Empower Yourself with the Practice of Mindful Eating
Nov 5, 2020
Empower Yourself with the Practice of Mindful Eating
Food is so much more than just the nutrients and energy that our bodies create from it. For centuries, food has been used to celebrate, to socialize, and even to grieve or mourn. Food is one of the universal connectors in our shared human experience, and our individual relationship to food can run especially deep within us.
Whether we like it or realize it, we all have an emotional connection to the food we eat, and understanding this connection is one of the most critical components to resolving or improving unhealthy food habits. It’s as the saying goes: “the first step in resolving a problem is understanding what the problem is.” After all, we can change our diets as many times we want, but if we neglect to fully understand how our bodies uniquely tick, we will inevitably revert back to our old, unhealthy patterns and have to start again. In my professional opinion, the practice of mindfulness as it relates to eating is the missing link between those who successfully change their food habits and those who struggle to do so.
So what is mindful eating anyways? Mindful eating is a process during which we learn to pay attention to how we are feeling and why we are eating before we choose to eat. It is a practice in which we really get to know ourselves and non-judgmentally observe the feelings - physical, mental and emotional - that drive us eat. Some people call this intuitive eating. The practice of mindful or intuitive eating is incredibly empowering because we are giving ourselves the power and space to make conscious decisions about our food rather than to feel out-of-control, mindless, or powerless about our urges and cravings.
Before you can fully adopt the practice of mindful eating, you have to actively ditch conventional eating standards such as a.) the number of meals you should eat in a day or b.) what times of the day are appropriate for eating, or c.) what types of food should be eaten at what times of day.
During the practice of mindful eating, you are essentially becoming a detective of your own body. You will regularly check-in with yourself throughout the day and ask yourself these “why” questions (but not limited to just these):
Why am I eating?
Is it because I’m actually hungry?
If not, is it because I’m bored?
Or am I stressed?
Am I eating just because it’s noon and that’s when I’m supposed to eat?
Am I eating because I’m sad or lonely?
Let’s say you’ve determined that you are, in fact, hungry: where in my body do I feel it?
What does hunger feel like?
Do you have any other symptoms that associate with the feelings of hunger? (i.e. anxiety, anger, restlessness)
Am I craving anything in particular?
How do I feel emotionally?
By simply observing the state of our mind and body BEFORE we pick up our food to eat it, we have suddenly brought a subconscious or otherwise mindless act back into our conscious brain. This is huge! Why? Because now we have labelled a piece of our eating pattern. This is a tiny piece of intel into the interworking of our mind and body. Once we’ve gathered enough data, we can then take the next step in remedying the underlying emotional or mental obstacles.
Becoming a mindful eater takes time, practice and patience. But most importantly, it takes non-judgment, as I mentioned before. This is imperative. Our relationship with food is deeply intimate and unique to each one of us. We have been eating since the day we exited the womb, and every interaction with food since then has amassed to form your opinions and actions surrounding food. For some people, becoming mindful of why we are eating can unleash some painfully emotional feelings that date back many decades. We must be kind to ourselves during this process and view the mindful eating practice as a means of healing and NOT a means for judgment.
If you are new to this mindful eating practice, here are some suggestions to help you start to become aware of your habits:
Track your food either on paper or in an app on your phone. The simple act of tracking your food will hold you accountable to actually paying attention to when you eat at all! This is arguably the hardest step in the process.
Eat without distractions. Plan to eat each of your meals without your phone or TV or other distractions. Multi-tasking in and of itself can distract you from reading your “hungry” or “full” signals. Take your time. Feel eat bite in your mouth. Learn to interact with your food on a meaningful basis.
Ask yourself “why.” This simple question can provide profound answers. Get into the habit of asking yourself “why” each and every time you reach for something to eat or drink. If the answer is anything other than “because I’m hungry” or “because I’m thirsty,” make note of this in a journal or notebook and begin compiling this data for later dissection.