March 1, 2024 – You may know the basic steps: slow down, notice what you're eating, and enjoy your food. But experts say mindful eating is more nuanced, and if practiced over time and intentionally, can transform your relationship with food and benefit your health.
You can still manage to get work done even if you have a hectic day: eating breakfast on your morning commute, eating lunch at your desk, and coming home to eat in front of the TV.
„Start small. Start with just one bite,“ said Lynn Thorstenson, director of the nonprofit Center for Mindful Eating and a dietitian at Dip NT mNTOI.
There are many easy ways to start eating mindfully. Rahaf Al Bochi, RDN, LD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, recommended chewing your food thoroughly and savoring each bite. You can also start by choosing one meal a day to take more time to eat mindfully, paying attention to how you feel when you finish eating.
practice of eat consciously „It means listening to and respecting your body's signals about food,“ says Boch, owner of Olive Tree Nutrition LLC. „It means eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full. It means engaging your senses when you eat, like taste, smell, and how it makes you feel.“ .”
Eating slowly helps you listen to your body's satiety signals that you've eaten enough.
It is not a case that opens and closes.
Like most things, this technique takes time and training.
„Mindful eating takes practice,“ says Dr. Anita Reyna, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Georgia's School of Public Health in Athens, Georgia. „You don't just wake up one day and run a marathon. You have to start from the beginning. It won't happen.'' Walk and take your time building your endurance. ”
It's not easy for everyone. „As a clinician, working with eating disorders and people recovering from eating disorders, changing their relationship with food can be difficult and often takes time,“ Thorstenson agreed. “Through the practice of mindful eating, bringing curiosity, kindness, and compassion into yourself and your eating experience can make your journey a little easier.”
By developing the habit of conscious eating, people can maintain it over the long term.
Another helpful strategy is to eat mindfully to become more mindful overall, says M.S., LMHC, faculty member of the Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy and former director of the Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy. said Alice J. Rosen, a graduate of the course. Mindful Eating Center.
Eating mindfully can also help people follow a nutritional program. The technology was tested for the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) program, Reina and colleagues said in their paper. small study inside Nutrition Education and Behavior Journal. Researchers have found that people respond positively to mindful eating as part of a wellness program called „Mind Your Heart.“
„That makes sense, because if you're really listening to your body, you probably don't really want nachos. Maybe nachos are just a symbol of fun and freedom.“ said Rosen, who was not involved in the study. Also, if you listen to your body, you may not need as much salt.
No-judgment zone
People can have complex relationships with food. For example, people may feel guilty after snacking or have negative emotions when they „fail“ to lose weight. While many diets focus on restricting or avoiding certain foods, mindful eating is more about building positive relationships.
„Mindfulness is about being at peace with food, whereas dieting is a constant struggle, a conflict, with food,“ Rosen said.
This practice quiets the mind and allows you to pay attention to what you are eating. It's about being calm and intentionally present in the present moment, and not criticizing the experience or focusing on your inner critical dialogue.
visualize
Reyna says mindful eating, also known as intuitive eating, is recommended for anyone who wants to develop a healthy relationship with food and find joy in eating. Told.
„Mindfulness is an abstract concept for many people, and while they may think it's a good idea, it's difficult to visualize it in their busy lives.“ That's what her research shows. It was a theme.
You may find our easy-to-follow guides and diagrams for mindful eating helpful. Reyna suggested the following: MyPlate graphics It is an alternative to the Food Pyramid provided by the US government to help people incorporate mindful eating into their lives more seamlessly.
Simply noticing when you pick up your utensil, take a bite, and put down your fork can be part of mindful eating. Saying grace is also an opportunity to pause and feel gratitude before eating. Another way to increase food awareness is to think about the farmers who grew the food, the truck drivers who delivered the food, and the supermarket workers who sourced the food.
Certain foods aren't important enough to realize. You don't have to attend a farm-to-table event. Food inequality and food insecurity exist in the United States, and not everyone has the same access to healthy foods. Rosen said even if all you have is McDonald's food, you can still say, „Thank you so much for eating this.“
Rosen teaches the practice to groups of people online through the Mindful Eating Center's Conscious Café. The aim is to support people to eat mindfully and be more successful when eating alone. their familyor in social situations.
Not a weight loss plan
There are misconceptions and myths about mindful eating. „The main reason is that it's a tool that helps you lose weight,“ Thorstenson said. nutritional therapist Based in Ireland. It does not mean trying to control food intake in order to control body size or weight.
Rosen agrees, saying, „If someone uses mindful eating as a platform based on disgust with their body or lack of acceptance of their body, that's only going to go in the wrong direction.“ Stated.
Rosen wants to do an experiment similar to the one in the movie in which a man named Morgan Spurlock eats only McDonald's food for a month. super size me. For those who haven't seen the 2004 documentary, Spurlock was gaining weight and feeling unhealthy, much to the surprise of doctors: How much has his health deteriorated?.
„But what happens if you eat mindfully for 30 days?“ Rosen asked. „I'll bet everything I have that my blood levels and everything would have changed.“