How many times has the thought crossed your mind, “I eat way too fast. I should really slow down?”. Do you get to the end of your meal and realize you did not taste or remember anything you ate? Finally, do you end your meals still hungry or overly full? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, let me introduce you to your new best friend, mindful eating.
One of my favorite definitions of mindful eating comes from Joseph Nelson’s 2017 article in Diabetes Spectrum, “Mindful eating (i.e. paying attending to our food, on purpose, moment by moment, without judgement) …”. I describe it to patients as an intentional presence both with the food itself and the way it interacts with our bodies.
The concrete steps of this practice involve elements like acknowledging where the food may have come from, engaging every sense, taking small bites, and checking in with our level of fullness and satisfaction. All are designed to create a moment of intentional pause and a complete sensorial experience tied to the meal. While this sounds ideal in concept, it can be hard to achieve in practice.
A more practical approach to mindful eating can adapt some of these elements and add new aspects that work for your unique situation. Perhaps you still have to rush through a short lunch hour, but you make the decision to eat without distractions. Maybe a full meal’s worth of slow bites and sensory attention sounds daunting, but you can make it through a snack or one singular piece of candy.
The good news it that there isn’t a right or wrong way to make your daily interactions with food more mindful. The even better news is that your ability to tune fully in is like a muscle, it gets stronger with time and practice. Ultimately, five minutes are better than one, and five seconds are better than none.
A lovely introduction to this concept involves a spare moment and a raisin. If raisins are not your thing, substitute it for something that is. Moving through the process slowly and intentionally, start with the visual and physical aspects of the fruit. Notice the color, texture, weight, and size. Hold it in your mouth without chewing. Notice what happens in your brain and your salivary glands. Chew the raisin, exploring the way the texture and taste change over time. Let it become complete broken down before swallowing. Check in with yourself afterwards to catalog what you liked and what was hard about this exercise. These same steps can be repeated at a faster or slower pace every time you stop to have something to eat.
The benefits of mindful eating are far reaching. It may make food feel more interesting and satisfying. You might notice an increase in calm and attention in these moments of pause. Additionally, you are more likely to end a meal comfortably full and content. Not to mention, it can be novel and fun to change up our thrice daily mealtime routine.
I’m not saying you can never again distractedly eat your breakfast on your commute to work or enjoy a snack in front of the TV. That would make me quite the hypocrite. But, finding these small moments to really experience something mundane may help address those questions you answered yes to at the beginning. It’s ok if mindful eating does not successfully become your best friend, but don’t let it be a stranger.