Mindful Eating

To be truly well, to eat with health in mind and achieve a higher level of wellness in your being, we all must start with our minds.

It is our brain that decides to reach for those fries, to eat to soothe our soul, sip tea for a moment of meditation or in some instances to skip food entirely to avoid the flood of feelings that can come from the simple, necessary act of self-nourishment. Making a strong, sustained mind-body connection when it comes to food is a practice that takes time, attention, and repetition.

Let’s start the conversation around snacking. The first step is to recognize when you are eating. This may seem highly obvious. Of course you know when you are eating/snacking! Guess what? You do not always know. Sometimes, we eat while we watch TV, while on a stressful work call, while we frantically honk our way through morning traffic or driving the kids to school. We also use all those reasons not to eat. When are you eating?

After the connection to when you eat is secure, let’s start asking more questions. Have you had proper meals prior to this moment? What is your body feeling? Stress? Intense emotion? Thirst? Exhaustion? Energy? If the answer to those questions leads you down a path where something else needs to be addressed besides eating, let’s start there. If you have not had a proper meal, make one, order one, go out and get one. Sit down at a table, phone away, TV off, distractions tucked away (as much as real life will allow).

Once you are eating, chew. Chew with your feet planted on the ground. Feel your body in your seat, your feet firmly planted and the food in your mouth. Chew and focus on the taste, texture, pleasure of eating. Let it be slow. Again, as slow as real life will allow! Distractions gone, touching base with your emotions and your physical body, while concentrating on the food you are eating - slow, methodical. It is then you will truly experience nourishment. Mind and body bound for mindful eating.