Mindful Eating

 Danielle Boudreau - Registered Dietitian

Emotional eating, or stress eating, is a problem for many people.  If you are one of those that experience emotional eating, you may be happy to learn about a strategy that can help control this behaviour:  Mindful Eating. 

What is Mindful Eating?

Mindful eating is a strategy that aims to improve your relationship with food.  When practicing mindful eating, you become fully aware of your eating experience.  Mindful eating is not meant to be a restrictive diet.  Instead, it is a strategy that allows you to focus on the food that you’re eating and listen to your body’s hunger cues.  There are many ways that you can practice mindful eating.

Identify which of the three main types of hunger you are experiencing

1. Stomach hunger: Occurs when you haven’t eaten in a while and you can feel an emptiness in your stomach - you may even hear it growling.  When you experience stomach hunger, you need to eat to fuel your body and provide it with nutrients
2. Mouth hunger: Occurs when you’re craving something because of a certain taste or mouthfeel.  Have you ever had a sudden urge for something cold and refreshing? That’s mouth hunger. 
3. Heart hunger: This is the type of hunger that refers to the emotional eating or stress eating. 

Eat slower

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you take an hour for each meal and snack. I understand that most people lead busy lives, but try to make a conscious effort to slow the pace of your eating.  This will help you appreciate your food and will make you more aware of your satiety cues.  It typically takes about 15-20 minutes for your body to recognize that it’s full after eating, so if you eat in a hurry, you’re more likely to miss those satiety cues and overeat.   

With heart hunger, it’s easy to overeat because you may be distracted by your emotions and stress.  You may want to consider waiting five minutes when you identify that you are experiencing heart hunger.  Fill this five-minute break with another stress-reducing activity that you enjoy and reflect on why you’re experiencing these emotions.  Take your time, and acknowledge what you’re eating and why.   

Avoid distractions

Turn off the television, put away your cellphone, and make food the main focus.   Have you ever polished off a bag of chips while watching TV? That’s because distractions can lead to mindless eating.   This isn’t to say that you should never snack in front of the television, that’s not realistic, but be mindful about how you do it.  Try pouring some chips into a bowl and eat that one serving. 

Use all 5 senses while eating

Take the time to truly appreciate what you are eating.  Take a moment before you begin to admire the colours on your plate and the aromas in the air.  While you’re eating, reflect on how the food feels in your mouth and the way it tastes.  Is food sizzling on your plate? Do you hear a crunch as you chew?  Using all your senses will make eating more of an experience which will likely help you to eat slower and reflect on your level of fullness. 
If you experience emotional eating or stress eating, our registered dietitian would be happy to discuss strategies with you to help you find something that works for you!