How many times have you reminded yourself to be a healthier eater but didn’t follow through? Or maybe you finally realize that diets don’t work, but your doctor tells you to lose weight for health reasons. What can you do?
The application of mindfulness to the way you eat could be an answer to all those questions. If you are skeptical, that’s okay. But once you understand the basics of mindfulness practice, you can apply it to the way you eat and nourish yourself.
Mindful eating helps you reconnect with your body’s natural signals. Instead of mindless eating when you happen to think about it, you can eat when you are truly hungry.
Rather than scarfing down enormous portions until you are bloated and miserable, you can know when you are full and satisfied.
When meals were once obligatory or even stressful, you can more fully enjoy the experience of eating.
Mindful eating is a simple practice. It’s not always easy though. Like developing any new habit, it requires a commitment to yourself. A commitment that can change your life.
Approach Nourishment Like a Monk
Have you noticed how peaceful Buddhist monks are? In almost every aspect of their lives, they use mindfulness. Their approach to eating included.
Every step of the eating process is considered a sacred act beginning with meal planning and culminating in the meal itself. Approach this step with reverence and gratitude.
Slow Down
Meal planning takes time and thought that many of us are unwilling to invest in the nourishment of our bodies. A plan, however, is critically important. Thinking ahead is essential to know what food to buy, the time needed to prepare it, and how it will benefit your health.
Mindful meal planning requires us to slow down.
This task can become a gift you give to yourself and your loved ones. A gift that results in tantalizing meals that help you all feel comfortably full and satisfied.
So take the time. Practice some deep breathing before you begin. Set aside distractions like your phone, social media, and the busy-ness of your day.
Make sure you are considering your goals for healthier eating. Will these meals measure up to your own standards?
The meal plan obviously determines your shopping list. Use this opportunity to inventory what you already have in the pantry and refrigerator. Think in terms of gratitude for what you already have and how you are able to use it in service to your body.
Then create a shopping list that is organized for ease of use.
Shopping as Connection
People often dread grocery shopping. Harried shoppers can be rude without even realizing it. That behavior is often contagious and before you know it, everyone in the place seems out of sorts. It hardly feels like a sacred time but you can make a difference.
Before entering the grocery store, once again, take a few cleansing breaths and intend your mindset. Deliberately put a smile on your face (brain chemistry in your favor occurs). As you walk into the store, notice if anyone smiles back. It makes a world of difference in that contagious behavior when you start with a smile.
As you shop, keep in mind your overall goals.
Do you care about ingredients? Read labels.
Is the environment important to you? Consider the packaging of the products you buy.
As you place items in the cart, check your smile. Notice how you feel. Mentally express gratitude for your ability to purchase the groceries.
Pots, Pans, and Cutting Boards
When it comes to meal preparation, you might feel tired or unmotivated when it’s time to rustle up the meal. Or you may be stressed and distracted. The last thing you feel like doing is cooking dinner.
Once again, slow down. Take 10 minutes for yourself to catch your breath. Consciously push aside thoughts that distract you from a mindful state.
Contemplate good things that happened earlier that day. Allow a smile to spread across your face. Notice how energy and motivation are more readily available to you. Time to get started.
As you chop, peel, cook, and assemble the meal, do so quietly and reverently. Recall the blessings of having enough food.
Anticipate the pleasure of a tasty recipe as you feel the food, smell it as it cooks, and see the ingredients blend together.
Set the Stage for Pleasure
If you are engaged in this practice alone, this step might be done ahead of meal preparation. If you have assistance, this part can be done simultaneously.
Remove distractions and create a lovely environment to enjoy the meal. Decide what works for you and experiment to find the right ambiance.
Use a table where you can sit either alone or with others. Clear it of clutter.
Think about your senses once again as you also consider what might distract from or enhance the dining experience.
Do you like the look of a floral centerpiece? If so, use one. But think about conflicting aromas or whether the arrangement will block your view of dinner companions or other aspects of your setting.
What about music? Music could be distracting, especially if it’s too upbeat with lyrics you want to sing along with. Find some background music that adds to instead of detracts from the focus.
The place settings need to be visually appealing as well. Plates, utensils, and glassware laid out the way your mother taught you to set the table.
Don’t Take a Bite Just Yet
It’s tempting to plop down in the chair and start forking bites into your mouth, but wait.
Before you begin, take 3 cleansing breaths. Intend your focus on the food in the context of the setting you created as well as the entire meal.
This is a time for gratitude.
Some people say a blessing or prayer before they eat which is a wonderful way to reinforce a mindful perspective.
If you are not the religious type, though, it’s still important to appreciate the food before eating it. Either mentally or vocally thank the source of each item of food. Both animals and plants as well as farmers and food manufacturers.
Studies have proven that gratitude enriches both the food and the diner’s experience. According to Asako Miyashita, Japanese nutritionist, “In Japan, we often say ‘itadakimasu,’ which translates to ‘I humbly receive,’ before meals to show our appreciation for the animals and farmers. I believe this practice of mindful eating contributes to our health and quality of life.”
Eat With Your Senses
Check your pace. Once again, slow down.
Seated in front of your plate, engage your senses with the food.
Visually notice the food. The colors. Is the meal a combination of beautiful colors? Can you see a contrast between the various foods? The shapes. Is the presentation proportionately appealing? What else do you see?
Now go ahead and touch your food. Unless it’s piping hot soup, your fingers can tell you a lot about what you are about to eat. What are the textures? Cool or warm? Soft or hard? If you are tempted to lick your fingers after touching the food, it’s fine unless you need to mind your table manners.
Use your nose and take a whiff. Pay attention to how each item smells and how everything smells in combination. Is it an inviting aroma? Maybe your mouth is watering by this point.
At last. Take the first bite. But instead of hurried chewing….you guessed it….slow down.
You have taste buds everywhere on your tongue that discern the different types of flavor. First, taste the food in the front of your mouth. Is it sweet, savory, sour, or bitter? Name the flavor and commit it to memory.
Begin chewing. As the food moves to the back of your mouth and tongue, how does the flavor change? Or does it? Compare and contrast. Be aware of your reactions to the flavors.
While you are still chewing, listen. What? Can you really hear the sound of your food? Yes! Tune in to the sounds as you finish chewing and then swallow. You will hear a difference among different foods depending on texture and density.
Finish With Satisfaction
When eating mindfully, the slower pace allows digestion to occur more naturally. Instead of the stuffed, bloated feeling of a hoovered meal, you will know when it’s time to push your chair back from the table.
It takes approximately 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that it’s full and/or satisfied. By using this approach to eating, you give your brain the time it needs to register a proper signal.
This complex connection between the stomach and the brain is what helps you determine that you’ve had enough but not too much. It also provides you with a sense of satisfaction which is critically important both physically and emotionally.
Some Tips for Mindful Eating
Nutrition is complicated. Mindful eating is a great first step to becoming that elusive healthy eater.
Consider the following as you begin your mindful eating practice:
- Nutrients – when planning meals, include all the macronutrients for nutritional balance.
- Dietary concerns – choose food and recipes that are the most healthful for you. Certain health conditions might require more thought and research.
- Time management – you will spend more time with this practice, so you may want to block time on your calendar to allow sufficient time.
- Presentation – when serving the food, be creative. A beautiful plate of food adds to the appeal and overall experience.
- Practice – mindfulness has a learning curve because most of us live hurried, stressful lives. Don’t give up. Keep practicing. Each time you eat this way will improve your ability to make it a regular habit.
Finally, notice how you feel when you are finished with your meal. What physical sensations do you notice? Equally important, how do you feel emotionally? Both aspects are essential to overall satiety.
Be a Kid Again
Mindfulness must be learned…or relearned. Have you watched kids eat? Can you remember how you ate as a child?
Kids are still in touch with their biology, and it shows when they refuse to eat everything on the plate (fullness cues); play with their food (sensory practice); and know what they like or don’t like (fully tasting).
Mindful eating can answer those questions you keep circling back to.
Will you be a healthier eater? Good chance, when you are keeping food and nutrition in the forefront of your mind and are open to experimenting.
Will you lose weight? Possibly, if you learn to listen to your body cues for fullness and satiety.
Will you resolve health issues? Potentially, if your mindful eating includes the food your body finds most useful.
Will you find joy in nourishing your body? Definitely, when you make it a habit.
If the experts are right, mindful eating will increase your overall well-being, body, mind, and spirit.
The Harvard School of Public Health states, “Eating mindfully means that you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make. This helps to increase gratitude for food, which can improve the overall eating experience.”
So give it a shot. Make the commitment. What have you got to lose?
Sherri DeRhodes - Freelance Writer 