Why Mindful Eating Should Be Your New Self Care Routine

What does food mean to you? I used to think that food is purely a fuel for my body and nothing more.

I have struggled with disordered eating for many years.

I restricted myself from certain foods, I binged, and it continued in vicious cycles. For a while, it became my “normal” way of eating.

Food was my only coping mechanism.

I made up many excuses in my head,

“I am a full-time student and work 30 hours per week; I work out, and I can burn what I eat, and on and on.”

It led to distorted body image, abusive exercise regime, and perpetuated negative self-talk.

But that all changed three years ago when I was introduced to mindful eating in my nutrition class.

The instructor showed up with two bags of food. In one bag, she had small pretzel sticks, and the other was full of grapes. Before she even began the lecture, she asked to distribute the food among all the students and grab only one piece from each bag. The giggles and excitement rushed through the class. No one had any idea of what was coming up next, but everyone was thrilled about snacks supplied by the teacher. How often does that happen?

After a brief lecture on the principles of mindful eating, we all got engaged in the exercise that was accompanied with more laughs. This exercise shifted my mindset about food.

I told myself I had had enough. I chose to slow down and listen to my body; I got tired of undoing my binge eating by over-exercising. I decided to develop a new self-care routine through compassion for my body and find more pleasure in eating.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, I am here to share some nutritional wisdom and reassure you that you can regain the power of your eating habits!

After reading books on eating disorders, intuitive eating, and attending seminars, I realized that many of us have to some degree, unhealthy relationships with food. But it doesn’t have it to stay that way.

Mindful eating is strongly supported by experts in the field of psychology and nutrition to treat eating disorders and even chronic diseases. There are numerous personal stories whose lives have been transformed into more compassionate and intimate relationships with food and the body. It was a revolutionizing experience for me, and I cannot wait to share it with all of you.

Mindless eating vs Mindful eating

There is a common concept that mindless eating is a condition in which you have no idea what you just ate, aka “eating amnesia.”

No one wants to be called a mindless person, but many would agree that they live in a world high-urgency and full of distractions. However, the irony of distracted eating is that you are missing out on the entire experience of savoring food. It is difficult to slow down when you have a full-time job, family, social life, workout plans, and a whole lot on the to-do list.

A recent study makes a great case about the effect of distracted eating while playing a computerized card game. The results indicated that the participants:

• Ate faster
• Didn’t remember what they ate
• Consumed more snacks
• And had less awareness of hunger/satiety levels

It concluded that the meal size increases with the presence of distracting stimuli, which could thereby contribute to overeating and obesity.

This experiment questions if there is a new perspective on how to combat growing numbers of Americans dealing with obesity and health complications associated with it, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, to name a few. A new approach offers a solution beyond restrictive eating and “no pain, no gain” exercise regime.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., a molecular biologist, created a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center intending to bring Buddhist meditation into the world of Western medicine. In his book Full Catastrophe Living, he wrote,

“Mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness. It is cultivated by purposefully paying attention to things we ordinarily never give a moment’s thought to. It is a systematic approach to developing new kinds of control and wisdom in our lives.”

Kabat-Zinn dedicated his life’s work to promote applications of mindfulness in treating various medical conditions.

A recent study published in journal Trends Psychiatry Psychother concluded that mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy can be applied to treat chronic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), and can be used in combination with existing treatments. It is a safe, effective, integrative approach to treat increased levels of stress and anxiety that accompanies daily life and chronic illness.

Jean Kristeller, a psychology professor at Indiana State University, is a pioneer in applying mindfulness to treat eating issues such as compulsively eating large quantities of food i.e., “bingeing.” She used the principles of Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR program to launch a Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT). It teaches people how to taste their food, recognize their levels of hunger and fullness, and be more accepting of their food preferences.

At this point, hopefully you are convinced that mindfulness needs to be a part of your routine daily living, including eating.

So, how do you do it?

How to Eat Mindfully

Next time you feel an urge to snack or have a meal ask yourself the following questions to help you break any unhealthy eating behaviors. It will assist you in building a positive and enjoyable relationship with food, leading to a happier and healthier you.

1. Understand your motives: why are you reaching for food? Are you actually hungry, or thirsty, or even bored?
2. Rate your hunger: Think of a hunger scale with 10 being sickly stuffed and 1 is ravenous. You should feed your body at level 3–4 when hunger pangs begin, the stomach is growling, a slight headache, grouchiness, lack of energy, etc. Do not wait until you feel starved!
3. Connect with food on a deeper level: Consider all the elements that went into a meal that arrived on your plate. From the water, soil, and sun, to people who planted, harvested, stocked shelves at the supermarket, and those who prepared the meal.
4. Eat without distraction: Create a pleasurable environment such as pretty placements, candles, colorful dishes, soothing music, sit down to eat, and put the phone away.
5. Feel and observe the signs of a comfortable level of fullness: It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to receive satiation signals, which is why we often unconsciously overeat. Pause in the middle of the meal, put a utensil down, check with your taste buds and body, take several deep breaths before a meal, and in between the bites.

Exercise to Develop Mindful Eating

The “Raisin Meditation” by Jon Kabat-Zinn can be found on the Greater Good Science Center’s website, but here is the outline of it (you can also perform this exercise using a grape, strawberry, pretzel, piece of cheese, or chocolate).

1. Holding: First, take a raisin and hold it in between your fingers.
2. Seeing: Take time to explore every part of it, the folds and ridges, and any asymmetries.
3. Touching: Turn the raisin over between your fingers, exploring its texture. Maybe even close your eyes to enhance your sense of touch.
4. Smelling: Hold the raisin beneath your nose. Take in any smell, aroma, or fragrance that may arise with each breath.
5. Placing: Bring the raisin up to your lips slowly and notice how your hand and arm know exactly how to position it. Gently place the raisin in your mouth and spend a few moments without chewing, focusing on the sensations of having it in your mouth.
6. Tasting: When you feel ready, prepare to chew the raisin. Take one or two bites very consciously and notice what happens with the texture of the object and sensations in the mouth.
7. Swallowing: Swallow the raisin but pay attention to the first intention to swallow it.
8. Following: Finally, notice if you can feel what is left of the raisin moving down into your stomach, and sense how your body is feeling after you have completed this exercise.

Final words of wisdom

Mindfulness is a powerful tool to regain control over eating habits.

It is a practical way to develop respect, kindness, and gratitude towards your body and food. You don’t need to deprive yourself; nothing is forbidden. Variety, moderation, and balance lie in the groundwork of food wisdom.

We all experience anxiety, loneliness, boredom throughout life, while food is comforting, it will not fix the emotions. Learn your triggers and nurture yourself by taking a bubble bath, listening to soothing music, getting a massage, yoga class, and buying flowers for yourself.

Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds, and remember:

You do not have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy!