Mindful Eating – A Simple Beginner’s Guide That Anyone Can Follow

Mindful Eating – A Simple Beginner’s Guide That Anyone Can Follow

In this fast-paced world so many of us are living in, cultivating a mindful eating practice can go a long way toward enhancing our physical, emotional, and mental well-being so that we may live good, healthy, and balanced lives.

Mindful eating means that we are as present and aware as possible while engaging in the actual act of eating rather than being distracted by external stimuli. It includes a number of key components, some of which are listed below.

Consciously Choosing

Mindful eating begins even before the food is actually on our plate. Even before we start preparing our meal. It begins by consciously choosing what to eat and which ingredients to use.

Mindful eating is not about stuffing whatever food we can find into our mouths, but it begins by consciously choosing ingredients with high nutritional value.

It is about choosing and eating food that makes us and our bodies feel good.

Gratitude and Appreciation

as we are preparing and eating our meal, we want to repeatedly give thanks for the food we are eating, for the ingredients, for the flavors and smells. 

We want to give thanks for the abundance and luxury we enjoy to be able to treat ourselves to such a tasty and nutritious meal.

We want to give thanks for all the bodily functions that allow us to prepare, eat, and digest the food. 

Let’s acknowledge and appreciate anybody and everybody who has participated in this meal finding itself on our plate. 

From the farmers who grew the produce to the store clerk who stacked them on the shelves – and anyone in between.

Sensational Awareness

We want to pay close attention to the food on our plate. 

What does it look like, smell like, and maybe even feel like?

How does it feel to eat this particular meal? How are our bodies responding to it? 

Do we feel nourished and invigorated, or do we feel heavy and perhaps bloated?

Slowing Down

We want to chew the food mindfully while eating. 

Paying close attention to flavors and textures is a key aspect of mindful eating. 

We want to take smaller bites and chew the food slowly as this enhances our ability to become aware of when we feeling full. Which is the body’s way of letting us know that we have eaten enough.

Turning off Gadgets

As we are eating, we want to turn off and put away common distractions such as the TV and smartphones. These inhibit our ability to be fully present with the meal we are enjoying. 

We want to be fully present with the food we are eating and the environment we are eating in. What does the room we are eating in actually look like? 

What other objects, sounds, and smells can we become aware of in our environment?

Keeping a part of our attention on the breath while we are eating is a powerful technique to anchor, ground, and center ourselves in the nowness of this moment.

Body Awareness

Let’s listen to our body. What signals is it sending? Have we had enough to eat? How does the body respond to what we are eating?

Mindful eating is not about keeping on eating until we feel overly full and stuffed but stopping when we experience being satisfied.

Nor is it about just stuffing anything into our mouths. 

Many of us actually take better care of our cars than we do of our bodies. We want to be very mindful of the body’s signals so as to let it guide us to what it needs to function at an optimal level.

Emotional & Mental Awareness

We also want to witness and observe the mental and emotional content in our minds while we are eating. 

Let’s become aware of whether we are eating to fill a void, out of stress, or to distract ourselves from unpleasant emotions.

Witnessing and observing our minds and emotions is a powerful practice that allows us to become more conscious of our eating habits. 

Once we become aware of when we are being run by our thoughts and emotions, we then have the opportunity to make a new choice. A more conscious choice. 

Not beating ourselves up or judging ourselves for not being able to make that choice before – but acknowledging ourselves for now being able to engage more fully in mindful eating. 

Mindful Eating Conclusions

These are a few key components of mindful eating. It begins with us setting an intention to become more mindful and then cultivating habits and practices that support that intention. 

Cultivating a way of life where we seek to become more present and mindful in our moment-to-moment lives is a powerful and fun way to also develop a solid mindful eating practice.

So let us stop on a regular and consistent basis, take a couple of deep and conscious breaths, and come back to the nowness of this moment. As often as we can remember.