Does mindful eating have a place with a weight loss goal?
In a world where we’re constantly on the go, eating can often become another rushed task on our to-do list. Yet, this hurried approach to meals can make us miss out on an essential part of a healthy lifestyle: mindfulness. For those wanting to lose weight in a healthy sustainable way, checking in with your fullness cues and how you feel as you eat can be a super useful fat loss tool for supporting weight loss as well as enhancing overall well-being.
Mindful eating—pausing, savouring, and truly noticing our food—can transform how we feel about food and also our bodily response to the food, how much we end up eating and therefore may support healthy weight loss.
What is mindful eating?
Mindful eating is when the individual knows exactly what is going on inside and outside of themselves, moment by moment as they eat. It is where you are paying attention to your food, on purpose and without judgement. It involves paying close attention to the sensory details of food—such as taste, smell, texture, and appearance—while also being aware of your own hunger and fullness cues, emotions, and thoughts during a meal.
Mindful eating and weight loss:
There is some research showing that this type of mindful eating actually can lead to weight loss (1), as well as other impacts such as changing eating behaviours (2) and reducing inflammation (3). Mindfulness training has been reported to change grey matter concentration in areas of the brain associated with memory processing, emotion regulation and perspective taking (4).
But an important aspect of mindful eating is non-striving so to let go of any expectations or goals whilst eating.
MINDFUL EATING IS NOT THE SAME AS INTUITIVE EATING.
Intuitive eating is not the same as mindful eating. In mindful eating we are acting in a mindful way, being aware of each sensory stimulus and our emotions as we eat. Intuitive eating is an approach to food and body that encourages reconnecting with natural hunger and fullness cues instead of following restrictive diets or food rules. I.e. you can not intuitively eat and follow a diet plan. But you CAN mindfully eat while following a diet plan.
For some people who have incredibly complex relationships with food, intuitive eating can be very difficult without the guidance of a qualified professional* who has had extra training in intuitive eating because it can be hard to sort through disordered thoughts and what you actually intuitively feel. Whereas mindful eating is simply being away of your senses, in the moment as you eat.
*If you want help finding a professional to suit you please send me an email
The key principles of mindful eating:
- Non judgement
- Patience. It may take time to practise mindful eating and to slow the eating process. Allow the experience to occur gradually.
- Non-striving: Do not expect any outcome.
- Acceptance. Accept both the positives and negatives of an eating experience (e.g., taste, emotions, hunger signals.)
- Letting go. During this process you will need to let go of any past experiences and assumptions without judgement.
So how do you mindfully eat?
- Sit down: Only eat off your feet and with food on a plate. Avoid eating in front of the fridge, as you’re cooking a meal or snacking in your car. Put food on a plate. You will enjoy the food a lot more and be better able to give eating your full attention.
- Chew slowly: Try eating with your non-dominant hand if you struggle to slow down or intentionally chew slower than the person you are eating with. Pace, don’t race.
- Savour each bite: Take small bites, taste and experience. Look at each spoonful, turn off distractions. Take a mindful bite, smell and taste
- Turn off the TV, put away your work or any other distractions. When you eat, just eat.
- After you finish a bite, take a mindful breath. Take the time to ask yourself what you are feeling. This slows you down as you eat.
Really experience your food.
54321 METHOD
5) Look around the room, or even better your plate of food and notice 5 things that you can see.
4) Now notice 4 things that you can touch, imagine what each would feel like. Even better, turn the attention on your food. Pick out 4 different textures from your meal and notice them.
3) Pick out 3 things you can hear. This could be the whir of a fridge, birds outside, cars going by. Remember to stay non-judgmental.
2) Notice 2 different smells
1) Finally taste your meal. Really notice every flavor.
References
- Fuentes Artiles R, Staub K, Aldakak L, Eppenberger P, Rühli F, Bender N. Mindful eating and common diet programs lower body weight similarly: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews. 2019; 20: 1619–1627 This is a meta analysis of multiple studies showing that mindful eating showed significant weight loss.
- O’Reilly, G.A., Cook, L., Spruijt-Metz, D. and Black, D.S. (2014), Mindfulness interventions for eating behaviours. Obes Rev, 15: 453-461. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12156
- Smith, B.W., Shelley, B.M., Sloan, A.L. et al. A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial of a Mindful Eating Intervention for Post-menopausal Obese Women. Mindfulness 9, 836–849 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0824-9
- Britta K. Hölzel, James Carmody, Mark Vangel, Christina Congleton, Sita M. Yerramsetti, Tim Gard, Sara W. Lazar, Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, Volume 191, Issue 1,2011, Pages 36-43, ISSN 0925-4927, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.08.006.