I’m sure most of us could at least give some sort of a guess as to what mindful eating is.  Essentially it’s all about being more aware of the processes involved with eating. Now personally I find this to be a bit awkward, but that could also be due to a previous experience.

Let me explain.  When I was taking a mindfulness class at my university, one of the classes was all about mindful eating.  I’ll be honest, when I first heard about it I was a little skeptical.  It just sounded weird to me.  During the class my teacher had us close our eyes.  We were then handed a piece of food.  We were asked to observe what we felt and what we smelled.  I knew immediately that I was holding an orange, but that’s because I don’t really care for the smell of oranges.  After a few minutes she had us take a bite with our eyes still closed.  Of course not really being a fan of oranges, I was’t thrilled when the teacher asked us to linger on how the food felt in our mouth.  Regardless I still find that notion quite odd.

Now while you might not have had quite the experience that I did, you may be slightly familiar with this idea of mindful eating, or you may have never heard of it at all.  Well, I have good news: It doesn’t have to be nearly as weird as I just made it sound.  Time Magazine came out with a special edition on mindfulness, and they gave their own insights on mindful eating, and it was completely different idea than what I was presented in my class.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the method I was taught in my class may work very well for some people, and if it works for you then that’s great.  However, today I’m going to present an alternative perspective of how to tackle mindful eating, and elaborating on a few points from the Time article.

Essentially, Time talks about mindful eating in terms of “eating in the moment”.  In other words, focusing solely on the activity of eating.  This can work without using some of the sensory techniques I discussed earlier.  However, as I said before, if those techniques work for you then go for it.  Here are some of the tips mentioned in the article, and how we as beginners can incorporate these into our everyday lives.

Don’t eat where you work!

This falls in line with the whole concept of multitasking.  Studies have shown that no one can truly multitask.  Even the people who think they’re good at multitasking actually struggle with it.  When we try to kill two birds with one stone by eating while trying to get work done, we will end up not focusing on one of those things.  Most often we will end up not focusing on eating.  This can lead to eating more than you plan on eating.  I’d like to encourage as many healthy behaviors as possible, so by not multitasking you will be killing two birds with one stone for your health! So, the takeaway: Don’t eat where you work, do one then the other, each in different places.

Sit down when you eat!

Again this relates back to multitasking.  Most often when we are walking we are doing or focusing on a multitude of different things.  If we eat during that, once again it is likely that we will not pay attention to what we are eating, causing us to either overeat or not feel full.  I feel it’s also important to not that just sitting down isn’t enough.  It also means that for best results you shouldn’t be on your phone or watching TV while you eat either.  Now I know that this can be really hard for some of us (myself included), but it is possible and will be very beneficial.  The best way I’ve found to do this is to just enjoy what you’re eating. Be in the moment and just enjoy it! Don’t think about what you have to do afterwards, just enjoy your meal and take in the scenery.

Cut your plate in half!

This is something Time Magazine refers to as a “food speed bump”.  Once you eat half of the plate, you should check in and see how full you feel.  If you feel satisfied then save the rest of your food.  By stoping halfway through, you are making sure you remain in the moment and are paying attention, much like a checkpoint or speed bump on a road.  I used to do this all the time at restaurants.  The portions are so big anyway, but if you’re not paying attention you could end up overeating.  Using this speed bump can certainly prevent that.

Those were just a few of the tips mentioned in the article, but hopefully this gives you a sense of how mindful eating can actually be very simple and something you can incorporate into your daily life.

What do you think of these tips? Have any of you ever tried mindful eating?  What was your experience?  I’d love to hear from you in the comments!  Also be sure to share this with friends.  That could really make a difference in someone’s eating habits and potentially change their life.  Remember: everyone was once a beginner.

Mindful Musings

A mental health journey through mindfulness