What is mindful eating?

What does mindful mean?

The term mindfulness has become a popular buzzword in recent years, but what exactly does it mean? We can define mindfulness as being aware of our thoughts, feelings and emotions as they relate to ourselves and to our environment. Moreover, being mindful is not just about awareness, it’s about being kind and nurturing towards our experience and perception of the world around us and within ourselves. For example, an example of mindfulness would be noticing the feeling of cold water against our skin as we swim in the ocean, and acknowledging the feeling without judgement.

In fact, the crux of mindfulness is acceptance. Through mindfulness we learn to accept our thoughts, feelings and emotions without judging them. In this sense, there is no “right” or “wrong” feeling or emotion at any given time. When we practice being mindful, our attention is focused on the present moment instead of replaying the past or wondering about the future. 

The origins of mindfulness date back to ancient Buddhist meditative practices. However, in modern times, a newer type of mindfulness has developed. In fact, it began in the late 70’s at the University of Massachusetts Medical school. An academic named Jon Kabat-Zinn was one of the first pioneers to define mindfulness as we interpret it today. Kabat-Zinn’s main contribution to mindfulness was his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program which is an eight-week evidence based program originally designed for stress management. Subsequently, numerous studies have followed in Kabat-Zinn’s footsteps by uncovering the significant physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness. In fact. The MBSR program has been adapted in various settings, from schools to hospitals to correctional centres.(1)

From mindless to mindful eating 

Mindfulness is not only a tool to reduce stress, it is also applied in the context of food and eating. In fact, mindfulness can significantly transform our relationship with food and our eating behaviours. Overall, this ancient practice can help us build a foundation for a lifetime of healthy and balanced eating. 

In today’s society, especially in the West, many of us eat several times a day. Furthermore, most people are unable to remember everything they ate in a day, and much less the physical and emotional sensations that arise while eating. Research shows that the average Westerner spends over 2.5 hours per day eating. However, for over half of this time, we are multitasking. For example, many people eat whilst watching TV, or in front of their computer, or while driving. The issue with multitasking while eating is that our main focus is not on the food we are eating, we are not fully present or aware of our food intake. This is known as “mindless eating”, in other words, a lack of awareness of what we are consuming, a somewhat absent-minded behaviour. Unfortunately this common attitude towards food can have negative health consequences. In fact, Dr. Cheung from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that this general lack of awareness may be contributing to the obesity epidemic along with other health concerns.(2)

Related reading 

• Benefits of a mediterranean diet
• Best foods for mental health