How Mindful Eating Changed My Life
Learning the art of mindfulness is the best gift I have given myself. It has radically changed my health, happiness, weight, and relationship with food, as well as positively impacting many other areas of my life. That’s why I want to share my top tips to getting started with mindful eating.
I was always first…not at sports…not at academics…
But certainly, when it came down to finishing my plate of food!
I would wolf down my meal so fast, cleaning everything on my plate, before my brain had a chance to register if I even liked the taste. Why?
Because as a chronic dieter, mealtimes were like mini-vacations – a short bout of freedom from the constant denial of food.
Even after training as a dietitian, with all the nutritional knowledge at my fingertips, I still couldn’t trust myself around food because my mindset was so used to believing I didn’t have the willpower to stop when my body was telling me to.
Then, I discovered the powerful effects of mindful eating. Not only does being aware of your behaviors, thoughts and actions help manage stress but it brings attention to your eating experience.
Eating and mindfulness are like wine and cheese – they just make sense together!
Your Body Sensations
Mindfulness allows us to slow down, take a moment, check in with our body and brain, so we can really understand what it is we need.
One way to start to tap into listening to your body’s hunger cues is to see what your body is telling you in general.
Step One: Listening to your pulse
Sit in a comfortable quiet space. Find your pulse on your wrist or over your heart and count the beats for 1 min. Concentrate on listening to it once you found it. This will get you ‘tapped in’ to your body. Don’t worry if it takes you a while to find the beat, it can be difficult to find!
Step Two: Body scan
Start to check in with your body and notice how you’re feeling physically at any one time. Look for any
patterns in your body sensations. As you practice listening to your body and checking-in, you’ll slowly
develop your ‘Spidey senses’ and become aware of what your body is telling you, both physically and
emotionally.
You can choose from the following options, or choose your own:
- What am I feeling? Hungry, Thirsty, Sleepy, Full, Bloated, Restless, Stressed
- Where am I feeling it? Head, Eyes, Mouth, Throat, Stomach, Upper Body, Lower Body, Everywhere
- How do I feel overall? Pleasant, Neutral, Unpleasant
Taryn’s Top Tips for Mindful Eating
The more you practice mindful eating, the more control of your food and feelings you’ll have – instead of them controlling you. Here are my top tips to get started with mindful eating:
- Start your meal comfortably hungry but not ravenous
- Ask yourself why you are eating: taste, hunger, convenience, emotion
- Turn off all screens and sit comfortably at a table
- Serve your food out in a small portion on a plate or in a bowl
- Breathe before starting and check-in with your body, hunger & feelings
- Look at your food, reflect on it and feel appreciation for it
- Smell your food and really focus on the aroma
- Take small bites. Chew slowly and thoroughly
- Eat slowly & put your utensils down between bites
- Check-in with the food, taste & your hunger level in the middle of your meal
It’s time to put to rest your old diet mentality and work towards building a natural and intuitive relationship with food. No more control or deprivation but a life of freedom and healthy confidence.
If you’d like more in-depth coaching on mindful healthy eating, or you’d like to get on the waitlist for our mindful eating journal – simply email: [email protected]