Mindful Eating

 Photo taken by Darrin Hackney

Confession: I have been struggling with the eating aspect of my overall wellness goals. Big time (I'm being super vulnerable here, which is one of the steps needed to make actual change). Yes, I was on vacation a week ago and thus let myself indulge in the local, delicious pastries, french fries and fish, but even before vacation and, even today, I have been allowing myself to mindlessly eat.

What does mindless eating mean? I bet you know all too well.
If you've ever: eaten in front of the TV, eaten while reading, eaten fast and then thought, "where did all of my food go?", eaten because you're sad, mad or bored...then you've mindlessly eaten. You know, those time you can't even remember what the food truly tasted like. Sometimes I just get caught up in daily activities and life that I stuff my mouth. And mostly with things that are not nutritionally sound.

How many people are struggling with this? Put down that food you're munching on at your desk and raise your "hand" by commenting below:)

So, what can we do to improve our overall wellness in the eating realm by eating more mindfully?

There is actually a Center for Mindful Eating. It is a great site for resources and one of my favorite mindful eating practices is listed on their site. It involves pushing ourselves to fully experience our senses and thus actually be aware of our eating. Warning: it will push you to think in a different way, but it works! It goes like this (make sure to take time for this exercise):

For this meditation, practice being mindful of all your senses. 1) Use your sight to look at food’s color and shape with full concentration. 2) Smell a food’s aroma—both cooked and uncooked. Can you tell when something is fresh or spoiled? 3) Taste a food by letting it linger in your mouth for a long time, chewing it and extracting all the flavor it has to give you. Do you like (or dislike) it? 4) Experience details of a food’s texture and sound as you chew. 5) Hear food as you crunch, munch, and pop it in your mouth.
(from MEAL BY MEAL by Donald Altman)

What do you think? Could you try this tonight at dinner? Let me know your thoughts. If you are in need of an "eating makeover" life coaching can help by figuring out what is working for you and what isn't and coming up with a plan for change.


eating, wellness, life coach, life coaching, wellness coaching