Mindfulness goes beyond just meditating! Many people picture mindfulness as someone peacefully sitting with closed eyes and a blank mind. While meditation is wonderful and offers numerous benefits, it’s not representative of most mindfulness practices.
Mindfulness can be applied to almost any activity, like exercising, checking social media, or my personal favorite—mindful eating! Nowadays, we often eat while multitasking, whether we’re at our desks, watching TV, surfing the web, reading, or driving. Eating should be a fully engaging sensory experience, but our minds are typically elsewhere, preventing us from really appreciating the act of eating. If you’ve ever found yourself finishing a bowl of your favorite snacks without noticing while busy with work, you know exactly what I mean. We’ve become a society of mindless eaters!
Your brain is essentially the CEO of your body. Shouldn’t it be completely aware when engaging in something as essential as eating? It’s also our primary sensory organ, interpreting what our eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and skin perceive. Remember, eating is meant to be a comprehensive sensory experience, encompassing all your senses. It’s not just about taste—the look, sound, smell, and feel of food are all crucial. How can you truly know if you enjoy a food without fully experiencing it?
Mindful eating not only enhances the flavor of your initial bites but also helps prevent overeating, as evidenced by those vanishing snacks eaten in front of the TV or while concentrating on work. Plus, it might contribute to a healthier gut by reducing stress and digestive inflammation. Your gut holds its own neural network, known as the enteric nervous system or the “second brain,” so it’s clear that what calms your mind can also benefit your gut.
How do you reconnect with your meals and embrace mindful eating? Here’s how to begin:
1. **Prepare your meals**: Mindfulness starts even before eating. Get involved in meal preparation. Understand the origins of your food and, whenever possible, cook it yourself.
2. **Understand your hunger**: Are you physically hungry, feeling that familiar sensation in your stomach, or are you emotionally hungry, seeking food as a distraction? Learn to recognize your hunger cues and try to eat only when genuinely physically hungry, finding alternative ways to address emotional hunger.
3. **Eliminate distractions**: Set aside time to eat without distractions and avoid rushing the process. Avoid working through lunch and turn off electronic devices.
4. **Savor the food before eating**: Take a moment to appreciate the food’s appearance, smell, and texture before taking a bite.
5. **Engage all your senses**: As you eat, notice the food’s look, aroma, feel, taste, and sound.
6. **Avoid judgments**: Observe your feelings about the food without judgment. Food isn’t “good” or “bad”—it’s “crunchy,” “creamy,” “sweet,” or “pungent.”
7. **Chew thoroughly**: Give your brain time to recognize all the food’s features by chewing until it’s nearly a paste, noticing how the texture changes.
8. **Think about its benefits**: Consider the nutrients in your food and the wonderful things they can do for your body, such as how fiber aids digestion or healthy fats enhance your skin.
What do you love most about eating your favorite food mindfully? Share it with me in the comments below!
I love this post. It’s easy to get caught up in daily tasks and rush through meals without enjoying them. Eating is such a simple pleasure, yet we often do it while emailing, texting, or thinking about tasks that may not be as urgent as they seem.
I’ve noticed a significant difference in digestion when I eat mindfully compared to when I’m stressed. Great post!
So happy you enjoyed it, Monique! I’m glad that mindful eating has improved your digestion. It’s important, yet easy to forget!
Heather—Joyous Health Team
I love how you emphasize gut health—it’s vital for energy, digestion, and immunity. Kombucha is my favorite for boosting gut health! GT’s is preferred. A nutritionist once advised me to chew food to paste, which greatly aided my digestion, especially while on a Paleo diet. Glad to see this practice included.
Food is indeed fuel! Many need to think about the nutrients in their meals, guiding how they want to feel and what they hope to accomplish. Crucial for work, workouts, or even a relaxed Netflix marathon day.
Just wanted to comment on how much I enjoy the Joyous Health book. I look forward to a daily chapter. It’s packed with useful information and written clearly. Every morning, I have your granola recipe with walnuts, raspberries, blueberries, and banana, keeping me satisfied till lunch. I love your blog and emails. Thanks, Joy! Love the website updates!
Hey Karen! Thanks for all your kind words! I’ll pass them on to Joy—she’ll be thrilled with your appreciation for her books and blog. Also, thanks for the website love! It’s been a work in progress, and we’re getting close to our vision. Lots more excitement ahead! Thanks for being part of our joyful community, Karen!
Rachel—Joyous Health Team
