Mindful Eating Strategies

Mindfulness Eating Scale and Guidelines

Eating is essential to life, and today we receive mixed messages on what leads us to eat. Learning to be in-tune with your hunger cues can help discover other causes for eating such as boredom, stress, or sadness. Mindful eating can also help us decide how much and when to eat to prevent extreme hunger or overeating.

When to eat: Level 4, and wait no longer than Level 3

When to stop eating: Level 6

Critical points are at Level 3 and 7- deciding to eat past these points risks overeating or making impulsive food choices

Use the hunger scale to decide:

Implement Awareness During Meal Time

BASICS of Mindful Eating can also be used as a guide for enjoying your meals

Take a few breaths and assess your hunger level or physical hunger

What are you hungry for?

Are you thirsty instead of hungry?

Breath and Belly Check

Does it look appealing?

Can you recognize the food or is it highly processed?

Ask again if it is a food you like

Assess Your Food

Take time to enjoy your food

Pause between bites and chew your food. Try putting your fork down between bites as well.

It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to communicate with your brain to signal being satisfied with the quantity of food

Slow Down

Continue to assess and taste your food during a meal

Half way through eating stop and ask yourself where you are on the hunger scale

Give yourself permission to stop eating if you are satisfied even if there is still food on your plate. Save it for a later meal.

Investigate Your Hunger

This allows the body to more easily digest the food and slows down the eating process

Taste your food and pay attention to hunger signals as you chew your food through the meal

Chew Your Food Thoroughly

Choose food that honors your taste buds and your health

Be fully present in the eating experience reducing external distractions so you can enjoy the pleasure of eating

Savor Your Food

Another Helpful Resource: Hidden Cues to Eating written by Katherine Isacks MPS, RDN, CDE

The following website includes detailed information on internal and external cues our body and mind receive that can lead us to eating.

https://www.mynetdiary.com/hidden-cues-to-eating.html

References:

BASICS of Mindful Eating. T.E. Atkins Wellness Program. Tasting Mindfulness.
https://www.umsystem.edu/newscentral/mindfuleating/basics-of-mindful-eating/

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Mindful Eating.
https://patienteducation.osumc.edu/documents/mindfuleating.pdf February 14, 2018.

Jenna Hollenstein, MS, RDN, CDN Eat2love.com*

Espinoza J. Slow Down to Savor: A Mindful Eating Exercise. Delicious Obsessions.
https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2016/02/slow-down-savor-mindful-eating-exercise/ January 23, 2018.

Isacks K. Hidden Cues to Eating. MyNetDiary
https://www.mynetdiary.com/hidden-cues-to-eating.html Updated May 14, 2018.