Since my health issues in 2024, most of which relate to diet, I’ve attended countless nutrition and dietary talks, not to mention many visits to heart health specialists. The main thing I’ve learned from all that is that you cannot ignore the mindful eating aspects of your diet. Specifically, the what, why, and when of it all.
I have firsthand experience that it doesn’t matter if you buy the healthiest food, as unhealthy food is always on hand thanks to delivery apps and food stores. I have a drawer full of calorie counting, fitness trackers, failed diet plans, and starter kits from gyms. Even after being told “change my lifestyle or die,” I still constantly failed, as willpower and determination do not counter lifelong cravings and habits.
This is why the mindful aspects of losing weight are vital. One bad decision at the wrong time can lead to several bad decisions, cravings, and multiple bad days that ultimately derail the best-made plans.
What is mindful eating?
In summary, mindful eating is about adding strategies to deal with and change the role food has in your life.
For example, food has always been a coping mechanism for me. I’ve had anxiety disorders for most of my life, and when that would spiral, I’d turn to food. This created a very unhealthy habit, as the more sugary and processed foods I consumed, the more I craved.
Related: The Best Ways to Naturally Curb Sugar Cravings
How does mindful eating work?
In summary, mindful eating strategies can help people with appetite regulation, portion control, and emotional eating patterns. One way it does this is by tapping into the body’s hunger and satiety mechanisms. These normally take around 20 minutes for the brain to register fullness from signals from the digestive system.
This is just one way in which it works; for me, mindful eating helped me develop a what, when, and why relationship with food. I would ask myself questions before eating, or while I was eating.
It sounds stupid, but it helped me slow my eating, partly so that these hunger and satiety mechanics could kick in. Yet, it also helped stop my issue of overeating. This is a common problem when meals are consumed too quickly.
In a study conducted by psychologist Jean Kristeller, mindful eating techniques help individuals distinguish between physical hunger and psychological triggers for eating. Therefore, mindful eating attempts to target one of the root causes of weight gain.
However, the benefits of mindful eating do not end there. Differing mindfulness-based approaches to diet have been shown to improve food-cue reactivity, intuitive eating behaviors, and emotional impulse regulation, all of which contribute to sustainable weight management.
Through mindful eating, the mind-gut connection grows. This sounds odd, but your body becomes more aware of subtle hunger and satiety cues so they can be addressed, rather than waiting for a full-on craving to kick in.
Amazingly, mindful eating practices also activate something called the parasympathetic nervous system, which drives optimal digestion and nutrition absorption. This, in turn, reduces stress-related eating behaviors.
Simply put, everyone’s relationship with food is different. And so much of it is down to how your gut and brain work together. We all know that some people can diet on willpower and determination alone. However, you might be like me, and your brain may be wired differently when it comes to food. Mindful eating strategies try to address that.
What does mindful eating have you do?
When I was first introduced to mindful eating by a heart specialist (not a dietitian or nutritionist), I thought it was stupid. I knew certain foods were bad for me, and I knew I needed to change. How could being aware of what, why, and when make a difference?
Over the space of around a month, which is how long any of this took to make sense to me, the importance of awareness became truly apparent.
For example, late-night eating was a big problem for me, especially with chips and dip. That was the first thing I attacked, and it took a month. What do these chips do for me? Why do they make me feel better? When should I be eating this food?
It sounds stupid, but when I started to ask myself simple questions about the food I was eating rather than just chowing it down, something started to change in my relationship with food.
Firstly, I was eating them more slowly as I was doing other things at the same time.
Secondly, while eating, I would look into what some of the ingredients on the back were linked to medically (I do not recommend doing this, as much of it was horrifying).
Thirdly, I would figure out what I liked about the chips and dip. For me, I liked the crunch, I liked the coldness, and the tanginess of the dip. I then looked online for healthier foods that would still deliver on that craving (crunchy, cold, and tangy).
I truly know it sounds ridiculous, but that process curbed my chip and dip habit.
In summary, mindful eating is purely about developing an awareness of the food you are eating. Studies show that people who implement mindful eating strategies actually consume small portions, have better experiences with meal satisfaction, and build healthy weight management without the stresses of dieting.
All of that is true for me. I’m losing weight, and it doesn’t feel like I’m dieting. The following mindful eating tips changed my relationship with food, one habit at a time, and I’ll be honest, I’m not even exercising, just a few walks each week.
I cannot guarantee these will work for you, but if you are struggling with your weight, they could be worth investigating.
1. Address Emotional Eating Patterns
I believe this was the biggest hurdle for me. Almost all of my bad eating habits, even my chip and dip late-night eating, were down to emotional eating patterns. It was something I did from a young age to cope with bullying and other issues at school. As I got older, I used it as a coping mechanism for anxiety disorders.
Sadly, emotional eating patterns and behaviors massively contribute to weight gain. Food becomes comfort, rather than fuel, and whenever managing emotions, it’s what a person may turn to.
Via mindful eating strategies, it is possible to try and address this issue. I know it’s possible, as I’ve done it. This works by first identifying the trigger for emotional eating. It could be anything; for example, boredom could be a trigger for emotional eating.
This is where what, why, and when kick in. When you start eating something, ask those questions. By understanding why you are eating, you can see if it’s because of a response to a certain emotion. Triggers may also include stress, loneliness, celebration, anxiety, etc.
What I learned is that you cannot fix that habit in the short term.
What you can do is understand what it is from those foods you crave. For me, with chips and dip, it was the crunch, the coldness, and the tanginess of the dip. You can then replace them with healthy options that taste great, deliver better nutritional value, but also give the same emotional satisfaction.
Over time, with better nutrition, more self-questioning, and understanding, you’ll get better at picking up cues from your body. Yet, in the short term, you would have swapped unhealthy options for better, more nutritional food, so you’ll start to feel better even if you cannot immediately stop or control those habits.
It took me around 4-5 months, but you’ll notice changes almost immediately with fullness if you make swaps for foods with nutritional values.
There are other solutions. For example, when experiencing the emotional trigger, turn to different actions, like calling a friend, taking a walk, or swapping your activity for one that doesn’t trigger the emotional eating. None of these worked for me, but they may work for you, as you work through emotional triggers.
Also Read: The Best Healthy Pantry Staples for Adults Over 40
2. Distinguish Between Physical and Emotional Hunger
In summary, being able to differentiate between physical and emotional hunger is the cornerstone of mindful eating strategies.
It might sound like new age craziness, but it’s only after sitting down and understanding why I’m eating something that I was able to figure out it was emotional, not physical.
It took 4-5 months before I was able to tell myself, I’m not physically hungry, and by then, almost all of go-to unhealthy foods I relied on during emotional eating had been swapped for healthier and more nutritional foods. So, my body was full, making it easier to stop giving in to those emotional cravings.
The best tip for dealing with this when starting is to drink a glass or two of water first. This little tip helps you deal with those cravings long before you can tell yourself you’re not genuinely hungry.
It’s important to know that physical hunger develops gradually throughout each day. It can be satisfied with various foods, and when experienced, has genuine tell-tale signs, like stomach rumbling, low energy, low concentration, irritability, and even mild lightheadedness.
In comparison, emotional hunger comes out of nowhere, drives cravings for comfort foods, and often happens when dealing with boredom, stress, and sadness.
This is what the what and why questions kick in. Ask yourself fundamental questions like “Am I eating this because I’m hungry?” Seriously, the only reason my lifestyle change worked is because I started to question my eating habits.
3. Eat Slowly and Chew Thoroughly
Another trick that asking yourself questions about food does is slow your eating.
For me, I was still munching on chips and dip late at night. Yet, I wasn’t ploughing handfuls at a time into my face. I would have a chip, dip it, chew it, explore the answers to my questions, and when I needed another chip, I’d repeat.
I didn’t even realize I was doing this at the time, but by slowing the pace of eating, my digestive system’s natural satiety signals could reach the brain before I had completely binged on a family portion of chips.
Satiety hormones take around 20 minutes to communicate fullness to the brain, and eating slowly provides the time needed for these physiological processes to happen. When binge-eating, this doesn’t have a chance to occur.
Also, did you know that by chewing food more thoroughly, enzymes in the mouth are activated, reducing the workload on the digestive system, which in turn helps with digestion?
I didn’t know that, but by eating slower, the above occurs. So, by taking it slow and chewing just a bit more, you’re giving your body a chance to communicate and break down what you are eating more easily.
For me, this only worked initially because I was figuring out the what, why, and when questions. Seriously, I went down a rabbit hole looking at the ingredients in the chips I was eating (as mentioned earlier, only do this if you want to be horrified by some of the answers).
When researching this tip, professionals recommend putting utensils down between bites to savour the flavor and texture. Whereas others recommend chewing a certain number of times. However, these seem unrealistic to me. So, figure out what works for you, but make it connected to the food you are eating, as that’s the only way you’ll work through mindful eating.
Also Read: Understand The Importance of Sleep When It Comes To Your Overall Health
4. Eliminate Distractions During Meals
In summary, eliminating distractions during meals is one of the most powerful mindful eating strategies available. A study found that people who eat while watching television can increase caloric intake by up to 71%, depending on what they’re eating. This occurs because distractions lower a person’s chance of detecting their hunger and satiety cues.
I know this one may seem at odds with #3, but let me explain:
You do want to find a way to slow down what you are eating, but it has to relate to what you are eating. There is something about focusing on your food that helps improve your relationship with it.
In comparison, sitting in front of a TV at 10 pm, eating a family-sized portion of chips and a hideously processed dip, completely distracted from the damage being done to yourself (or in this example, myself), gives your gut-brain any chance to communicate.
The reality is that when your attention is elsewhere, you aren’t giving your body a chance to register fullness signals. This results in overeating and, depending on the food you are eating, can just create cyclical eating patterns.
Experts recommend designating specific eating spaces. They also recommend avoiding having phones or other electronic devices on hand while eating.
For almost a year now, the only time I eat near an electrical device is while working. I have a little portion of nuts, dried fruits, and seeds by my computer. Outside of that, when I eat, I go into a room without any electronics. I know, this sounds horrific, and in full disclosure, I still find it awkward, but it’s the best way to give you and food alone time without distractions.
Think of it like therapy; if you are like me and have a complicated relationship with food, you need to sit down and work things out. The best place to do this is in a quiet room without distractions. I know this is essential, as I’ve got decades of bad eating habits to work through.
If you have a complicated relationship with food, you may find this strategy the most beneficial, as you may just figure out why you eat the way you do.
There are countless other mindful eating tips and strategies, like working with a hunger-satiety scale or engaging all five senses while eating. Yet, the above four tips are the ones that have truly helped me and potentially saved my life.
If you have struggled with diets, ask your doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist if mindful eating strategies may help you.