Top Tips for Mindful Eating – No more mindless munching

Let me paint you a picture.

You’ve come home from a hard day at work. It’s late and you’re tired. You ate lunch in front of your computer (no time for a sit down meal) and you can’t be bothered cooking a proper dinner.

So, you grab a bag of chips and a packet of chocolate biscuits – Your ‘go to’ comfort food – and collapse in front of the TV to watch the latest episode of Offspring.

You only meant to have ‘a few’ chips and ‘a couple’ of biscuits, but by the end of the show you realise you’ve not only demolished both packets, but you’ve also finished off two more. Sound familiar?

If so, you are not alone. In our stressful, tech-saturated world full of iPhones, laptops and many other distractions, its little wonder ‘Mindless Eating’ is rife.

By contrast, ‘Mindful Eating’ is all about being in tune with and listening to your body.

It involves being present in the moment and fully conscious in terms of what and how much you eat.

Here are my Top Three Mindful Eating Tips:

Use all Your Senses

Be present while eating.

Take three deep breaths, then (while eating slowly), pay attention to the smell, taste, sound, texture and look of the food you are eating.

What kind of hungry are you?
Before you grab that snack, take time to mentally check in. How hungry are you on a scale of one to ten? Ask yourself if you are indeed physically hungry, or if you are ‘eye hungry’ – That is, attracted to food because it looks nice, or ‘nose hungry’ – When you are responding to the smell of the food.

When you do eat, aim to finish when you are satisfied – Not stuffed or starving.

Be Attentive
I get it. You’ve got a lot on your plate (literally). But it’s important to make food a priority when you are eating and try not to multi task. So turn off the TV, move away from the computer and when you eat, just eat.

I am a firm believer that how you do anything is how you do everything.

The moment you become more in tune with how you eat is the moment you will become more present in all other aspects of your life.

50 Comments

- - Melissa89 said
  - 27 Jul 2016
    1:08 pm
This is a great article. I really don’t do this and I know that I should

- - mom94125 said
  - 19 Oct 2015
    2:24 pm
yes enjoy the treat instead of mindless munching

- - mom109229 said
  - 30 Sep 2015
    10:14 pm
This was an interesting mini article. Thanks for posting!

- - talwin said
  - 22 May 2015
    11:34 am
I have a habit of eating in from of my computer……..

- - fizgig said
  - 31 Jan 2015
    7:34 pm
I try and turn the TV off when eating so you can concentrate on what you are doing!

- - GeoEllie said
  - 25 Jan 2015
    6:39 pm
Definitely something I’m trying to work at!

- - june11 said
  - 22 Dec 2014
    10:57 pm
Yoghurt is my weakness. However if I am doing something at the same time I eat a lot slower than I otherwise would and don’t feel hungry until much later than I otherwise would.

- - tam_watters said
  - 13 Nov 2014
    2:01 pm
Now that I’ve seen that picture I need to go eat a Mars Bar

- - mom102977 said
  - 31 Oct 2014
    11:14 pm
I know all this but in spite of that I do slip sometimes. It’s hard to always find time, so many times I ate my lunch at my desk, not really paying attention to my meal. I’ll need to try harder.

- - rachh_05 said
  - 31 Oct 2014
    9:43 pm
I really need to tune into my mind and body.

- - manda..84 said
  - 06 Oct 2014
    11:21 pm
so true!

- - deborah_osborne said
  - 04 Oct 2014
    9:05 pm
I Re read this article ,yes it’s true we eat without realizing what our food is like eg crunchy ,salty & spices used .Knowcwonder we put on weight .Kitchen tables is the best place to eat !

- - mdzzy said
  - 24 Sep 2014
    10:33 pm
I am notorious for mindless eating!

- - pakeko said
  - 24 Sep 2014
    12:26 pm
So often I find myself eating without thinking thank you for a great article

- - deangunna said
  - 22 Sep 2014
    10:36 pm
Yes as I am reading this I am thinking of the chocolate biscuits in the fridge calling me.

- - mom93821 said
  - 12 Sep 2014
    6:43 pm
Thanks for the article. I love applying Mindfulness to every day life and slowing down and being present in the moment.

- - stephrat said
  - 01 Sep 2014
    10:06 pm
Thanks for this mindful article. I believe weight maintenance is actually harder than weight loss…

- - cloverstorm said
  - 29 Aug 2014
    2:18 pm
Mindless eating is great. Until you’ve finished the packet & wonder who ate all the chips.
- kathryn replied
  
  31 Aug 2014 , 1:59 pm
  I have some little hands that help me
- - sisterhood27 said
  - 19 Aug 2014
    8:20 pm
Yes I am one of them I eat if I am sad I eat if I am bored and I eat all the wrong food Junk

- - robyn_smithwick said
  - 18 Aug 2014
    4:37 pm
This is a very good article. So many of us eat when we really dont need to!