Mindful Eating

Do you find yourself rushing through meals, hurried to get to the next activity? Do you eat in the car? Are you forced into a ten- or fifteen-minute lunch break, by the time you have your food in front of you and are ready to eat?

Picture yourself sitting down to a relaxed, quiet meal. Think about the blessing of having your plate portioned with delicious food, and a nice, cool glass of water next to the plate. Soft music plays in the background, or maybe you just want to enjoy the absence of noise, and you choose to eat in silence.

As you eat your nourishing meal, you consider the source of your food. You smell the fresh aroma of pineapple, and taste the tanginess of the fruit. You think about the pineapple as it grew on the plant, and the harvesting and shipping that occurred. As the pineapple ripened, it was made ready to sell to you. You chew each bite slowly and thoroughly, putting your fork and knife down between each bite. You savor the taste of the food, and appreciate the sacrifice of the animals, plants and grains that are a part of your meal.

You sip your water as your eat, staying hydrated and filling your stomach with nutritious food and liquid. Because it takes twenty minutes to reach satiety (fullness), you eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and savor the meal as a comfortable and pleasurable break from the rest of your day. You become pleasantly full after twenty minutes, and although you still have food left, you stop eating and discard the remaining amount on your plate, content with the knowledge that you have eaten enough, and there is no need to clean the plate and continue eating out of a sense of obligation. Your obligation is to provide your body with wholesome, healthy food in the right amounts, without gluttonously overeating.

Mindful eating, practiced as a family, will help your children learn to appreciate food and develop healthier eating habits. The youngest generation is at a greater risk of developing diabetes, obesity and heart disease than at any time in history, due to poor diet, inactivity and lifestyle choices. Parents can take responsibility for protecting their children by teaching them proper eating choices and dining skills.

Pay attention to your plate and portion sizes, too. By using a smaller plate, the meal appears more abundant, and will seem more satisfying. Remember, eating fast begets eating too much, because your body needs at least twenty minutes to register satiety. Think about whether you are trying to obtain emotional gratification from the meal, or are truly eating to satisfy your hunger. Emotional hunger cannot be satisfied by food.

I work in a mental institution where many of the patients must have their food ground into small pieces because they eat so fast they are in danger of choking to death. Some of these patients literally cram food into their mouths, in a desperate attempt to fulfill their need to feel satisfied or comforted. Their disordered neurotransmitters and body compounds respond to sugar, caffeine, fat, and other dietary components like a drug, in some cases, and they often lack the ability to control their responses to this stimulation.

Those of us who are not institutionalized can practice disciplined and mindful approaches to eating, and when needed, implement positive behaviors to appease our emotional and neurological needs, instead of eating.