Mindful Eating: Being Aware of Nutritional Choices
By Winy Chen, Registered Dietitian, BCHD
An old Zen proverb says, “you eat when you eat, you sleep when you sleep.” This simple adage encompasses a universal truth of living in the present. I like to extend this idea to the practice of “mindful eating.” Mindful eating is the state of being consciously aware of everything that affects eating. You eat when you eat. Do not think about or do anything else. It is an art that takes time to perfect and deserves some exploration.
Ideally, one should eat based on hunger signs. In reality, that is hardly the case. Eating takes on multiple cues. It is physiological. Your senses entice you to eat. The smell of fresh baked cookies, the presence of chips in the pantry and the irresistible taste of ice cream make it harder for people to stop at the first bite.
Eating also takes on social cues. Social gatherings are frequently accompanied by foods. Therefore, you associate foods with socialization. If you want to celebrate your friendship, try to focus on the conversation itself instead of food. Better yet, plan your gathering around a physical activity such as hiking or biking.
Technology today has increasingly tempted people to do more than one thing at a time. This also negatively affects eating. More and more people eat while performing other tasks such as working, driving and walking. Recent research has shown multitasking to be counter-productive and can decrease learning and memorization. Eating while doing other tasks can prompt overeating and sometimes even cause indigestion.
Eating is also associated with your environment. It is certainly difficult to eat healthy when there are many temptations around the house. Take a closer look at what is in your pantry and refrigerator and try to rid the kitchen of tempting junk foods. Make fresh vegetables and fruits available. Even a dietitian such as myself cannot resist the lure of chocolate.
More and more people have identified stress and moods to be the culprits of overeating or making poor choices. Part of being a mindful eater is becoming aware of your emotional state and finding other ways to cope with your feelings without foods. If you realize that stress is making you overeat, you should explore other things that would make you feel better. Physical activity, meditation and/or talking with a friend are good options. Find what works for you. If boredom is causing you to overeat, find ways to distract your boredom. For some, psychosocial counseling is necessary to address the underlying emotional problems that cause emotional eating.
We have discussed different cues that influence eating: physiological, situational, environmental, and emotional. What are some things people can do to be more “mindful?” One technique is eating slower by chewing food at least 15 times. Another technique is rating your hunger scale, with zero being completely empty and ten being fully stuffed. You want to eat when you first feel hungry, around three or four on the scale. You want to stop when you are satisfied but not too full, around seven or eight. Rate your emotional scale the same way. Similar to the hunger scale, you want to recharge your energy when you are about three or four and try to keep your energy level between five and eight.
Part of being a mindful eater is not denying your craving. You should recognize that you have cravings. Allow yourself to have the food but with some modifications. For example, instead of a whole bar of chocolate, have a smaller portion and savor every bite. If you can’t stop, or want to eat it all, control how often you have the food.
Mindful eating is all about recognizing and considering all things that affect eating. Ideally, you want to eat foods that nourish your body. Sometimes this is not possible. If you are really mindful, you can say “no, thank you.” But you can also make choices and adjustments to feel like you control the food rather than the food controlling you. Like all habits, it just takes time and practice to break free.
