Is mindful eating something you would like to get better at or begin?

It’s common in our society to make meal-time a mishmash of activities. We spend our time eating on everything from focusing on socializing to getting work done or to just numbing out. For some of us – it’s the only time we get to hash-out the problems of the day. While eating, we forget just how connected we are to ourselves, to each other and to all of mankind.

I’ve set an intention to GET BETTER at mindful eating in connection with my personal wellness goal and I am learning LOTS about the habit and the benefit of eating mindfully.

Here are three tips on how you too can eat more mindfully:

1. Getting things beautiful. Bring focus to your food and mindful eating practice by making things beautiful.  Before your meal:

• Create a beautiful place setting. That can be whatever beauty is for you:
•  A lovely placemat, charger, or glass ware? A candle? A center piece? Perhaps your favorite plate or bowl?
• Create a colorful plate. Have vibrant colors of on your plate – so that too is beautiful.
• To learn more on how to create a colorful plate – Listen to Better YOU Certified Coach Wendy Bucknor: How to Create a Colorful Plate.

2. Getting yourself grounded and calm. Calming yourself down is a great way of getting into a mindful state. Before Your meal:

• Make meal preparation a special time. Appreciate each component of your meal as you prepare it. A meal prepared mindfully – is the first step to a meal eaten mindfully.
• Spend a few moments taking some nice, slow and deep breaths before you pick up your fork or spoon
• If your environment isn’t calm and peaceful get it that way:
• Lower the lights and remove any visual distractions fom the area.
• Shut off distractions such as television or equipment.
•  Perhaps put on slow-beat music that inspires you.
• Say a little mantra, keyword, or grace before you begin to eat.
• For example: I designed a little Haiku Poem to get me into a mindful state quickly. It reminds me to nourish myself, appreciate all the hard work that went into say “growing this carrot” and it reminds me relish all of it – and to slow things down and breathe:

“Taking time for -  ME

See the PEOPLE.  Sweating – LOVE

Relish ALL and BREATHE”

3. Getting More Aware. Becoming more aware of the food of your body, and of our inter-connectedness (all 3 are valuable parts of mindful eating).

• Body Aware – Creating awareness of when you are hungry and when you are full. It’s also paying attention to how your body responds to certain foods.
• This would include making a distinction when you are hungry emotionally, and when you are hungry physically.
•  It means not waiting until you are famished before you eat. This is one of the best ways to sabotage a mindful eating practice.
• Body awareness also means being very aware of when you have had enough.  Tuning-in to your “approaching full” point. When you eat mindfully, you eat slowly – and when you eat slowly, you give your brain enough time to get that “I am approaching full” point from your belly.
• Body awareness also includes things like what is enjoyable about the foods you eat, and which foods you do not enjoy fully.
• Food Aware  – Relish each bite of food. Noticing things like taste, texture, and to the number of chews required  can bring additional awareness of the wonders of different kinds of foods.
• World Aware – While eating, also appreciate all the chains of events that happened to bring food to your plate or mouth. It also is about relishing, and appreciated all the hard work it took by a lot of hard working people to grow and harvest and deliver your food to you. World aware is also increasing your awareness of the interconnectedness of our food sources – and the effect on other species when food is harvested.

Mindful eating can be done with lightness and playfulness; it doesn’t have to be a “heavy” activity. Enjoy the practice and you never know, in the end – you may find yourself making healthier choices for yourself and for the planet.

After your meal – do anything you need to be ready to repeat your mindful eating practice.

As you can see from these few tips, I’ve learned so much that eating mindfully can begin before you actually begin your meal. Where might you begin with your own mindful eating practice?

Here are a few additional resources if you would like to learn more about beginning a mindfulness practice:

• The Center for Mindful Eating
• Beginning Mindfulness
• More mindful eating resources