6 Benefits of Mindful Eating

Mindful eating – using the tenets of mindfulness meditation while eating, has done nothing less than transform mind-body nutrition. Practitioners everywhere are incorporating it.

When I work with an individual, I almost always combine clear steps to bring food and lifestyle into balance (the what of lifestyle) with mindfulness (the how of lifestyle).

Why Do It?

1. Enjoying your food – First off, when people slow things down – and eating is a dramatic example – they tend to taste and enjoy their food more. It might seem ironic, but eating slowly is more interesting and enjoyable, once you get the hang of it.
2. Epigenetic benefits – Epige-what? Epigenetics is the impact that choices have on gene expression. When you choose to eat a plant based diet or move your body, you actually impact your gene expression, which in turn builds a more resilient future you. It’s some of the biggest news in lifestyle medicine now.
3. Neurobiology benefits – Mindfulness manages stress. When you slow down and breathe – particularly when you extend your exhale – you activate the whole rest-and-recover side of your nervous system. That not only manages stress, but can improve digestion.
4. Turn down the external messages on what and how much to eat. Face it, modern life is filled with messages from the media – commercials for fast food, billboards – it’s just everywhere – that tell us we need to be eating basically all the time. It’s hard to ignore, but mindfulness can help you un-hook from those messages.
5. Tune into your internal guidance system – instead of responding to cues from the outside, mindful eating get you more in-tune to your internal guidance system – to if you are actually hungry, and when you are satisfied.
6. Improve your relationship with what you eat. Eating is a two-way conversation. Mindfulness is an excellent way to tune in to toes conversation.

One caveat – this practice can uncouple eating and satiety – it can help you eat less, but it can also help you undercut. Use nutrition guidelines for adequacy – adequate protein and energy needs – for your body.

So How do I do it? Check my post that gives you the step-by-step to give it a try:

Mindful Eating: The Art & Science of Eating Better