Blog post by Cynthia Pellettiere 5/6/24

Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose to the present moment, with an attitude of openness and curiosity.

So many things we do out of habit. We get into habits and experience life mindlessly. Eating is a great place to infuse mindfulness. There are many benefits to mindful eating. We enjoy our food more. We fully experience the pleasure that we get from eating. Mindfulness can help us make better choices about what we eat, and we can even eat less because we notice when we have eaten enough.  Mindful eating can begin from the moment we decide we want something to eat.

We can ask our selves – am I hungry? Do I just want to eat out of boredom? Avoidance? Stress? 

Next we can consider – What would be a good choice for me to eat right now? I often stand in front of the refrigerator and see what’s easiest or fastest. Mindfulness asks us to slow down, and take a breath. Take a moment to choose food that is healthy and satisfying right now instead of grabbing the first appetizing thing you see. Our body has innate intelligence. I find that if I slow down and consider my options, my body will tell me what it needs.

When we do choose our food, we can approach it with gratitude. Wow – so many people have food insecurity and here I am with something to eat. That is truly something to be grateful for. We can be grateful for all the people who got this food to me – farmers, truck drivers, grocery store employees.

Mindful eating allows us to enjoy our food more. Slowing down is the key. Take smaller bites, and chew thoroughly. I like to think of it as eating in slow motion. This allows us to savor the taste, smell and textures. We pay full attention to all our sensations and really heighten our experience. Distracted eating is very common. When we are distracted we might not be making the best choices. We eat while doing other things, we aren’t really paying attention to eating. We suddenly have finished our food and are surprised it’s gone because we were in remote control mode.

So much can be changed by focusing our attention!

Eating slower often means eating less. It takes 20 minutes for our brain to register that we are full. When we eat too fast, we are already done before our body catches up with the awareness of being full. We can recognize when we are full and tell ourselves – this is enough.  We can also apply mindfulness to cravings – any sort of craving – food, alcohol, shopping. This is something I have found very helpful. When a craving comes up, I will sit with it. Cravings will arise and fall away – just like all other thoughts and feelings. I feel like I really want a bowl of ice cream. We sit for a minute, just observing thoughts, observing feelings. Maybe a bowl of ice cream is exactly what is called for right now. Maybe I just really want something sweet, and a piece of fruit would satisfy the craving. Or maybe if I sit for a minute, I don’t actually want ice cream. I was being impatient about something else and wanted to fill the time with a distraction.

By just noticing these things, we can start to see our own habits of mind. Is there a situation that triggers a specific response? We can be in charge of our responses and manage our impulse once we notice they are there.

Mindful eating is a simple way to bring mindfulness into your everyday life. Try it at your next meal and let me know how it goes.