3 Steps To Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating is the practice of cultivating an open-minded awareness of how the food we choose to eat affects one’s body, mind, and feelings. It is eating without judgment or criticism. It is eating with intention and awareness.

Set an intention to be present while eating. And keep bringing your attention back to eating when you notice that you got distracted. You will repeat this again and again because it’s like a muscle that needs to be trained. Do it without judgment or criticism, it is in our minds nature to wander.

Your attitude towards yourself will affect your practice. Observe what comes up in the present moment with impartial curiosity. If you consume your food mindlessly, great! It is the perfect opportunity to explore what was happening for you at that moment. Journal about how you were feeling and how you are feeling after. Remember to be nonjudgmental and simply witness the experience.

Are you really tasting your food?

I want to remind you to chew. Your stomach does not have taste buds so when you chew your food it allows you time to truly taste and savour your delicious meal. I would argue that you really didn’t taste or enjoy the pleasure of your meal when you inhale your food at lightning speed.

Mindful Eating in 3 Steps:

Take 3 deep breaths. This calms the nervous system into rest-n-digest mode. And out of the fight or flight system that most people live in.

Name 2 things that you are grateful for. This allows you honor appreciation for your meal and all the effort it took to get it to your plate. When we offer gratitude how we view food and ourselves shifts.

Take one big whiff of your meal. Seventy percent of your taste actually comes from smell. If you think about when you have a cold and your nose is all stuffed up and everything tastes like cardboard – that’s why. So, go ahead and smell your food.