a nice alternative can be playing some calming music or a gentle podcast in the background. This way, you can focus your eyes on eating while still listening to something.
P.S. eating away from distractions doesn’t mean eating on your own. Eating can be a lovely social experience and a key way to help us reconnect with food in positive ways, like connecting with loved ones and celebrating special moments together. Just be mindful of trying not to eat around situations that heighten distress or anxiety, like having an intense conversation with your partner at the dinner table after a long day at work.
While you’re at it you might also enjoy making your kitchen a more enjoyable space to be in too. This could include fun things like hanging up some fairy lights, putting photos or other special memorabilia on the fridge, or popping a few herb pots or indoor plants around. You could also invest in some lovely cookware – anything from a cooking pan, to a new mixing bowl or grater. Playing music while you’re cooking can also make it a much more enjoyable experience too. If you’d like more inspiration, have a bunch more ideas in this blog post.
I hope these tips help, I’d love to hear about your experience with them so please do reach out to me and let me know. And as always, I’m always here to help guide you so you can explore these things more. If you wish to do so, you can get in touch with me here.