What is mindful eating?
Mindful eating means that you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience the food choices you make. Simply put, it is awareness of wherever and whenever we eat. It is important because it encourages our behavior with food to change by focusing on how and why we are eating. As we become more aware every time we eat, it will encourage a deeper appreciation of every ingredient, every taste, every mouthful in every meal.
This helps to increase food gratitude and can improve the overall eating experience as well as habits. It encourages you to make choices that you find satisfying and nourishing to your body. Each individual has their own eating behaviors and experiences. We need to sit with ourselves and become more aware of our eating habits, so we can then take the steps towards working on behavioral changes that will benefit our overall health.
Without behavioral changes any diet is useless, often times outside pressures and stress cause these behaviors in eating and make it difficult to sustain. The mindful eating experience is for the individual to savor the moment and food being fully present in their entire eating experience. The individuals focus is on the experience of the food, often leading to selecting healthier foods and eating less. It often suggests that your entire eating experience is occupying your thoughts and you pay attention to every aspect of your eating process. Suggestions have always been not to watch tv while you eat, serve correct portions, chew 32 times before swallowing and sit while you eat. There is no set rules or guidelines for mindful eating, it is about each individuals experience and thoughts with their food, no one has the same experience with the food. The manner in which you choose to be present during your meal is all unique to the individual.
Common attitudes associated with mindful eating are to have a beginners mind set. This means approaching your food as a baby does, taking in one taste at a time. Experiencing the food visually, the smells of the food, the textures and appreciating each bite. As with a baby it is important to have patience with yourself and be nonjudgmental. It takes time to be aware and learn to be aware at each moment by moment. As this process is different for all individuals, we must develop self trust and know our experience is unique. With this we need to obtain a non-striving attitude as there is no expectations for taking on this awareness. The most important is to build awareness with each meal. Lastly, we need to let go of our past expectations and feelings associated with attachments or experiences. Having full acceptance of developing this awareness is at the core of the mindfulness process.
Studies have shown that the mindful approach to eating has helped many improve their relationship with food, leading to weight loss and healthier eating habits over-all. Most importantly these habits live with you throughout the rest of your life. As mentioned earlier, this is not a diet as diets are meant for short term or a measured time. This is a behavioral change that will be adapted to change your relationship with food.
