MINDFUL EATING

Mindfulness is the process of holding your focus on the present moment.  Any activity can be done mindfully.  It means keeping your attention on whatever is happening currently, without thinking about anything in the past or the future.

Mindful eating includes paying attention to the whole eating experience.  Mindful eating begins before you even sit down to eat.  Notice the smells coming from the kitchen while you or someone else is cooking.  Notice how the food looks in the serving dish or on your plate.  Pay attention to other people at the table.  Mindfulness is sometimes summarized as “coming to your senses” because it requires using all of your senses to experience the moment.

 

When you are being mindful, you tend to make smarter food choices, enjoy eat bite more, eat slower, and feel satisfied with smaller portions.  During holiday events, it also allows you to notice more than just the food, but the full experience of the celebration.

Mindfulness takes practice.  You may notice that you start thinking about dessert before you finish your appetizer, or you might worry about whether you should take seconds before you finish eating what is in front of you.  Notice this.  Notice if you are distracted with yesterday’s workday, or your holiday shopping list for tomorrow.  Just the process of noticing is growing the mindfulness material in your brain.  With time, you will find that you can be present during many activities, and for longer periods of time.

You might want to try practicing with a single morsel of food.  Take 5 full minutes to eat a single grape or a chocolate kiss.  Don’t judge whether it is healthy or not.  Just notice the experience.  See it, smell it, feel it in your fingers, move it around in your mouth.  Notice the texture and the taste until it is completely gone.  If every bit was that enjoyable, could you be satisfied with less?

Happy, healthy holidays to all.