24 Mar 2012 ASK THE DIETITIAN: Mindful eating

by Kellie Dye

DO try this at home:

Take one bite of a cracker, such as a Wheat Thin. Close your eyes. Don’t chew yet.

Erase everything else from your mind and focus totally on the taste, texture and sensation happening.

Very slowly begin chewing and focus on each chew and movement of your jaw. Try to concentrate only on the cracker and the act of chewing. Try not to swallow yet.

As you start to swallow, feel the cracker in the back of your throat before you swallow that bite.

Swallow, then take a deep breath and exhale.

You have just completed a mindful eating exercise. Some mindful eating programs will extend this exercise for five minutes or longer. It can be excruciating for some to try and attempt this. To slow down your eating this much is not easy. The point of doing a mindful eating exercise is to take a closer look into your eating habits.

Mindful eating, intuitive eating, conscious eating. There are many phrases to describe what should be the simple act of eating when you are hungry, stopping when you are full and eating what you are hungry for. Sounds simple enough, however our perceptions about eating and body image can interfere with eating in a mindful way.

Mindful eating is about learning to recognize physical hunger and fullness. It’s about selecting food that is delicious to you and also provides nourishment. Your response to food should ideally be positive without judgment or guilt. It’s also about exploring food by taking the time to taste and savor it. You don’t have to practice the mindful eating exercise as described above every time you eat. It’s about paying more attention to food and the act of eating.

It seems that most of us have gotten away from savoring and enjoying food for many reasons. When you subject yourself to one restrictive diet after another, you lose your sense of recognizing and appreciating physical hunger and fullness. You deny your hunger when you are dieting. Once you go off the diet and begin eating as you did before, it becomes harder to recognize fullness. Any restrictive diet can promote the opposite of mindful eating. Busy schedules also prevent mindful eating. The more we get away from really listening to our hunger and fullness cues, the easier it becomes to eat more and gain weight.

Take a moment to stop and savor your food. Slow down your eating by putting the fork down between each bite. Focus on the food without the added distractions of TV, a computer or smart phone. Try this next time you eat, and you might end up eating less just by paying attention more.