Hannah Thompson, RDN, LD, clinical dietitian, Parkview Hospital Randallia, who works in the outpatient setting and with patients navigating eating disorders, shared that mindful eating is a helpful approach to mealtime you might not have tried.
The mindful eating method is about improving your relationship with food by tuning into your internal cues and external environment, both of which impact the eating experience. It’s about getting curious about what you’re eating and how it makes you feel, without attaching guilt or shame to your observations. This can be a healthier mindset, compared to a more restrictive diet mentality.
How to practice mindful eating
Hannah encourages people to approach mindful eating with a calm mindset and ask themselves questions both before the meal and while they are eating. These might include:
- How does this food look?
- How does this food smell?
- What is the temperature of the food?
- How is the texture of the food?
- Do I like this food? Is it satisfying?
- If it’s not satisfying, what can I change to make it more satisfying next time?
If a food or meal could be altered the next time you make it, take a mental note so that you can increase your satisfaction, and ultimately your satiety cues.
The good news is, there is no right way or wrong way to practice mindful eating. Putting too many restrictions on this method will turn it into another diet, and that’s not the goal here. With time, asking yourself questions and slowing down to observe your feelings about the food will help you tune into your inner wisdom about hunger and satiety, which will help you form healthy eating habits for better overall wellness.
More on mindful eating
If you want to learn more about this approach to healthy eating, check out these posts from the Parkview Dashboard:
Making mindful eating a part of your journey
Become a mindful eater in 5 simple steps
How to make mealtime an exercise in mindfulness
