Mindful eating is a way of eating that promotes health, wellness, and peace, control, and balance with food. Check out today’s post written by Kylie Serie, SDSU Dietetic Student. If you want to learn more about working on your own mindfulness, contact me today! Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
What is mindfulness? My personal understanding of mindfulness is being aware or conscious of whatever it is you are doing at that moment. It is being fully present. This may seem like an easy concept; however, I think many of us are eating and surrounding our food with very mindless actions and thoughts. What are you doing when you eat? Are you watching TV, driving, reading, or scrolling on your phone? All of these are examples of mindless eating. Even when you are cooking your food, are you paying attention to what you are doing or how you are cooking? Or are you again watching TV or talking on the phone? There are so many places we can incorporate mindfulness into the process of preparing and eating our food.
Benefits of Mindful Eating
- More satisfaction
- Less chance of overeating
- Acknowledge your internal body cues
- Avoid emotional eating
The benefits of mindful eating far out way not being mindful. When preparing your food, paying attention to how you are making it and all the time, energy, and love that goes into it can lead to a greater appreciation for the food. Having a greater appreciation for your food will hopefully lead to a greater appreciation for feeding your body the healthy food it deserves.
When actually eating your food, being mindful of each bite and chewing slowly will allow you to pay attention to your inner cues of being satisfied and stop you from overeating. You will also fully taste the food you spent your energy making and again, create a greater appreciation for the process.
The last thing I want to talk about it emotional eating. Our emotions have a mind of their own and can lead us to do pretty crazy stuff. There have been many times that I chose to eat and eat and didn’t really know why I was eating and it all had to do with my emotions. When I took a step back and asked myself, “Why am I eating right now?”, it wasn’t because I was hungry but usually because I was upset. When I was able to recognize this, I could channel those emotions in a more positive way such as journaling or going for a walk.
Tips for Mindful Eating:
- Pay attention to how you are preparing your food and appreciate the time and energy spent on this.
- Sit down at a table to eat with no outside stimuli.
- Chew slowly- put down your silverware between bites.
- Drink water in between bites.
- Pay attention to your internal cues for when you are full and satisfied.
- Ask yourself, “Why am I eating right now?” or “Is this what my body needs right now?”
- Pay attention to your emotions while you are eating. If you are not even hungry but you continue to eat, slow down. Maybe take out a journal and write down your feelings. It sounds cheesy, but it works.
- Eat foods that are beneficial to your body’s wellbeing.
I hope some of these tips and tricks help you out with your mindful eating! It is hard at first to break certain habits surrounded by mindless eating, but I promise your body and mind will thank you. You may even be able to work through certain emotions and things in a positive way because you will now be able to recognize them!
Kylie Serie, SDSU Dietetic Student
