Eating Mindfully

I’ve been very mindful lately of mindfulness. I like the way this sounds. Have you ever thought how you went through life not knowing or wanting to know something so significant to life itself? I did just that on the practice of mindfulness. How could I not have heard about or come across this earlier? But mindfulness is the exact opposite of such quandaries. Of course, I cannot leave out the fact that after listening to the audio book ‘The Power of Now’ and reading ‘A New Earth’, I’ve become mindful of things. So, in being aware of what is going on inside myself, I’m discovering new things I’ve never before come across.

This often occurs where as soon as you hear, read or see something of interest and learn more about it, you are bombarded with it afterwards. I’ve learned that to be true. Now I come across books, articles, movies, clips, etc. on mindfulness. So, in this way while browsing through a magazine I found this book called ‘Eating Mindfully’ to be interesting. I bought it and read the entire book in a couple of weeks…I know not a couple of days as I still need to learn a lot about focusing and being mindful without being distracted. It’s a daily practice.

So, what is eating mindfully? Mindfulness is pure awareness. Mindful eating is eating with full awareness. When you are eating you are aware of the food itself, smell, texture, quantity, portion, color and your own body’s needs. You are aware of your hunger and where the hunger comes from. It is about why you are eating. Are you hungry? How hungry are you? What portion or food would satisfy this hunger at this time? Do you have the craving to eat because you just passed by bakery or saw a picture of a fresh looking slice of pizza? Or do you want to eat because someone in the office brought in muffins and they are sitting there ever so near you? These are some of the questions you need to be aware of at the time you are about to get something to eat. Learning why and how to eat and not so much what to eat. Why eat? This is a very good question to ask yourself as soon as you have the feeling you want to eat. You need to eat to satisfy yourself and not stuff yourself or be overly full. How you eat is very important. Eat slowly, chew thoroughly and enjoy your food. Be aware of the taste, smell, texture, color, shape, how it feels in your mouth while you chew it and notice the need to swallow before chewing completely. Be aware of all of that. After being aware of it each time you put a bite into your mouth it will become second nature. You will find that you are satisfied after eating half the amount you ate before because you saw what you ate and chewed it thoroughly.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Be kind to yourself
• Do not make internal negative comments
• Wait until you are hungry to eat
• Eat whenever you are hungry
• Tune into your body to recognize the hunger and what type it is
• Think about what would satisfy you at this time and eat that particular food
• Sit down to eat with a smaller portion than you normally would
• Eat without distraction of reading, TV, music, talking
• Look at the food and the portion
• As you take your first bite, chew it thoroughly until it is mush
• Put your fork, spoon down between bites and enjoy each bite
• Be aware as you swallow and as the food enters your stomach
• You should start to feel satisfied as you take a few bites
• After a few bites, ask yourself how hungry you still are
• Stop eating when you are 3/4 full
• After 20 minutes you may feel completely full as it takes that long for our brain to send the message
• Visualize the food going into your body and how it will be used for energy
• Be aware of how your stomach feels and becomes fuller as you eat and hunger dissapating

I have been trying to focus on being aware of these points. I find that if I listen to my body and mind they are sometimes very different in what they say. My mind may want chocolate but my body does not care one way or another. Although I find that if I eat it mindfully, I really do not want a whole lot after all. A small piece or a bite or two satisfy me as I savor it. I try not to deny myself of much unless it is unhealthy. In the process I’ve adopted a healthy eating habit.  I visualize what is inside the food and how it will affect my body and react with it. I picture fries and visualize the oil inside of it as it is being fried, the oil on my fingers, the oil that erupts in my mouth as I bite it, and in my stomach.

This can be a daily awareness exercise from morning to your last meal of the day.