Nutrition Principles: Mindful Eating

The Epidemic of Distracted Eating

We're going too fast. Evolution is having a hard time catching up.

We spend most of the day jumping from one activity to the next, always maximizing our time. Most often we're doing two or even three things, even though multitasking isn't real. We live in a constant state of distraction. And as you've probably all heard, "a wandering mind is an unhappy mind".

There's a cost to all this. Yes, we're more depressed and anxious than ever, and we know that feels bad, but what is it doing to our physiology? What is it doing to our eating behaviors? What is it doing to our digestion?

Most of us eat (or drink) with a screen in front of us. A phone, a computer, a TV. We look forward to it, and don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with wanting to decompress! We need to decompress. But what is it taking away from us?

Distracted eating is defined as"the intentional consumption of a meal while engaged in a secondary activity to the extent that the significance or memory of the meal is diminished or forgotten entirely". Does that sound like a very enjoyable way to eat?

What about our biology? What's happening in our bodies when we participate in distracted eating? Well, research on eating while distracted (sounds like something you'd get a ticket for) shows that it causes us to overeat in the short term and overeat even more later on. Research has also shown that slow paced eating is associated with improved satiety and gut hormone responses. Eating slower allows our bodies more time to produce hormones related to satiety, including glucagon-like peptide-1. Have you heard of that one? It's become quite famous recently because of the success of GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, a pharmaceutical that's being marketed for weight loss.

So is eating slowly Ozempic-lite? Not quite, GLP-1 agonists cause the body to produce GLP-1 to supra-natural levels. This means levels that you wouldn't be able to make that much with your own body's mechanisms alone. But mindful eating is a crucial part of an overall strategy to bring ourselves back into balance with hunger and satiety. There's a host of other things you can do to help your body produce adequate amounts of GLP-1 like eating fiber and exercising regularly and I'll talk about those more soon.

What Is Mindful Eating?

It's exactly what it says it is: eating mindfully. The practice of paying full attention to the experience of eating. Slowing down, removing distraction, being present with ourselves and our relationship to our meal. Unlike dieting or restrictive eating, mindful eating focuses on awareness rather than rules.

Benefits of Mindful Eating

1. Improved Digestion – Eating slowly allows the body to properly digest food, reducing bloating and discomfort.

   
   

2. Better Portioning – By tuning into hunger and fullness cues, you skew the odds in your favor of eating a proper amount for your energy needs.

   
   

3. More Joy – Fully experiencing flavors, textures, and aromas enhances satisfaction!

   
   

4. Better Awareness of Emotional Eating – Slowing down and noticing our experience of hunger and satiety helps us notice what else might be going on in our lives that's influencing cravings.

   
   

5. Enhanced Relationship with Food – Developing a curious, non-judgmental approach to our eating helps us to appreciate food!

   
   

Ways to Eat Mindfully

1. Slow Down – Take small bites, chew thoroughly, and savor each mouthful. Eat like you're sipping your morning coffee or "wine tasting" your food. Set your fork, or spoon, or chopsticks down between each bite.

   
   

2. Eliminate Distractions – Turn off screens, put away your phone, and focus solely on the food in front of you. If you're at your desk at work, move to another location so you're not tempted to work. If you're in a restaurant or cafe, close your laptop, turn off your phone and put them out of reach or in a bag. If you're at home, eat at a table instead of the couch. If you're with people, alternate focus between them and the food, talk to them between bites, ask if they'd like to try mindfully eating with you.

   
   

3. Engage Your Senses – Notice the colors, smells, textures, and flavors of your food. Really notice! How does each bite feel? What does the food really look like? Where on your tongue are you experiencing the flavor? Are there any subtleties to the flavor?

   
   

4. Notice Hunger and Satiety – Before you eat your meal take a moment to notice, I mean really notice, how hungry you are. Give it a score between 1-10 with 10 being absolutely starving and 1 being the farthest away from hungry you've ever been. What is it? Now, when eating, pause every so often to ask yourself the same question but with fullness. How full are you? Between 1-10?

   
   

5. Feel Gratitude – Take a moment to appreciate the effort that went into growing, preparing, and serving your meal. Appreciate yourself for giving yourself the meal. Appreciate the food for its nourishment. Now say it out loud, to yourself or to someone else! Gratitude is contagious, express it!

   
   

Health Pizza Night with my partner and I have a ridiculous look on my face because I know I'm about to enjoy this meal.

Getting Started

Choose one or more of the above "Ways to Eat Mindfully" and set the intention to try it at your next meal. Put it in your to-do list, on your calendar, set a reminder on your phone: whatever it takes to make sure you do it. Notice the difference in how it feels.

If committing to eating mindfully for an entire meal feels daunting then make a compromise with yourself. Divide your meal in half on your plate or by using a smaller bowl or plate so you have to go back for more and commit to eating that half of it mindfully, then after that you can continue eating as you normally would.

I find that when I eat slowly, when I bring awareness my food, I enjoy it a lot more. I'm much more satiated, I'm much more satisfied. I'm always a little bit amazed when I realize how much better it feels to eat mindfully than to not, which motivates me to keep doing it. Mindful eating is a powerful tool towards reclaiming our connection with ourselves and our food in a world that is increasingly distracted and mindless.

Give it a shot and let me know what you think!