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Thursday, August 15, 2019

Key Reasons to Eat Mindfully with Tips to Succeed




Most of us know it’s unhealthy to overeat and gain extra pounds or skip meals to shed weight. Yet when stressed or rushed, we may reach for comfort foods, eat on the go, or veto a meal entirely.

This post offers tips to help us become mindful eaters and ideas to help us do it.

Updated 10/24/2022

Mindful eating is the practice of bringing open-minded awareness about our food choices, and observations about the taste, texture, sound, aroma, and sight of the foods we are eating. 

Eating mindfully is also a way to pay more attention to why and how we prepare and eat certain foods.

When we notice details of the eating experience and the effect food has on our body, emotions, and thinking, we're better able to identify problem times and situations we eat to compensate for feelings including loneliness, anger, boredom, and fear.

Mindful eating studies show those who eat mindfully are more successful at sticking with a meal plan that supports wellness. The example is from Michael Greger MD.

Research about mindful eating also suggests that being present while eating assures full digestion as well as optimal nutrition benefits. 

The initial phase of digestion begins with the brain seeing, smelling, and anticipating food. 

If you are tense or distracted any place in the process, food may not be fully absorbed. See more at Mindfulness Helps Us Digest and Enjoy Our Food.

Additional studies indicate mindful eating may help reduce body mass index (BMI), reduce anxious thoughts about food and body image, and help those with diabetes get a better handle on managing symptoms.

Word of warning: Posts on this site are offered for informational purposes, and not offered as medical advice.

Tune into your body’s signals to identify real hunger. With practice, you’ll be able to discern “when,” “how,” “where,” and "what" to eat for nourishment, health, and to create a sense of well-being in you. 

Just understand, one size does not fit all. Make your goal  "progress." Through trial and error you'll develop a meal plan and follow through with methods that fit your lifestyle. See this for more tips.

Mindful Eating Can Evolve 
Spontaneously When you Do 
the 
Following:

Before you begin preparing a meal...

Clear clutter from table and kitchen counters. Mail, keys, papers, and work stuff detracts from the physical setting for an enjoyable meal. When junk blankets the dining table, it makes it tempting to eat on the couch or eat standing up. 

Take a moment or two to breathe deeply, and put aside any cares or concerns you felt during the hours before this meal. Perhaps even take a moment or two to say a thanks for the abundance in your life.

Then, gather brightly colored ingredients, lay them out, cut them up, and place them in the appropriate pot, pan, or on or in the stove.  




Notice specific details about what you’re doing in each moment. Are you following a cookbook recipe, winging it, opening a package, or cutting off the tops of radishes or carrots? 
Do you hear anything as you cook, feel air or lack of air around you, etc. How does the sauce you are simmering smell, look, taste, feel?

For fresh menu ideas, see Colorful Whole Food Plant Based Meal Ideas to simplify meal planning. 

You’re not cooking food to be eaten, you’re simply cooking the food, and you’re doing it with all of your being.

Before you actually sit down for a meal, pause to consider everyone involved in bringing your food to the table. 

Think of the loved ones or yourself who will prepare it, those who planted it, the water, soil, and other elements that were part of the creation, those who harvested the ingredients, to those who transported it to markets or will deliver it to your home. 

When you go back to the origins of the food you are eating, you’re likely to breathe easier, feel grounded, grateful, and sense you are interconnected.


Listen to physical hunger cues and distinguish between true hunger and non-hunger triggers for eating including boredom, loneliness, anxiety, sadness, joy, fatigue, and craving for love or comfort.
Set the intention to be mindful for at least one meal a day. Then branch out to two or three mindful meals a day. Expand your practice and include meals at home, with family and friends, and in restaurants.

Remember to engage all your senses and take in the colors, smells, sounds, textures, and flavors of the foods you are going to eat. 

Here's food for thought. Ask yourself whether the food you are choosing to eat contributes to your physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, community, and planetary health.
Keep your eyes on your table mates and the food. Take part in conversation. 






See this tip from Etiquette Expert Candace Smith:

“Have you noticed that table settings only include the tools necessary to assist you during dinner with others?  There are plates, glasses, forks, knives, spoons, and napkins.  Add humans and food, and you have a complete dining experience.  
This is why the table etiquette rule is: No items other than those included in the table setting are appropriate on the dining table.  Ergo, phones and other electronic devices should not make an appearance during a meal.” See more at  Using Your Phone at the Table.

When you are eating a meal solo, sit down at a table to eat without a book, electronic device or busy work. This will direct your attention where it can do the most good.

Notice the feelings, thoughts, and ideas that surface when you eat slowly, and without distraction, Give your full attention to the food you eat, and you'll be better able to notice when you feel satisfied, but not overstuffed. Stop eating then.

Eyeball your food to determine portion size, and be mindful about selecting quality rather than quantity. 

Use a luncheon sized plate instead of dinner plate, if you have a problem gauging portions. 

Keep fresh, whole food on hand. You'll be less tempted to munch on junk food and have more say about what is in or isn't in your food. 

After a mindful meal, notice how you're feeling. Are you tired, alert, grateful, hyper, or relaxed. 

The food you eat and the mindset you bring to it, has a direct impact on your mood, outlook, health, and energy level. Make it a priority to eat mindfully one day at a time, and you're sure to succeed in increasing pleasure and health.



Do you want to eat meals more mindfully? 

Why do you think that's a good thing to do? 

What tips that I've written about can help you do more of it? 

Please comment below in the space provided. I read and appreciate each one, but will not publish comments if they contain links. Thanks for understanding. 💗

If you like what you see please like my Facebook Page and Follow me on Pinterest. That way you're sure to get fresh health and lifestyle ideas as soon as they are published.

This post has been shared at the very last linkup for midlife-share-the-love-party-131


This post has been shared at a-gathering-of-friends-link-party-4

35 comments:

  1. Nancy,
    This was a very well researched and very insightful post with some valuable information. You covered a wide range of ideas with some excellent tips. I love the idea of clearing clutter and being conscious of thoughts and feelings. Thanks Nancy

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    1. I agree Judee. Clearing clutter is one part of mindful eating that I haven't consciously put into practice. I need to try that.

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  2. Hi Judee, I'm honored you feel that way and so glad you told me. Have a beautiful day.

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  3. Thank you for sharing this. This is certainly food for thought and I learned so much today from reading this.

    Happy Sunday, Nancy!

    #SaturdaySharefest

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    1. Thanks Veronica Lee for the visit and comment. Love being at #SaturdaySharefest and Happy Sunday to you too.

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  4. Interesting on the colours...#MLSTL

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    1. Thanks Lydia for the visit and comment. Glad the colors interested you. Healthy to eat a combination of at least 5-9 servings of colorful veggies, fruits, legumes, beans, nuts, and seeds a day. Be well and have a pleasant evening.

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  5. excellent post as in this day and age we seem to just "shove" the meal down and do not even think about what we are eating. visiting from #mlstl

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    1. Thanks Bree for your visit and comment. Many do just what you write. Hopeful my post will help and put a more positive, healthy spin on dining. Have a great day and see you next time at #MLSTL.

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  6. Hi Nancy - my husband and I remind ourselves about trying to be more mindful when we eat - meals seem to go down so fast otherwise. We're big fans of preparing our own food, eating the rainbow and moderation on red meat. I'm also trying to keep our sugar and carb consumption down more these days.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I've shared on my SM :)

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  7. Thanks for these reminders, Nancy. I have to be honest, I am not a good mindful eater, never have been, but will take this advice to heart and try to slow myself down and enjoy eating a meal rather than just doing it because I have to. #MLSTL

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    1. Thanks Candi for the comment and visit. Good luck and best wishes for many mindful meals in the future. Fun to visit and post on #MLSTL.

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  8. Fantastic tips! I am so guilty of eating while scrolling through my phone. This is just a great reminder to eat mindfully in so many different ways. I pinned and will really try some of your tips!

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. Glad you'll try some of my tips. Please let me know whether it has a positive effect on you.

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  9. Hi Nancy, I think we used to incorporate Mindful Eating growing up as there were no distractions at meal times. No TV or smart phones just the family sitting around the table, enjoying good food and company. It is so easy to just grab and go and not even really taste our food sometimes. Thank you for providing some useful ways to achieve Mindful Eating and sharing the benefits at #MLSTL. Have a great week! xx

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    1. Thanks Sue for your comment and reminding me that's what my family did at mealtime too. So enjoy being a blogger who posts at #MLSTL and thanks again for hosting.

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  10. Thanks for such an insightful post! Lots of great information that I need! I am embarking on a better way to eat, and I've been gravitating in this very direction. Thanks for linking up at the #GatheringofFriendsLinkParty 4

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    1. Thanks Sylvia for the visit and kind words. It's my pleasure to link up at #GatheringofFriendsLinkParty4.Thanks for being such a gracious host! For more lifestyle tips use the search bar on top left side or labels below this post for topics.

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  11. Nancy,
    These are some valuable tips. I tend to overeat and often don't pay attention while I'm eating. I need to be more mindful and will re read this for some ideas to follow. thanks.

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    1. Hi Judee, Being a more mindful eater is a skill that can be cultivated. Good luck with it and be well.

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  12. I have been trying to be more mindful of what I'm eating but I do find that if I'm sitting alone to eat my first inclination is to read a book or watch TV or do something so I don't feel quite so alone.

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    1. Understand what you're saying. I felt that way too at first. I've learned to enjoy the quiet and peace of the moment and can focus more on really tasting and savoring each bite of food. Try it for a while and let me know how it works for you. Have a beautiful day and thanks for the visit and comment.

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  13. So many great ideas from this post that I had to print it out! Well researched and lots of helpful links too! I will be sharing this with my family!! Great post, thanks for sharing these tips!

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    1. Thanks so much AnnMArie for the visit and comment. Sure glad I could be of service to you and your family. Have a good weekend and eat mindfully and with pleasure.

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  14. Very helpful information, Nancy. I am on a journey to eat more whole foods and homegrown ingredients and this fits right in with my thoughts about meal prep and meal time. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. So glad to hear we're like minded peeps. Have a beautiful day.

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  15. Good tips! Thanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 4. Shared.

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    1. Thanks Dee for the visit, comment, and social share. Have a great day and thanks for hosting #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 4.

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  16. Hi Nancy - thanks so much for all the useful and interesting info. We're quite mindful in our eating - choosing healthy foods and always eating our evening meal together at the dining table (not in front of the TV) It's so easy to get lazy and to make poor choices, so we're aware that we need to keep up the good habits now our metabolisms are getting slower and less forgiving!
    And thanks so much for being a part of #MLSTL

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    1. Enjoyed reading your thoughtful comment Leanne and being a part of #MLSTL. Good luck on whatever your next adventure turns out to be.

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  17. Thank you for this reminder, Nancy. I have been focusing on mindful eating for several years now, but sometimes I slip into old habits. It's good to stop and re-evaluate. Besides all of the health benefits of mindful eating, I find I enjoy my food more and am more grateful in general.

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    1. Yahoo for you! Thanks for the visit and comment Christie and keep up the good work!

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  18. This is something I need to focus more on. I can be bad for taking electronics or disrtractions with me or really not focusing on what I'm eating. I need to take more time to be more mindful in what foods I'm fuelling myself with! Thank you!

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    1. You are so welcome Katherine. I've found the more attention I pay to food prep the less absentminded I am about what I'm eating. Perhaps that and other tips about mindful eating offered in this post helps you. Have a beautiful day.

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