Mindful Eating:
7 Exercises to Help You Practice It

Aside from what you eat, have you ever pondered about how you eat? Or where and when? Problems may arise from distracted or mindless eating because, to begin with, unhealthy eating habits are unhealthy.

Mindful eating can help you establish better eating habits and a healthier relationship with food. Find out why you need this food approach in your life and how to perform mindful eating exercises almost effortlessly.

Mindfulness is a Buddhist meditation technique of being present and fully in the moment. When applied to meals or snacks, this is referred to as mindful eating. It has little to do with counting calories or carbohydrates, fat, or protein content, but more about how every aspect of the food appeals to the human senses.

Mindful eating is an approach to food that focuses on the individual's sensual awareness of the food and their experience with the food. The goal is to help individuals savor the moment and encourage their full presence in the eating experience. One variation of mindful eating is being aware of the physical qualities of each dish. Buddhist monks, for example, often eat in complete silence after first meditating in front of their plate. Other mindful eating exercises encourage you to ponder the origin of your food, consider everything it took to grow, transport, and prepare it.

We eat mindlessly, gorging on food regardless of whether we're still hungry or not. We may find ourselves finding comfort in food when we are stressed, sad, anxious, lonely, bored, or feeling any other unpleasant emotion.

Eating due to reasons other than satisfying physical hunger is called emotional eating. It concerns using food to fulfill an emotional need or to change an emotional state. On the other hand, mindful eating is eating with intention and attention. It is responding to the need for food as nourishment and to satisfy hunger.

Food affects your well-being as well as the way you feel physically, how you respond emotionally, and how you manage mentally. Mindful eating can help you change your eating habits by increasing awareness of eating behaviors based on your emotional and physical cues.

• Weight loss
• Better digestion
• Improved nutrient absorption
• Lowers cortisol levels (high cortisol contributes to obesity)
• Lowers your blood pressure, heart rate, and stress levels
• Improved symptoms of type 2 diabetes

• Reduces physiological distress relating to depression, anxiety, stress, and eating behaviors including overeating and binge eating
• Helps with mood, concentration, memory, sleep, and even libido.
• Promotes greater wellbeing, fullness, appreciation, and happiness.

Mindfulness eating exercises aid in devoting your attention to your meal and paying attention to the food you eat. Like all habits, mindful eating will take time to get used to. You will have to slowly, but surely, train your mind to build muscle memory for your body to respond to your need for food. The following are a few tips to help you practice mindfulness eating:

Before you eat a meal, mindfully check in with your hunger and take a moment to ponder your motivations. Are you starving? Are you hungry? Do you just need a small snack? Or are you just bored?

Physical hunger is signaled by hunger pangs. You may have low energy or feel lightheaded. Emotional hunger can come up anytime, even if you ate recently. You'll notice yourself craving something specific.

As a mindful eater, you will have to identify the signal your brain sends to your body and be able to respond in healthier ways when your emotions compel you to eat unnecessarily.

As you eat, notice how your hunger slowly transforms into satisfaction. It is recommended for you to eat only until you're 80% full because it will take a little longer for the satiety center of the brain to know that you are full. It is important to mindfully stop to prevent you from overeating.

Regularly eating in silence can help you develop the habit of eating more mindfully, even if you are used to having conversations with family and friends during meals. Conversations prevent you from eating mindfully.

Enjoy the silence. You could also avoid calling or texting and instead tune in to yourself and focus on your meal. Take this moment to reflect on the whole process of eating, from its source and how the meal was prepared to how it reached you. This may help you build awareness and a better appreciation of your food.

Slow things down. Take your grandmother's advice and chew your food carefully and thoroughly. You might also want to try eating using chopsticks, eating with your non-dominant hand, or learning to set your fork or spoon down between bites. This prevents you from mindlessly spooning in more food and instead, chewing intentionally.

Savor each bite. This mindful eating exercise allows your senses to fully appreciate your meal and observe the dish in all its colors, smell, flavors, textures, temperatures, and much more.

Eating while distracted by TV, movies, games, other electronic devices, and books can lead to overeating. There is a higher tendency to under-chew your food and eat too fast while distracted, which can lead to poor and uncomfortable digestion and the sensation of still being hungry.

By removing these distractions, your mind can focus on eating. Mindful eating is a form of meditation. Meditation requires 100% of your attention and for you to remove all distractions.

Another way people eat mindlessly is by eating on impulse. You mindlessly hunt for food in your cabinets or pantry or eat at random times and places. This prevents you from developing healthy environmental cues about what and how much to eat, and wires your brain with new cues for eating that are not always ideal, such as eating in the car or on your bed.

We could all use a little more structure in our lives by creating a schedule for eating meals and snacks to help us gain control over unnecessary eating. This means sitting down at a table, putting food on a plate or in a bowl, and eating without any distractions.

An eating schedule helps give order to your diet and is a great step to mindful eating.

It is common to feel guilty about eating something you realize you shouldn't have eaten - this comes from not owning our food choices. In order to have a healthier relationship with food, we need to accept and embrace our choices. Before embarking on "cheat days," make a conscious decision about it and ensure that you will not be left with guilty feelings after.

As you begin to eat mindfully, you'll learn to make your food choices more consciously. Instead of beating yourself up for eating something you feel you shouldn't have, you can make a deliberate decision beforehand.

Mindful eating is an experience with many benefits. However, as with all things, it's not easy to make it a habit. Integrating mindful eating into your daily life might seem unnerving at first, especially if you are used to eating quickly.

That's why it's best to start small. Have a look at your day and choose a meal to try the mindful eating exercises outlined above. You may want to consider breakfast if you are not usually in a rush, or dinner if you usually eat alone. Slowly start with one meal and apply the exercises to other meals. Be patient with yourself and recognize that you are a work in progress.

Most people can benefit from mindful eating activities. But if you suffer or have suffered from an eating disorder, please reach out to a registered dietitian or health care provider for guidance, as it is not always possible to start mindful eating.

Practicing mindful eating can help you find deeper appreciation and fulfillment when eating, which can lead to an overall better state of health. The first step is usually the most difficult to take but the important thing is to make steady, slow, and consistent progress at every meal. Over time, you will see the positive impact of mindful eating in your life, from having better insight about food to having more satisfaction and enjoyment during meals, and a healthier connection to your body.