We’ve all been there – that moment when you realize the bag is suddenly empty and you just sat down to have a small snack. Despite eating the entire bag, it’s likely that you’re still not satisfied. These moments often happen when we are multitasking, but can happen any time when we aren’t giving our food our full attention. Whether we’re eating out with friends, eating because we’re bored or stressed, or even just eating because it’s habit (“I always snack while I watch TV!”), our attention is divided making our bodies and minds much less likely to register what we’ve eaten. Rather than get frustrated and scold yourself after eating the entire container of oreos (again), it can be helpful to change the way you think about food. One such approach is known as “mindful eating.”
WHAT IS MINDFUL EATING?
Mindfulness is “deliberately paying attention, non-judgmentally, in the present moment.” By applying this idea to what we are eating, it allows us to be aware of what the food tastes like, to find satisfaction in the flavors, smells, and appearance of our food, to notice whether or not we are still hungry or if we are getting full, to recognize whether or not we actually enjoy a food, and ultimately be satisfied with less. According to the Center for Mindful Eating, mindful eating is:
This process begins while food is being prepared – even just smelling food while it is cooking can help us to feel more satisfied. Combine foods with different colors and textures to make sure your eyes and mouth have plenty of variety. As you take a bite, notice how the flavors and texture change as you chew it and move it to different parts of your mouth. On swallowing, be aware that this food will nourish and provide energy to your body, and notice as you begin to feel less hungry and start to become full.
It sounds like a lot of thought and energy to put into something that has become so automatic, but it provides a completely different experience. You may find yourself realizing that foods you thought you liked have lost their appeal, and others have a flavor and depth you never realized. With practice, you may even realize your ideas of portion size have changed and you are satisfied with less as you actually take in all of what that food has to offer. In a world where we often eat for the sake of eating, mindful eating can be a wonderful step towards nourishing your body and yourself with food.
For more information on Mindful Eating, visit www.thecenterformindfuleating.org .
“Some of us, while looking at a piece of carrot, can see the whole cosmos in it, can see the sunshine in it, can see the earth in it. It has come from the whole cosmos for our nourishment. You may like to smile to it before you put it in your mouth. When you chew it, you are aware that you are chewing a piece of carrot. Don’t put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in. And when you chew, chew only the carrot, not your projects or your ideas. You are capable of living in the present moment, in the here and the now. It is simple, but you need some training to just enjoy the piece of carrot. This is a miracle.
“I often teach orange meditation to my students. We spend time sitting together, each enjoying an orange. Placing the orange on the palm of our hand, we look at it while breathing in and and out, so that the orange becomes a reality. If we are not here, totally present, the orange isn’t here either. There are some people who eat an orange but don’t really eat it. They eat their sorrow, fear, anger, past, and future. They are not really present, with body and mind united. When you practice mindful breathing, you become truly present. If you are here, life is also here. The orange is the ambassador of life. When you look at the orange, you discover that it is nothing less than a miracle. Visualize the orange as a blossom, the sunshine and rain passing through it, then the tiny green fruit growing, turning yellow, becoming orange, the acid becoming sugar. The orange tree took time to create this masterpiece. When you are truly here, contemplating the orange, breathing and smiling, the orange becomes a miracle. It is enough to bring you a lot of happiness. You peel the orange, smell it, take a section, and put it in your mouth mindfully, fully aware of the juice on your tongue. This is eating an orange in mindfulness.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Intuitive eating is eating based on internal hunger signals, rather than external stimuli – such as social outings, the time of day, boredom or our emotional responses, and the availability of food. Because many of us have grown so used to relying on these external stimuli to tell us when to eat, many of us have lost touch with our ability to even perceive how hungry we are unless we are starving or absolutely stuffed. Sound familiar?
So what is interoception, and what does it have to do with food? Interoception is the perception of internal signals in the body – how aware we are of the messages our body is sending to us. Recent research published in Appetite indicates a strong correlation between a person’s overall level of internal awareness and intuitive eating behavior (Herbert et al, 2013). Makes sense, right? If we’re aware of our bodies overall, we should be able to feel hunger too! What’s great about this research is that it means that by improving our overall interoception or internal awareness, we can improve our ability to perceive our own hunger as a byproduct – whether or not we work with hunger & appetite specifically.
In the study, researches determined an individual’s interoceptive sensitivity by asking participants to listen to their heartbeat. This doesn’t mean feeling for a pulse, but determining their heartbeat based on awareness alone. Participants who were able to determine their heartbeat most accurately were more likely to be intuitive eaters. Perhaps by practicing listening to our heartbeat, we can improve our overall awareness and improve our ability to eat intuitively.
Another study has shown that mindfulness meditation training can improve how much our internal awareness contributes to our overall experience (Farb et al, 2013). From this, one could reasonably conclude that this training may also improve our ability to feel & honor our hunger. Mindfulness is simply being aware of the present moment, exactly as it is. Try starting off in 10 or 15 minute increments and just notice. Notice your breathing – is it fast, slow, irregular? Deep or shallow? Notice the feel of your skin – is it warm, cold, prickly? Notice any feelings that arise in your body – is there a twitch in your shoulder, or a knot in your chest, maybe a warmth in your stomach or hips? Notice any thoughts that come into your head. The point of this meditation is not silence, but awareness. Acknowledge any thoughts that come into your head. You can practice noticing all of these sensations, or just one during a meditation. Many people find it easiest to start with the breath.
As we become more familiar with this practice, we can start to apply it to what and how we eat. Before you sit down to eat, notice. What am I feeling in my body? In my throat? In my stomach? In my heart? What am I feeling or thinking in my head? It is not necessary to know what they mean, but by practicing awareness, you will begin to learn your body’s language and what these things you notice may be trying to say.
More information on mindfulness & mindful eating, visit The Center for Mindful Eating’s website.
Sources:
Beate, M. Herbert, Jens Blechert, Martin Hautzinger, Ellen Matthias, and Cornelia Herbert. “Intuitive Eating Is Associated with Interoceptive Sensitivity. Effects on Body Mass Index.” Appetite 70 (2013): 22-30.
Farb, NA, ZV Segal, and AK Anderson. “Mindfulness Meditation Training Alters Cortical Representations of Interoceptive Attention.” Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 8.1 (2013): 15-26. Print.
Photo by Carrie Hilgert. Originally posted on her blog....
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