The Essence of a Mindful Eating Practice

By:  Katie Jeffrey

What is the essence of a mindful eating practice? First, let’s explore what a practice truly is. A practice is an activity, behavior or attitude that a person returns to again and again for the intrinsic benefit that it brings them. For instance, Sally makes time to be physically active at least four days each week because she knows that it gives her energy, increases her confidence, elevates her mood and optimizes her health. She realizes that some days her workout may not feel that great while other days it feels fabulous. Sally, like many others, has made being physically active a part of her lifestyle because she appreciates and realizes the intrinsic benefits it brings her.

Now that you have a better understanding of what a practice is let’s look at it in terms of mindful eating. Mindfulness is nonjudgmental. Creating a mindfulness practice allows you to observe – without judgment – your thoughts, emotions, and internal cues. It is observing what is happening in the present moment and taking note of it. It is listening and truly hearing the information that your body gives you. Mindfulness enables you to honor yourself and your internal wisdom which many individuals have a difficult time doing when it comes to determining how much to eat to reach comfortable fullness or satisfied.

A mindfulness practice can also be described as taking a curiosity stance. Curiosity reduces judgment which can easily lead to negative feelings and, in turn, stop you from continuing the practice. Staying curious allows you to observe what is happening in the present moment without judgment so that you can respond to the messages you are receiving rather than react to them.

Eating mindfully allows you to listen and honor both your hunger and fullness cues and puts you in charge of when you will eat, the types of foods you choose to enjoy, the amount of the food that is right for you, and how you will eat the food you have selected (mindfully vs. mindlessly). It puts you in the driver’s seat giving you choices since there is no right or wrong way to nourish your body. A mindfulness practice enables you to remain curious and experiment to determine the best way to nourish your body.

If you are interested in beginning or sharpening your mindful eating practice it may help to ask yourself the following questions:

1. How will a mindful eating practice benefit me? Here are a few examples of how individuals I have worked with answered this question:
   1. “It enables me to eat until I am comfortably full rather than stuffed which is an uncomfortable feeling.”
   2. “When I eat mindfully I decide when, what and how much to eat based on what I feel like, my health goals, and the foods I have available rather than listening to an outside source such as, a diet. I feel in charge of my decisions when I eat mindfully.”
   3. “I enjoy all types of foods when I eat mindfully and listen to my body.   I find that when I eat mindfully I naturally gravitate towards healthier foods because these are the foods that make me feel my best.”
2. When was the last time I truly tasted the food I was eating?
3. When was the last time I left the meal feeling both physically satisfied and satiated (i.e. emotionally satisfied with the overall experience of eating and how my food tasted)?
4. Am I eating in a way that allows me to be in the present moment?
5. When I eat do I judge myself or others?
6. What can I do to be more mindful when I eat?

Establishing a mindful eating practice is rewarding and puts you in charge of your food choices. It allows you to decide what is best for you so that you can live your life to your fullest. I have also found that it helps individuals build self-confidence because they learn to honor and trust their innate wisdom. Start a mindfulness practice today or sharpen the one you have to enjoy its many benefits.