How To Be A Mindful Eater

How To Be A “Mindful” Eater 

In the last post, I addressed “mindless” habits and activities and the common behavior of eating mindlessly.

Today is referring to mindful habits – specifically mindful eating.  

Mindful is an adjective, the opposite of mindless. 

Mindful is where one is aware, almost hyper-aware, conscious of, alive, sensible, and alert. 

For example, when concentrating on the directions to a new place, you must turn down the radio to see better. 

Here I want to address how this may apply to eating. 

How does this apply to eating? 

Mindfully eating uses all five senses without distractions, not talking, reading, or listening to music or television. But, of course, it takes time and patience to do it “right.” Seriously, it takes five minutes to eat a single raisin.

More About Mindful Eating

While some people use mindful and intuitive eating interchangeably, they are different. 

Mindful eating has you slow down and be fully in tune with all tastes and textures of the food. It can use all five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. It is about awareness and intention. 

Taste and smell are closely related. When it comes to food, taste drives food choices above all else. 

Before taking a bite, there are other things to consider, such as the environment and things going on nearby. 

While I love a good get-together with friends or having a fantastic dining experience with my husband, practicing mindful eating would remove all these distractions. We would be alone with our thoughts, mainly about the food in front of us. 

The texture and sight of the food are considered first. The texture (feel) of food and its looks will affect our choices and determine whether we will even consider a bite. For example, if our salmon was gray or our broccoli was yellow, it may change whether we would consider eating it. Think about that. 

Does food have a sound? Indeed, there is a sound in the cooking process, but does the food have sound? 

In mindful eating, eating is the only “activity” happening. It takes time, and putting the fork down between bites is essential. And while eating, all food components are apparent, the five tastes are more evident, and there is often a deeper appreciation for the food, no matter what.  

Of course, you don’t have to chew something 50 times, but it is not scarfing food. 

Consequences of Mindful Eating

What is the benefit of eating mindfully? Never mind that eating five bites takes 20 minutes but eating more mindfully will often lead to eating less. Taking the time and savoring foods is

beneficial because many people will realize they are just fine with less food. And it can also lead to making healthier choices.

For example, people have told me that after eating more mindfully, they don’t enjoy fast food but want quality food. And there is nothing wrong with swapping low-quality food for higher-quality food. 

But again, it takes more time and can lead to an appearance of being anti-social, which isn’t always bad. I don’t think most mindful people do this with all meals. But it is a great exercise to increase awareness. 

If you want to try it to understand what it includes, watch this video, Mindful Eating: The Raisin Exercise.

And if you are not a fan of raisins, I now do this exercise with a peanut M&M.

Mindless and Mindful: Balance

I don’t imagine mindless eating will completely disappear with increased awareness and that adopting eating mindfully in all instances is not practical for most people. However, knowledge of these two concepts’ often helps reduce mindless eating episodes and increase mindfulness. 

Next time you find yourself eating mindlessly, you can stop, acknowledge it, and hopefully slow down or put the food away. 

After trying mindful eating, you can appreciate food more and eat less. 

Are you ready to take the next step in addressing your health and wellness goals? Let’s chat and consider joining us for our next Health Not Hype Program.