Introduction:

Mindful eating is a type of mindfulness meditation practice that focuses on increasing your awareness during meals. Mindfulness practices may help improve symptoms related to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and stress. A mindful eating practice helps promote healthy eating and reduce overeating, while also improving mental health.

Benefits of mindful eating:

• Increased awareness of hunger and fullness. …
• Weight loss. …
• Stress reduction. …
• Better digestion. …
• Reduced overeating and binge eating. …
• Increased satisfaction with food. …
• Healthier food choices.

How It Works:

Mindful eating focuses on your eating experiences, body-related sensations, and thoughts and feelings about food, with heightened awareness and without judgment. The goal is to promote a more enjoyable meal experience and understanding of the eating environment. Fung and colleagues described a mindful eating model that is guided by four aspects: what to eat, why we eat what we eat, how much to eat, and how to eat

Seven practices of mindful eating:

1. Honor the food. Acknowledge where the food was grown and who prepared the meal. Eat without distractions to help deepen the eating experience.
2. Engage all senses. Notice the sounds, colors, smells, tastes, and textures of the food and how you feel when eating. Pause periodically to engage these senses.
3. Serve in modest portions. This can help avoid overeating and food waste. Use a dinner plate no larger than 9 inches across and fill it only once.
4. Savor small bites, and chew thoroughly. These practices can help slow down the meal and fully experience the food’s flavors.
5. Eat slowly to avoid overeating. If you eat slowly, you are more likely to recognize when you are feeling satisfied, or when you are about 80% full, and can stop eating.
6. Don’t skip meals. Going too long without eating increases the risk of strong hunger, which may lead to the quickest and easiest food choice, not always a healthful one. Setting meals at around the same time each day, as well as planning for enough time to enjoy a meal or snack reduces these risks.
7. Eat a plant-based diet, for your health and for the planet. Consider the long-term effects of eating certain foods. Processed meat and saturated fat are associated with an increased risk of cancer and heart disease.  Production of animal-based foods like meat and dairy takes a heavy toll on the environment than plant-based foods.

Conclusion:

Mindful eating is an approach to eating that can complement any eating pattern. Research has shown that mindful eating can lead to greater psychological wellbeing, increased pleasure when eating, and body satisfaction. It is a healthy lifestyle that reduces the risk of chronic diseases, promotes more enjoyable meal experiences, and supports a healthy body image. More research is needed to examine whether mindful eating is an effective strategy for weight management.