OPTIMIZE YOUR HEALTH
Change Your Mind, Heal Your Body

Eat Mindfully to Avoid Overeating
By Sharon Hardy, RD, CDE

The breakneck pace of our society has lead many people to disconnect from their physical and emotional needs. Mindfulness is simply the moment-by-moment awareness of life. But it’s not always so simple. We so easily get caught up in our own thoughts and self-talk that we are scarcely aware of life as it passes us by. This is very true of our eating. We eat meal after meal, snack after snack, barely aware of what we’re eating and how much we’re consuming. Often times we are so busy that we may not eat all day. This routine often leads to overeating later on in the day. Practicing mindful eating promotes balance, choice, wisdom and acceptance of our needs.

What is mindful eating? Eating mindfully is allowing yourself to deliberately pay attention in a non-judgmental way to what your body needs. Mindful eaters have learned to be aware of physical hunger and satiety cues. They are able to use the cues to guide their decisions to begin eating and stop eating. When we tune into our emotional and physical needs, we become less prone to cravings and emotional eating.

When we eat mindfully we are able to make peace with food. By honoring our hunger and eating healthy foods to nourish our body we can get off the dieting cycle and attain a healthy weight. Consciously setting aside time to prepare and mindfully eat meals that are simple yet nutritious will actually boost your energy. In fact, it has been shown that eating a meal with good friends boosts endorphin levels.

Eat mindfully means choosing to eat food that is both pleasing to you and nourishing your body by using all your senses to explore, savor and taste. When you are practicing mindful eating you are enjoying the tastes, smells and sensations of healthy eating. By being in the moment while you are eating you will enjoy your food more. Try this basic mindful bite technique from www.mindfuleating.org:

• As you bring food to your mouth, slow down and become aware of your movements.
  
  
• Once the food is in your mouth, clear your hands. Put silverware or remaining food down.
  
  
• Chew this bite with your mind in laser-sharp focus on the process. Concentrate on the taste of the food and the act of eating. Don’t do anything else while you’re chewing. Simply chew and pay attention.
  
  
• Keep chewing until the food is uniformly smooth. Use this consistency of the food as a signal to swallow.
  
  
• After you swallow, but before you bring more food to your moth, rest for a few seconds, thereby inserting a pause into your eating.

If you would like more information on how to move towards a more mindful way of eating and have more harmony and balance with food, please make an appointment with Center’s Registered Dietitian.

—March 2007

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