Enjoy Your Meal

Mindful Eating

• Mindful eating is about chewing each bite of food slowly, savoring the tastes, textures, and smells, thoroughly.  It is about slowing down, enjoying our food, and controlling our food intake.
• In our fast-paced society, we are trying to multi-task everything.  So, it is no surprise that we try to combine eating with watching TV, working on the computer, or talking on the phone.  These distract us from what is happening in the moment and create a disconnect from mind and body.  Mindful eating takes us back to that connection.
• We know that mindful eating helps with our digestion and absorption of food.  If we slow things down, we will become more aware of what we are eating so we can regulate food intake and therefore control our body weight.

The following includes some easy pointers to help us eat in a Mindful way:

• Remember your ‘Why’.  Why do you want to change?  Remember your goals that you made on day one.  Write them down. Use them to pull you toward your goal (i.e., get off medications, have more energy, control amount of food you eat). View this multiple times a day.
• You may need to change where you eat.  For example, eat your meals at the table rather than sitting on the sofa watching TV.  You don’t want to watch TV, work on our computer, or other devices while eating.  Your focus should be on food at mealtime.  Remember that visual stimulation creates a disconnect from the mind and body, causing you to overeat. If you focus on what you are eating, you will be able to slow down, control your intake, and therefore control your body weight.
• Take time to focus on breathing.  Take a breath before you begin eating.  Breathe regularly while eating.  This will help to slow you down.
• To really connect with your food, think about the sensations that food gives you.  Think about how your food looks, smells, tastes, and feels.
• Try using your non-dominant hand – Read more about this in https://ihcweightloss.com/recipe/eating-with-your-dominant-hand/

In summary, before you take a bite, take a breath, and think about slowing down.  Let your food set on your tongue and savor it.  Chew slowly.  Focus on breathing, the way the food looks, the smell, the textures, and taste.  Give your mind time to process everything.  You will enjoy eating even more as you think about it.  You will feel fuller because you took the time to slow down and think about all of these things.

Eating is intended to be pleasurable. Eating mindfully is a skill that is learned.  It may be a little awkward at first but, like everything, it will get easier as you do it.  By eating mindfully, you will naturally slow down.  Then, you will be able to regulate your food intake so that you don’t over eat, which will result in your ability to control your body weight.