An Experiment in Mindful Eating
Part of my motivation for starting MBSR training was to expand my ideas about mindfulness and practice mindfulness in different areas and contexts. As I mentioned before, one of those areas was eating.
Mindful eating is one of those concepts you hear a lot in the health space, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I considered myself pretty healthy and, honestly, the combination of YouTube and lunch was always a not-too-guilty pleasure… the perfect little mid-day break on workdays.
On the other hand, I would notice myself ignoring food until I was super hungry, then scarfing meals and sometimes wondering “if I hadn’t felt so hungry, would I really have eaten all that?” Something about it just wasn’t feeling GOOD.
And the way I ate was definitely not giving CALM.
So as I wrap up my first week of the MBSR 8-week program, I’m feeling really positive about mindful eating. I haven’t eaten every single meal mindfully, this week, but I have “switched off” for most. Rather than focusing on consuming information, having a conversation, or getting work done, my focus is on the warmth, smell, colors, and textures of my food. Sometimes I even consider where the food came from.
The only drawback? I’m still not sure how this will work out socially. I don’t think every situation lends itself to a truly mindful eating experience, but even just shifting my focus momentarily to my food when out with others has helped me connect.
Here’s how mindful eating has made me feel at this initial stage:
super satiated
more motivated to make food at home (something I generally avoid like the plague)
snacking less and wanting far fewer sweets and treats than usual
While I’m at it, I’ll share two ways you can give mindful eating a try if you’re interested:
Look at your food
Start simple: simply examine how your food looks before it goes into your mouth. I don’t mean a fleeting glance, though. Have a close look at the texture and colors. Appreciate the beautiful bits of it — or, hey, you may even realize it’s totally unappealing. When we’re ‘shoveling it in’ we sometimes don’t even take a good look at what we’re consuming. The simple act of examining the food that you’re eating can make a lot of difference in how you feel while eating.
Single-task your meal
Multitasking while eating makes it difficult to tune into our body's needs. Ever watched a video during lunch and suddenly looked down surprised that your plate was empty? That’s multi-tasking at work. When we're distracted, we miss our body's signals about hunger and satisfaction. For your next meal, try focusing solely on eating—no screens, no distractions—just the food.
Enjoy your next meal!
