Mindful eating and mindful movement/exercise -
Mindfulness invites us to remove those distractions and sit uninterrupted with our food and fellow diners. In doing so, we begin to take our time over a meal. In eating more slowly, we savor the flavors, the aromas, and the textures. We reconnect with our senses.
Once we bring our attention to the entire experience of eating, we stop getting lost in the thinking mind and become less caught up in any complicated emotions we might have around food.
Quite simply, we allow ourselves to be re-acquainted with the pleasure of eating. To be clear, on its own, mindful eating is not a diet. No radical cleanses, no eliminating certain foods, no clearing out your cupboards, no fads, and no quick fixes.
Mindful eating simply invites us to be present while cooking or eating, allowing us to truly savor our food without any judgment, guilt, anxiety, or inner commentary. This approach is about spending less time focused on your weight and the storylines around your weight. Conventional diet culture causes much of our stress around eating, bringing a heap of pressure, intensity, and false expectations.
Consequently, many of us tend to view food as a reward or punishment. People obsessed with being thin might undereat and suppress feelings of hunger, whereas people who overeat might ignore feelings of fullness. Moreover, when people internalize ideas built around dieting—buying into the marketing that suggests losing weight is as easy as —then the pressures and emotions are heightened.
Mindful eating seeks to undo such thinking, encouraging us to let go of the traditional all-or-nothing mindset, and instead eat according to our natural body weight, not the body weight prescribed by magazine images and media-fueled pressure. There is no strategy or calorie-counting involved.
We are simply trying to be aware. Bringing mindfulness to the table means a kinder, gentler approach to eating. The problem, most scientists agree, is that it takes a good 20 minutes before that message is received.
Therefore, much of our overeating happens during that minute window. We learn, in effect, to be one step ahead of ourselves. So, when talking to our own children, we can use these same cues to show them how to listen their states of hunger and fullness rather than ignore them. In its fullest sense, mindfulness means not only being present but also curious and interested, with a willingness to explore how and why we think and feel the way we do — without judgment.
This is no more apropos than when it comes to our eating habits. What does my body need? How satiated do I feel halfway through this meal? Am I scarfing down my food or enjoying it?
Is this portion too much or not enough? Awareness is something we can also bring to the supermarket and the kitchen. It helps us learn not to make choices that are automatically influenced by external thoughts, emotions, or impulses but instead by our own internal knowledge of what our bodies need.
The mind is powerful, and when left untrained, it can be a susceptible to both emotion and habit. We meditate to train the mind — to find the space to make better choices in the interests of our overall health, not our body shape or weight.
There is no one perfect way to eat in the same way that there is no one perfect body. We each have our own genetics, metabolisms, preferences, and priorities. Some of us gorge; some of us graze. Some snack; some comfort eat. Some undereat; others overeat. Some are gym bunnies obsessing about stacking on the pounds while others are diet junkies, obsessing about losing the pounds.
Knowing who we are — and being honest with ourselves — helps us understand why we eat the way we do. The more we recognize those early influences, the better positioned we are to decide what and when we choose to eat.
For people who undereat, the effect of this awareness may be that they may eat more; for people who tend to overeat, they may consume less. Others may find their eating patterns remain the same while their thinking around food changes.
In this respect, mindful eating is an equalizer, allowing us to find a balance in how we relate to food. We each have our own attitudes and patterns of behavior around food, whether this is due to genetics, circumstances, or family conditioning.
Awareness of those origins provides the foundation for mindful eating, but the only way to understand our relationship with food is to spend time with that relationship.
Mindfulness inserts a pause to help us be aware of our own decision-making. Only when we stop to notice this chain of events can we start to change our behavior or thinking about food.
This is a skill mindfulness affords, meaning we can consider our food selections in advance. In bringing more planning to our grocery list, restaurant menu, or kitchen, we are less inclined to feel any guilt or shame about our balanced choices.
In observing the mind in this way, we can free ourselves from emotions that fuel our habits. Imagine what it would be like to no longer be led by our inner dialogue around food. Imagine instead having a more balanced, carefree attitude, freed from the shackles of poor eating habits.
As we step away from all the unhealthy thinking around food, we cultivate a sustainable and balanced approach to the way we eat and the way we look. Essentially, we get to re-educate ourselves. We get to enjoy our food again. How often do you think about food on any given day?
You might travel by a fruit stand on your commute, for example. Or maybe all you can think about while heading home is that ripe avocado waiting for you on the counter.
Food is simply the object of our fascination and cravings. It has no power over us in and of itself. The power rests in our emotions, our conditioning, and our decisions. Without understanding the thoughts and emotions involved in our relationship with food, there can be no room for change.
One of the biggest realizations that comes with mindful eating is how much we are influenced by what we think and feel. Food is fuel. We need it to live. Once we get a handle on our thoughts and emotions around food, we weaken its hold over us and learn not to judge ourselves so harshly.
The benefits of mindful eating will, of course, be subjective. One study from linked mindfulness with healthier snack choices and less mindless or impulsive eating.
The researchers also noted that mindfulness might promote healthy eating by encouraging preferences for more nutritious foods 1. Additionally, a literature review of 68 studies found that mindfulness eating strategies improved eating behaviors such as eating slower, recognizing fullness, reducing serving sizes, and greater control when eating 2.
On the other hand, research has linked distracted or mindless eating with adverse outcomes such as anxiety and stress eating 3. Research has long established that mindfulness exercises, including mindful eating exercises, may reduce stress and anxiety by helping to reduce cortisol levels.
In fact, one recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that practicing mindfulness is integral to managing stress 4.
It makes sense that eating mindfully can reduce stress since it encourages us to eat without distraction. Simply put, mindful eating allows us to slow down, relax, and take a break from daily stressors during meals.
The research shows that mindfulness and mindful eating exercises may reduce binge and emotional eating. Two separate literature reviews found that mindful eating awareness training can decrease the frequency of binge eating and emotional eating episodes, improve self-control around food, and reduce the symptoms of depression in those with binge eating disorder 5 , 6.
A more recent literature review found that mindfulness-based approaches to eating appear to be most effective in addressing binge eating, emotional eating, and eating in response to external cues.
The researchers hypothesized that mindfulness principles reduce emotional eating by increasing awareness of internal cues to eat, such as hunger and fullness 7.
Are you interested in becoming a mindful eater or expanding your skills further? Mindful eating exercises are a great way to start. The following mindful eating activities and exercises can help you incorporate the practice of mindful eating into your daily routine.
So why not give one of these activities a try? Or even better, try all ten! A big part of eating more mindfully involves bringing awareness to your food and meals.
Set the stage for an enjoyable meal by starting with some mindful eating basics. The mindful eating hunger scale is a helpful tool to measure your appetite on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being ravenous and 10 being completely stuffed.
As a general rule, you want to start eating when you are at a 3 or 4 and stop around 6 or 7. In other words, not too hungry and not too full. Being very hungry tends to backfire and cause us to overcompensate by eating more or faster than we usually would.
The Balanced Plate Activity is a mindfulness eating exercise that will help you slow down and focus on the physical sensations of eating a well-balanced meal. Many individuals report feeling fuller and more satisfied after consuming a balanced meal- that is, a meal that consists of a carb, protein, and fat.
Try keeping a mindful eating journal of your meals and snacks. Journaling is an excellent way to practice gratitude and bring greater awareness to your internal dialogue. You might start to notice patterns over time, such as boredom eating or eating to soothe an uncomfortable emotion.
In this mindful eating journal, you may want to describe your meal, how it made you feel, your emotions, or what you were doing before eating. The Mindful Eating Plate is a creative take on the MyPlate method that provides a visual reminder of the different aspects of mindful eating.
It comes from Dr. Susan Albers, an author and expert on mindful eating. Like MyPlate, the Mindful Eating Plate divides a standard dinner dish into four sections. These sections represent:. Have you ever noticed that the first bite of something delicious often tastes better than the subsequent bites?
This is because our taste buds quickly adapt to a new flavor. During this mindful eating activity, notice the changes and subtle differences that occur with each new bite. Begin by serving yourself a mindful meal, then slowly and deliberately take a bite.
Make a note of how the first bite tastes. Does it taste as good as you imagined? Continue like this until the meal is complete or you are full, whichever comes first. However, try to take notes every few bites. For example, how does the first bite compare to the fourth or fifth?
How does it compare to the last bite?
Find a small Digestive enzyme function of food, such as one Fatigue and lack of motivation or nut, movemdnt/exercise a mindvul cookie. You can Mivement/exercise any food that you like. Eating with mindfulness is not about deprivation or rules. Now, close your eyes, and explore the food with your sense of touch. What does this food feel like? Is it hard or soft?
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