Most of us eat semiconsciously, swallowing food without really tasting it or focusing our attention on the next bite before we’ve had an opportunity to enjoy the present one. We also talk, read, or watch TV while eating, directing our attention on other activities instead of the food. As a result, we tend to overeat. Haven’t you mindlessly shoveled in large quantities of popcorn or chips in your mouth while watching a movie or staring at the television screen? In addition, we are robbing ourselves of the full sensory experience from food.
So what is Mindful Eating?
Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment. It is deliberately paying attention, being fully aware of what is happening both inside and outside yourself - in your body, heart and mind - and outside yourself, in your environment. In mindful eating you are not comparing yourself to anyone else. You are not judging yourself or others. You are simply witnessing the many sensations and thoughts that come up as you eat.
Have you ever noticed that when food is really good, conversation at the table is reduced to a minimum, and you concentrate on the enjoyment of the moment? Then you are likely to eat less and enjoy it more.
Mindful eating involves paying full attention to the experience of eating and drinking. You pay attention to the colors, smells, textures, flavors, temperatures, and even the sounds (crunch!) of your food. You pay attention to the experience in the body. Where in the body do you feel hunger? Where do you feel satisfaction? What does half-full feel like, or three quarters full? You also pay attention to the mind. While avoiding judgment or criticism, you watch when your mind gets distracted, pulling away from full attention to what you are eating or drinking. Watch the impulses that arise after you've taken a few sips or bites – do you want to grab a book, to turn on the TV, to call someone on your cell phone, or to get on your computer? Just notice these impulses, don’t judge them and return to just eating. Notice how eating affects your mood and how your emotions like anxiety influences your eating.
The old habits of eating and not paying attention are not easy to change. Don't try to make drastic changes. Lasting change takes time, and is built on many small changes. Start simply.
Mindful Eating Exercises:
• Try taking the first four sips of a cup of hot tea or coffee with full attention to the act of drinking?
• If you are reading and eating, try alternating these activities, not doing both at once? Read a page, then put the book down and eat a few bites, savoring the tastes, then read another page, and so on.
• At family meals, you ask everyone to eat in silence for the first five minutes, thinking about how the food you are eating was prepared.
• Try eating one meal a week mindfully, alone and in silence. Be creative. For example, could you eat lunch behind a closed office door, or even alone in your car?
• Put a raisin in your mouth and see how long you can keep it there while paying attention to its taste and texture.
