Mindful Eating: A Beginner's Guide

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Mindful eating is a technique that helps people take control of their eating habits. Mindful eating has been shown to promote weight loss, curb binge eating, and lead to better health. This article explains what mindful eating is, how it works, and what to do to start practicing mindful eating.

1. What is mindful eating?

Mindful eating is based on consciousness and has its roots in the Buddhist concept. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that helps you recognize and deal with both your emotions and your senses. It has applications in a variety of situations, including the treatment of eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, and various behaviors related to eating habits.
Mindful eating is the use of mindfulness to achieve a state of being fully attentive to the experiences, cravings, and physical characteristics of eating.
Basically, mindful eating means:
Eat slowly and without distractions Listen for signs of hunger and eat only until you feel full Distinguish between actual hunger and cravings attracted by external factors. Stimulate the senses by paying attention to colors, smells, sounds, textures and flavors Get used to feeling anxious in the face of food Eat for overall health and well-being Get see the impact of food on emotions and body
In short, mindful eating is based on consciousness or a form of meditation. Mindful eating is about developing an awareness of your experiences, physical cues, and how you feel about food.

2. Why should you try mindful eating?

Today, society has a very fast pace of development and there are many temptations for people with countless food choices. On top of that, many distractions such as televisions, computers, and smartphones distract people from the actual act of eating.
Eating has become an unconscious act, often done quickly. This can be problematic, as the brain normally takes up to 20 minutes to perceive satiety. If you eat too quickly, the satiety signal may not come until you have eaten too much. This is very common in binge eating.
By mindful eating, the body gradually restores attention and reduces the speed of eating, making eating a purposeful action instead of an automatic action as before. What's more, by increasing your perception of hunger and satiety, you can distinguish between actual physical hunger.
People are also increasingly aware of the triggers that trigger cravings, even when not really hungry. By knowing your triggers, you can keep some distance between them and your body's response, taking the time to choose a comfortable and sensible response, rather than immediately searching for food.
In a nutshell, mindful eating helps to recognize real physical hunger. It also increases awareness of appetite triggers to better face and respond to them.

3. Eat mindfully and lose weight

It is well known that most weight loss programs do not have lasting effects. About 85% of people with obesity who lose weight will return to or exceed their original weight within a few years. Binge eating, emotional eating, and binge eating are associated with weight gain and weight loss after successful weight loss.
Regular exposure to life stressors can also play a big role in overeating and obesity.
The vast majority of studies agree that mindful eating helps you lose weight by changing eating behaviors and reducing stress. A 6-week group workshop on mindful eating in obese subjects resulted in an average weight loss of about 4 kg over the course of 6 weeks and during the subsequent 12 weeks of follow-up. Another 6-month study noted an average weight loss of about 12kg and no weight gain for the next 3 months.
By changing the way you think about food, negative feelings that may be associated with eating will be replaced with awareness, improved self-control, and positive emotions.
When undesirable eating behaviors are eliminated, the chances of long-term successful weight loss increase.
In summary, mindful eating can help with weight loss by changing eating behaviors and reducing the stress associated with eating.

4. Mindful eating and binge eating

Binge eating involves eating large amounts of food in a short period of time, mindlessly and without control. It is associated with eating disorders and the risk of being overweight or obese. One study has shown that nearly 70% of people with binge eating disorder are obese.
Mindful eating can significantly reduce the serious consequences and frequency of binge eating episodes. One study found that after 6 weeks of intervention in a group of obese women, binge eating episodes decreased from 4 to 1.5 times per week. The severity of each binge was also significantly reduced.
In summary, mindful eating can help prevent binge eating. It can both reduce the frequency of occurrence and can reduce the severity after a binge eating.

5. Mindful eating and unhealthy eating behavior

In addition to being an effective treatment for bulimia, mindful eating methods have also been shown to reduce the following unhealthy eating behaviors:
Emotional eating . This is the act of eating in response to certain emotions. Eating due to external causes. This happens when you eat based on environmental, food-related cues, such as seeing or smelling food. Unhealthy eating behaviors like these are the most commonly noted behavioral problems in people with obesity. Mindful eating gives you the skills you need to deal with these impulses. It helps you take charge of your reactions rather than following your instincts.
In summary, mindful eating can help erase common unhealthy eating behaviors such as emotional and extrinsic eating.

6. How to practice mindful eating

To practice mindful eating, you need a series of exercises, including meditation. Many people find it helpful to attend a seminar, online course, or workshop on mindfulness or mindful eating. However, there are many simple ways to get started, some of which can have powerful benefits, including:
Eat slower and don't rush your meals. Chew carefully. Eliminate distractions by turning off the TV and putting down your phone. Eat in silence. Focus on the taste of the dish. Stop eating when full. Ask yourself why you are eating, whether you are really hungry and whether the food you choose is healthy. To start, you should choose one meal a day to focus on these points. Once you get a hold of it, mindful eating becomes more natural. You can then focus on implementing these habits over more meals.

In short, mindful eating needs regular practice. Try to eat more slowly, chew well, eliminate distractions, and stop eating when you're full.
In general, mindful eating is a powerful tool for taking back control of eating. If conventional diets don't work for you, then this technique is worth considering. If you want to try mindful eating, you can find many good books on the subject in stores and online.

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Reference source: healthline.com