Eating Mindfully Through the Holidays + Beyond
By Dr. Anna Enright
Eating is a daily practice we all engage in to nourish our bodies and it is often done mindlessly. The truth is eating does not require our focused attention. We can easily have dinner and watch a Netflix show, send an email, or have a conversation at the same time. It is just important to be aware that when we engage in mindless eating, we are not connected to the process of eating and tasting food. Our attention is not focused on the sensation of eating but on the Netflix show, the email, or the content of the conversation. When this happens, we tend to enjoy food less.
Mindful eating, switching on the senses and tuning into the process of tasting the food we eat, can contribute to a healthier pattern of eating and allows us to enjoy tasty food more. By increasing our ability to tune into how we feel when we eat, mindfulness has been shown to reduce emotional eating and can contribute to healthier choices.
This exercise is an excellent tool to use when one is most vulnerable to mindless eating, i.e., when one eats in response to stress or through the holiday season when unhealthy choices are everywhere!
While significantly slowing the pace of eating is not realistic for every meal, an abbreviated version can be done by committing to at least one mindful bite per meal.
This exercise can be a powerful tool to become aware of how our mind is constantly living in the future. Even when our attention should be focused on eating and enjoying the tasty food in the present, as we take a bite and swallow, our mind is focusing on the next bite. This pattern is often present when eating candy, chips, or other comfort food. This exercise can help us recognize this pattern, and it can be the first step to strengthen the ability to stay present with the food we are eating.
Mindful Eating Exercise
In this exercise, we are learning to pay attention to the process of eating. Our bodies need to be nourished for health and strength. It is often the case that we eat quickly and mindlessly, not even truly tasting our food. This can lead to finding ourselves at the bottom of a bag of potato chips without knowing how we got there!! Bringing attention to and learning to enjoy the food we eat will help us make better choices.
In this exercise we are eating a raisin or a bite of any piece of food of your choosing (M&M, a blueberry, a piece of pineapple, a carrot) mindfully.
Finding a quiet place, begin by shifting your focus to this moment. Begin by connecting with your breath and body. Sitting up straight in a chair with feet planted on the ground, shift your awareness to any thoughts, sensations or emotions being experienced right now. Deepening your breath, take a deep breath through your nose and out your mouth. Without judgment, tune into body sensations. Are you tired? Energized? Stressed? Hungry? Restless? Calm? Excited? Whatever you notice is OK. We are just becoming aware of this moment.
Now turning to the raisin, (or whatever food you have chosen for the exercise) imagine you are a visitor from out of space and have no idea what this object you are holding in your hand is. Switching on all your senses you are exploring and learning everything you can about this object.
EYES
Does the object have a color? Shape?
Does it have any unique features?
Now close your eyes…
TOUCH
Softly rolling it over with your fingers, is it soft?
Hard? Dry? Wet? Sticky? Is it warm? Cold? Is it smooth? Is it rough?
SMELL
Bringing it up to your nose, does it have a smell?
Does it bring up any sensations in your body? Any memories?
SOUND
Is it quiet? Noisy?
TASTE
Now bringing it up to your lips, you may feel the anticipation of wanting to taste it. Without chewing yet, put it on your tongue and roll it around your mouth. What does that feel like? As you bite into it, tune into the burst of flavor and waves of taste that follow as you chew. Notice how the sensations and taste change as you chew. Now notice how the object itself is changing, dissolving, and slowly disappearing.
Detect the intention to swallow when it first arises. When you do finally swallow, imagine the path the food follows from your mouth, down your esophagus, to your stomach. Imagine the food in your stomach. Notice any sensations that linger in your mouth.
As you close this practice, shift the focus back to the breath, taking five deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth and when you are ready, open your eyes.
Post Exercise Reflections
How was the experience overall? What did you learn about your object that you hadn’t realized before? Was anything about the experience surprising? What thoughts occurred throughout the exercise? Were there any challenges? What are the key takeaways?
For more information on this topic check out:
https://positivepsychology.com/mindful-eating-exercises/
Nelson, J. B. (2017). Mindful eating: the art of presence while you eat. Diabetes Spectrum, 30(3), 171-174.
