Mindful Eating Practices with the support of a Registered Dietitian

How-To: Not a Carefulness Practice, but Instead One that Fosters Curiosity, Presence, and Appreciation

By Molly List, posted by Kendra Gaffney

Spaghetti and meatsauce served on a paper plate. Outside. Eaten at a picnic table. It’s sort of breezy, a bit of a chill in the air. Sort of overcast and dreary. But look at that steam from my food, rising from my plate of spaghetti. I swear nothing smells tastier. I swear nothing looks tastier. I swear nothing is tastier. I swear nothing is more nostalgic or satisfying than eating spaghetti outside. 

I remember when I first heard of “mindful eating.” It sounded a lot like “Let’s be careful with our food choices.” “Is this a balanced enough choice?” “Let’s be sure not to overeat.” 

We don’t have to search for too long to find another person, program, maybe well-intentioned healthcare professional that can offer us an answer to our “problems” with food, with eating, with ourselves. If only we could find the answer or the thing that works. 

What do we want from our food choices? What do we want from our eating experiences? What if within us is the only place in which we can unlock the answers to knowing what food, what way of eating, could best serve us? 

My experiences with eating spaghetti and meatsauce outside for dinner while camping growing up helped me to connect with the practice of mindful eating and to my wants, needs, and desires around eating and nourishment. Below, I share with you some perspectives on what mindful eating isn’t, and offer you what it can be if you are open to it. 

All you need is curiosity and something to eat! 

Mindful eating is NOT

x a restrictive or rigid eating plan 

There are no “shoulds” to the choices you make around what you eat. It’s not about nourishing yourself less. We often are then left unsatisfied, longing for more. An undernourished, unsatisfied you isn’t the goal. 

x about eating perfectly or about eating in complete silence, with no distractions 

Being in company with something or someone might support you in an eating experience, so don’t poo-poo a loved one, a video call, some music, a podcast, or a TV show to accompany you when you eat. Mindful eating can also still be accomplished while you’re in your car! I share that it can, based off experience. 

x about judging what or how much you’re eating, compared to yesterday’s you or the 

person eating next to you 

This practice is not universally the same for all. Each person may practice it differently, and even you may participate in it differently, meal to meal, day to yester-year. The practice can ebb and flow just like life does. 

x doesn’t involve complex rules or calculations 

Don’t we all love black or white. Right or wrong. Pass or fail. So help us when we are encouraged to take the reins back and look inwards to be guided by our own inner wisdom. 

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are. 

 

Mindful Eating Is …  

…bringing intentionality to our food choices, as we can. Not all of us have the privilege to intuitively choose to nourish our body with what might feel most supportive to us on all fronts. 

If feasible, you might ask yourself, “What sounds good? What would I like out of this choice? How might I be able to have this choice be more satisfying, filling, and fueling?” 

…bringing awareness to the now. Eating for necessity, for self-care, to comfort, etc. can look different for everyone. Know that we can benefit greatly from checking in with our surroundings, our body and with our food. 

If you can, you might ask or share with yourself, “How do I feel? I am here. I am safe. What would make me more comfortable at this moment? Could I ask for assistance from another in any way? How is my breath? How could it feel to take 3, slow deep-embodied breaths? How does my posture feel? What would feel more comfortable? Where are my shoulders? Would they feel more comfortable being brought down?” 

…involving your senses as you feel comfortable doing so. Some individuals may have difficulty with certain sensory experiences. Mindful eating is about working to honor what feels safe, nourishing, and satisfying for YOU.  

You might get curious about and/or even bring in conversation around your experience with food as you’re eating – whether it be with yourself or with those you’re eating with! Are you driven to eat something on your plate first? What are all of the colors that exist on your plate? Do you enjoy the smell of your meal? Might a memory or a person be associated with your experience with the smell or food? How does the food feel in your mouth as you chew your food? How do the different textures compliment one another to make the meal even more satisfying? Is the warmth or chill, satisfying, comforting, or refreshing? Do I feel a sense of fullness? What could make this more satisfying, more nourishing? 

…eating without judgment. Food is food. Food isn’t good or bad. One food choice isn’t right or wrong. My worth isn’t defined by my food choice. Notice your thoughts. Notice without judgment. 

You might notice whether that food, your snack or meal was satisfying, if you are full, uncomfortably full, if you’re done eating, or if you choose to have more. I offer you an opportunity to name your experience or choice without explanation or apology. 

 

There are a multitude of benefits when bringing in a more mindful eating practice.  

• Improved digestion – as you tune in, you may choose to chew food more thoroughly. When smelling and experiencing food, your body will often more supportively produce saliva and digestive enzymes to aid in the breakdown of food.
• Enhanced taste perception for more satisfaction with eating – paying attention to food can increase the enjoyment of flavors and sensory experiences aiding in feelings of satiation. 
• Reaching a desirable fullness – as you tune into your body, food, eating experience overall, you may eat in a manner that may allow for you to discover a satisfying more comfortable fullness. 
• Greater ability to recognize, differentiate and interweave the 4 types of hunger – physical, taste, practice and emotional. In doing so, there may be enhanced awareness of emotions that can help differentiate physical hunger cues from emotional eating triggers. 
• Increased mindfulness – practicing mindful eating may allow for the extension of mindfulness into other facets of life. 
• Greater appreciation for how food and other facets of life are at play with one another. 

 

Sharing with you some of my ideas on how to sustainably eat meals and snacks in a more mindful manner. 

I’ll start with my most favorite, simple yet intentional practices – taking a few (3) slow, deep breaths before eating. Whether in the car, at my desk, on my couch with a snack, or at the dining room table. It’s a great way to check in with your body as a whole, increase the likelihood of your body sensing food is coming, and to enjoy what you are eating much more. 

 

Other ideas: 

Create a comfortable eating environment – consider the lighting, the clutter, the volume. Would I enjoy it more quiet? Reduced distractions? A TV show on? How about music? Fresh air? Light some fake candles! 

Pay attention to and honor physical hunger cues – eat when you are hungry, and when food sounds appealing to you. When you are super hungry, it can be difficult to slow down and really enjoy. 

Engage your senses – notice colors, textures, aromas of food; can you savor this bite more? 

Pay some attention to the speed at which you eat. Chew your food decently.  Why rush? Can you block out 30 minutes for lunch? How about 5 minutes? 

Practice gratitude – choose to express gratitude in what way works for you. I invite you to take a moment to appreciate the food, where it came from and what it took to get to you. Reflect on the nourishment it provides. Reflect on appreciation for your body in how it can transform food into fuel for your body. 

For me, mindful eating is a self care practice that connects me to my appreciation for my body, my family, my food access, my environment, to my nervous system, and helps me to have gratitude for all the roles that food can play. 

Mindful eating has brought me the realization that fresh air means more flavorful food. A hot meal means something that warms my body AND my soul. That food and the eating experience can ground me and bring me back to a felt sense of self after a busy out-of-body-run-around day. Spaghetti and meatsauce is now a time travel back in time to family, to laughs, to bug bites, to camping and to a moment where I discovered how much more flavorful food can be when you eat outside amongst the fresh air! 

Explore Your Relationship with Food with a Registered Dietitian in Raleigh, NC

Thinking about food all the time isn’t a sign that you’re failing, it’s a signal that something deeper wants to be heard. Nutritional counseling in Raleigh, NC can offer you the space to explore that signal with compassion and care. At Nutritious Thoughts, we help clients unravel the “why” behind their food thoughts, reconnect with their bodies, and create relationships with food that feel sustainable, grounded, and peaceful.

• Contact us at (828) 333-0096 or email info@nutritious-thoughts.com
• Tell us more about yourself.
• Food thoughts aren’t a flaw—they’re a signal. Let’s listen with compassion.