Mindful Eating: Bringing Focus and Pleasure Back to Eating

The majority of us would likely rank food and eating as one of life’s top daily pleasures. However, our days can be so fast-paced that sometimes we don’t even have time to enjoy our food, let alone stop to eat a proper meal. Our desire for multi-tasking during mealtime is the main reason the sandwich is now the #1 preferred style of food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in America!  Much of our eating has become mindless, but we can change that. Taking time to check in with ourselves and be more mindful about our food can help prevent overeating, increase our overall satisfaction, and improve blood sugar management.

Do a hunger check

We often eat on a schedule, but have you ever asked yourself if you are actually hungry when breakfast, lunch, and dinner times arrive? If you truly aren’t hungry, you don’t have to eat, even if the clock says it’s time for a meal. Conversely, there should be no guilt in honoring your body’s natural need for nourishment, even if it isn’t “time to eat.”

Do a satiety check

Many people grew up hearing our parents say “clean your plate” or “don’t waste food.” These aren’t necessarily bad messages, but they can promote mindless eating. If you always clean your plate, are you really eating because you’re hungry for everything that’s in front of you, or are you only doing it for the sake of cleaning your plate? The next time you eat, halfway through ask yourself, “am I hungry for the rest of this?” Take a pause to really feel how full or hungry you are. If this feels challenging, it may be easier if you serve yourself a smaller portion initially. You may find that the amount in that first serving is enough to satisfy you, or that you only want a small amount more. If you are out to eat, you might ask for a to-go box as soon as your plate hits the table. Restaurant portions are often larger than what we would eat at home, so immediately removing some of it from the plate can help us stay in tune with our true hunger, especially if we tend to keep eating until the food is gone.

Think about the Hunger/Fullness Scale

When you are checking in on your hunger or fullness, it can be helpful to use a scale and assign a number to how you feel before and after eating. When you start eating, you should be feeling around a 3 or 4. When you check in on your fullness, you should be at a 6 or 7. If you wait to eat until you are extremely hungry (1 or 2), you may accidentally overeat and then end up so full you feel sick! When you are feeling that hungry, you may be more likely to grab anything to satisfy your hunger, rather than a well balanced meal or snack.