The Benefits Of Eating Mindfully

In today’s fast-paced world, most of us are used to doing everything in a hurry. Always dashing from one place to the next and trying to fit everything into the ever-decreasing chunks of time. Multitasking as we try to squeeze two or more things in at the same time.

Or perhaps multitasking, not due to lack of time, but to distract us from how we are really feeling.

Checking our social media feeds while eating to try fulfil our need for social connection and nutrition at the same time.

Or watching the telly while eating and drinking copious amounts of alcohol to distract us from the anger, sadness, emptiness (insert emotion here…)

And this goes too for our eating habits. Eating meals in a hurry, or perhaps while doing something else at the same time.

Breakfast is eaten in a rush, perhaps while dashing out the door in the mornings rushing to drop the kids off at school. Or maybe it’s skipped entirely and we make do with coffee while scanning our morning emails.

Lunch is shovelled down at our desks at work, with one hand on the keyboard.

And dinner is spent in front of the telly.

So we’re never focussing on what we are eating, but always on something else.

So what? I hear you say.

We Miss The Important Signals

Well, this makes it so easy to miss the signals your body gives you to say "Hey, I’m done here. I’m full. You can stop eating now. Hello, is anybody there...?"

And you eat just because it’s time to eat. Or you eat everything on your plate just because it’s a habit and you hadn’t noticed that you were actually satisfied long before you got anywhere near clearing your plate.

And this can cause you to put on weight, or at the very least, struggle to maintain your current weight.

Yep. I can practically see you nodding your head here. I know I am.

Our bodies are great at telling us exactly what they need. And how much they need. But we’ve lost touch with our bodies and we mostly function as walking heads. Even a signal of thirst from your body is usually misinterpreted as I’m hungry when in fact you were just thirsty.

Eating slowly, consciously, and mindfully will help you get back in tune with the signals your body is always giving you, and help you stop overeating.

And a bonus, you might even find you start losing weight.

What Is Mindful Eating?

Mindful eating is about two things.  

Firstly, it’s about slowing down the pace at which you eat so that you notice and focus on what you are eating, as well as noticing how your body feels in order to pick up when you’ve had enough.

But it’s also about looking inside yourself and making decisions on what to eat based on your own internal wisdom. Your body always knows what it wants, and more importantly, what it needs, but we’ve forgotten how to listen.

It’s about recognising when you are truly hungry and ready for food, and when you are merely thirsty. Or perhaps eating to fill an emotional hole, which can never be filled with food.

This leads to something called Mindless Eating, which is eating whether you’re hungry or not and not even noticing what it is you’re eating.

Eating more mindfully will help you notice what your body likes and doesn’t like.

I’ve noticed when I eat carbs I feel so lazy, and usually start to fall asleep in front of the telly if I have a bit too much. And I’ve noticed they make me feel bloated.

Whereas salads make me feel energised. And bonus? No bloating!!

Serotonin Highs

An interesting thing I’ve noticed with some people who are overweight, especially if they’re on a diet and trying to control what they eat and depriving themselves of the things they love, is that they’ll spend the entire time in between meals thinking about food, obsessing about food, dreaming of the moment when they can eat food…

And then, the minute they start eating, they seem to switch off and shovel food down as fast as they can unconsciously down their throat, seeming to eat mindlessly and oh so fast.

The reason behind that is, when we eat, our brains release a key hormone called serotonin which helps to elevate our mood. This is why it's called the ‘happy hormone’. This is especially true if we eat carbohydrates, as carbohydrates produce and regulate serotonin and therefore help regulate our moods.

After a while, the serotonin high fades, and then the thoughts about food begin again.

So What Does Mindful Eating Look Like?

Eating mindfully involves taking small bites and really chewing your food. Feeling the texture, smelling the aromas, and enjoying the various flavours.

Chewing food thoroughly before swallowing.

Mindful eating means focussing only on the one task of eating. Not watching telly, not flipping through social media with one hand on your phone and the other clutching your ham and cheese butty, not reading a book. Just concentrating on eating.

Mindful eating allows you to become aware of your thoughts, and the physical sensations and feelings related to eating. Helping you become more aware of what your body truly needs and how food makes you feel.

Mindful eating is about eating what you want and enjoying it, not what you think you should be eating. Ignoring what celebrities or diets tell you you should be eating, and eating what you want when you want it.

Especially if you’re following yet another diet. Diets are all about deprivation, hunger pangs, and cravings, the total opposite of what your body wants and needs. Ugh. Not to mention the impact it has on slowing your metabolism.

An Added Bonus?

So back to the bonus I mentioned earlier.

If you take the time to slow down and eat mindfully, you might find you start losing weight as you’ll notice your body’s signals when it tells you it’s had enough.

This is how ‘naturally’ thin people are able to eat whatever they want. Besides the fact they haven’t artificially slowed their metabolisms down by following diet after diet, they notice what they eat, they enjoy it and then find it easy to put whatever it is they are eating down when they’ve had enough. Without feeling deprived.

We weren’t born overeaters.

Have you ever watched young children who eat while they play, perhaps at a birthday party? You’ll notice plates everywhere with half-eaten sandwiches, leftover crisps, birthday cake. Whatever. They will stop when they’ve had enough and will hand it back to you.

And you can do that too.

And actually tasting the food as you eat it means you’ll feel more satisfied. There is nothing worse than eating a delicious something or other while distracted by something else. And when you look down for your next bite it’s all gone. Gone. You ate it and you weren’t even there for most of it. This leaves you feeling unsatisfied, disappointed, and craving more.

So What Can You Do?

Slow down the speed at which you eat. Chew your food a lot more than you usually do, and really focus on the textures and sensations.

Notice how eating the food makes you feel. Do you feel heavier or lighter, energised or sleepy?

Eat your meals away from distractions. Turn off the telly, put down your phone or magazine, step away from your desk at lunchtime, and focus fully on the meal in front of you. Focus on each bite. The taste of the food. The sensation of the feel of the food in your mouth.

Try eating your meal using your non-dominant hand. This will make you far more aware of what you are eating and keep you more focused on your meal.

And probably most importantly of all, put down your knife and fork, or spoon, between each bite. Yes, after every single bite. Put them down. Don’t hang on to them. Or if you’re eating a sandwich, prise your fingers off and put it down after each bite. This will also help you slow down the speed at which you eat.

Last updated: April 2021