Not to be dramatic, but learning about mindful eating changed my life.
Before learning how to eat mindfully, food could never just be food. I was constantly demolishing my meals in record time, eating way past full, clearing my plate regardless of how I felt, and overall, blindly eating. It was like the food was something to be conquered. And the worst part was for the longest time, I thought this was the “normal” way to eat.
Like many people, I turned to diets when first trying to change my relationship with food. But restriction of any kind simply didn’t work for me. I knew a diet was not something I could maintain for the rest of my life, and I wanted to have a lifelong, healthy relationship with food.
Dieting Was Not For Me
I’ve dieted many times in my life. I often joke that I’ve literally tried every diet available. My first time being on an official diet, I was 13 or 14, and it was at the suggestion of my parents that I try the Atkins diet. And that experience was my first time feeling like a complete failure.
For me, dieting made me hate everything about who I was. It made me feel like I wasn’t capable of succeeding in anything in life. And, worse, they created terrible, toxic food mindsets and habits. The more I dieted, the more distorted my relationship with food became.
My Introduction To Mindful Eating
My first time learning about mindful eating was in one of my first-ever therapy sessions. My therapist had me do an exercise that involved me eating and “experiencing” a raisin. During that session, I cried. I had never been exposed to that level of personal awareness before, and it was overwhelming.
My therapist gave me the homework of buying a chocolate bar and making it last an entire week using mindful eating. She told me that she regularly would eat a single square of chocolate and have her chocolate bar last for days and days. Because of mindful eating (and self-healing), chocolate was simply chocolate for her. If she wanted to enjoy chocolate, she did, and she allowed herself to feel satisfied by the single piece.
I thought she was full of sh*t, to be honest.
But I began to practice what she taught me. And over time, I was able to make a chocolate bar last for two days rather than two minutes.
And now, almost 10 years later, I’m able to eat a single square of chocolate and put the rest away just like she spoke about in that first therapy session.
Tips To Help Bring You Food Freedom
Mindful eating is about maintaining an “in-the-moment” awareness while you are consuming food and drink. It is about observing how the food or drink makes you feel and the signals you receive, such as taste, textures, and fullness. When you practice mindful eating, you learn to take control of your eating habits and accept that your own eating experience is unique.
1. Start With Your Grocery List
When you are creating your shopping list, consider the health value of every item you add to your list. How will that food make you feel? Is it a nutritious food? Is there a healthier alternative to consider? Commit to sticking to your grocery list that was created with mindfulness. If you need help sticking to your list, order your groceries for pick-up or delivery to avoid adding unnecessary items to your cart.
2. Eat When You Feel Hunger
Listen to your body and eat when you feel hunger. Don’t wait until you feel like you are starving to eat. Part of eating mindfully is learning to listen to your body’s hunger and full cues, so listen to those hunger signals! It is important that you don’t make yourself wait for a set mealtime to satisfy your hunger. Waiting until mealtime will often lead to overeating because your hunger will only increase as you wait. If you are hungry, grab a piece of fruit, a handful of trail mix, a couple of crackers, or some vegetables with hummus, etc, and satisfy your hunger.
3. Begin With A Small Portion
When you’re learning to eat mindfully, start with a smaller portion of food than you would normally put on your plate. Remember, you can always go back for more, there is nothing wrong with that! But you are more likely to listen to your full cues if you start with a smaller portion. Trick your brain into thinking it’s consuming a larger amount of food by eating off of a smaller plate. When you are done eating, allow yourself to sit with the eating experience for 10 minutes before deciding if you want to have seconds or not. And again, there is nothing wrong with getting seconds, it’s just important to make sure it comes from a place of genuine hunger.
4. Practice Chewing Slowly
Eating slowly is the best way to take notice of your stomach’s full cues as soon as it presents itself. When you feel full, stop eating. It doesn’t matter if there is still food on your plate. The goal of mindful eating is to teach your body to eat what it needs, so try not to worry about leftover food. I had a very hard time with my “food waste” mindset in my early days of mindful eating. But I learned that a little bit of food waste in the early days of my journey resulted in knowing how to create proper portion sizes down the road. As much as I felt bad for the initial food waste, I learned to pay attention to how much food my body actually needed to function properly.
5. Experience Your Food
Oftentimes, we are used to eating so fast that we barely have time to really experience our food. Or, we allow ourselves to truly experience the first bite but then every bite of food afterward is done at double speed. Practice experiencing your whole meal. Savor each and every bite. Allow yourself to fully take in the flavors and textures. Add to the experience by appreciating what went into cooking or preparing the food. Think about your food and everything about it as you chew, and truly allow yourself to have a food experience.
Ready To Change Your Food Mindset
Check out these posts to help change your relationship with food!
7 Easy Emotional Eating Tips To Take Back Your Power
10 Eating Habits For Weight Loss
5 Mindset Changes That Will Transform Your Life
How To Build A Healthy Mindset
6 Ways To Practice Mindful Eating
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Fear of creating food waste has always been a tripping point for me to stop eating when I am full. I know to some degree it’s an excuse, but limiting waste is an important part of my life. It’s nice to read that someone else has wrestled with this issue and ultimately had success on both fronts.