Mindful Eating

The practice of being “mindful” dates back over 2500 years. Buddha taught, “Stopping and seeing.” For years, mindfulness meditation has been used to decrease pain and symptoms, both physical and psychological. Today we use this approach as a comprehensive and holistic mode of helping people to change their relationship with food. It asks people to stop and see how they relate to themselves and food through cravings, habits, impulses, through direct observation of themselves. No one is telling us what we feel, what or why we do what we do. It is a carefully planned and practiced introspection of thoughts, emotions and physical sensations, the three main information sources that direct our actions.

Mindful eating brings each of these components into our awareness and helps us to determine what influences our eating habits. Many of my clients tell me, “I know what I should be doing. I just don’t know why I don’t do it.” Surely, everyone knows that or to develop a healthier lifestyle requires changing some basic behavior patterns regarding eating and exercise. Mindfulness helps us first to look objectively at our current choices and actions, and then to examine why we do what we do, or don’t do. Then you can decide what to change first, second, etc. Simply put, you can’t make improvements until you know what needs to be fixed. Think about your house. Before making any home improvements, you look around. What needs updating, repairs, overhaul? What takes priority? What can I afford? What is realistic?

Ask your self some of these following questions: Do I think about food and my choices or do I react to food? Do I stop eating when the food runs out or am I aware of how much my body needs (portion awareness)? Do I eat at a comfortable pace, or very rapidly? Is food used for health and nutrition, or for all sorts of other things (emotions)? During meals, is my mind on the food and the act of eating or wandering all over the place? Do I eat out of habit, or out of choice? Mindful eating also focuses on taste, texture, level of hunger, excuses for eating mindlessly, feelings of deprivation, and mindful shopping.

After identifying your behaviors, you must now identify the thoughts, emotions and physical sensations that trigger them. Here is an example: Every night a man unwinds in front of the TV with a big bowl of ice cream, and finishes it every time. Why? Obviously it tastes good. But what else is going on? Is he lonely, bored, stressed, truly hungry? Suppose the man identifies that he is truly hungry, his stomach is growling, and he is irritable because of it. What are his choices? He could eat a healthy dinner made of foods he really enjoys, and pay attention to how he feels regarding the amount of food eaten. He can practice stopping when he has had enough, but not stuffed. Suppose he identifies that he is not truly hungry, but bored, or that’s just what he’s always done (habit), he can make a list of other ways to relax, or activities he enjoys, projects that need tending, books to read, etc. Instead of sitting in front of the TV, he can choose another activity off that list.

Like any other change, it takes about a month until the new behavior becomes habit. Stop and think next time you sit down to eat. What comes out of this process is an incredible feeling of empowerment. Knowing that you made thought out choices, created a new relationship with food and with yourself. You were in charge. You ate the ice cream because you wanted it, truly. Not because someone upset you and you needed comfort, or because there was nothing else to do or because that’s what your father always did. You savored it, and ate what your body needed. Lasting changes will happen because of your awareness and mindful choices.