Mindfulness is a practice that can apply to numerous parts of your life, contributing to your overall health and wellness. It also applies to what you eat and how you approach food and mealtimes, which is what we call mindful eating.

What Is Mindful Eating?

The most simple definition of mindfulness is the ability to be fully present in what you are doing. So when we apply that definition to food, it’s your ability to be fully present as you eat and enjoy your food. The goal of mindful eating is to create more enjoyable, satisfying and fulfilling experiences around eating.

Mindful eating means that the food you eat provides you with more than just micronutrients and macronutrients – instead, eating is an experience that can give fulfilment in many different ways.

Here are a few principles of mindful eating:

• Notice how your food looks, tastes, smells and feels in your body
• Notice internal and external cues that affect how much you eat
• Acknowledge how your body feels after eating a meal
• Express gratitude for your meal
• Consider where your food came from, how and by whom it was prepared
• Reflect on the broader implications of your food choices

What Are The Benefits of Mindful Eating?

Research on mindful eating suggests that mindfulness-based interventions can improve numerous health behaviours.

One of these behaviours is better awareness of hunger and fullness cues. Noticing (and listening to!) these cues can go a long way toward preventing you from overeating. In a meta-analysis of studies on distracted versus attentive eating, distracted eating increased immediate intake and intake at later meals. While many people recognize the effect distracted eating has on their current meal, it might be a surprise that one distracted meal can continue to affect you throughout the day.

Data from a 6-month mindfulness-based weight loss intervention trial of almost 200 participants provide some more exciting findings:

• Mindfulness increases positive emotions and decreases anxiety and depressive symptoms.
• Mindful eating decreases the overall consumption of sweets and reduces fasting glucose levels.

The study didn’t find a difference in weight loss between the two groups; however, given the other improvements in health and well-being that the mindfulness group saw, they may be better equipped to maintain long-term weight loss.

In a meta-analysis of mindful eating studies, researchers found that mindful eating was associated with decreased impulsive and binge eating. It was also associated with increased physical activity. Again, the study showed no difference in weight loss, but we could hypothesize that the mindfulness group significantly improved their overall health. 

Another meta-analysis examined data from randomized trials in obesity and binge eating disorder. Researchers showed that mindfulness approaches significantly decreased binge eating symptoms compared to control groups. But, once again, the study noted no differences in body weight between groups.

Is Mindful Eating a Weight Loss Strategy?

On its own, not really, but it’s an essential component of an overall weight loss approach nonetheless. You might be thinking: none of the studies above showed more weight loss from mindfulness interventions, so why does it matter for weight loss? That’s true, so let’s explore why.

Results from mindful eating trials generally show many benefits, but weight loss isn’t one of them. There are a few reasons possible reasons for this.

Most weight loss intervention studies last less than one year. If you’ve tried losing weight before, you probably know that most people can lose weight in the short term, but the real challenge comes with weight maintenance.

We have yet to have studies looking at long-term weight loss data from mindfulness interventions, but we can guess that the benefits of mindfulness can help with weight loss maintenance. Improved mental health and well-being are very likely to contribute to someone’s ability to maintain their lost weight.

How Can I Get Started?

If mindful eating is new to you, pick one meal each day and make it a mindful meal. Choose a meal that is usually relatively calm and that you often eat alone or with just a few people (hint: your lunch surrounded by coworkers probably isn’t the best first choice). 

Choose a place to eat your meal that is quiet and free of distractions. Leave your phone in another room while you eat so you aren’t tempted by phone-scrolling habits. 

Before you take your first bite of food, ask yourself: How do I feel? Am I hungry? Am I ravenous? Am I just eating out of habit or boredom? The first step to being able to listen to your body is tuning in and taking note of how you feel.

When you start eating, pay attention to what you smell, the textures in your mouth and the taste of the food. Chew your food thoroughly and intentionally slow down how fast you’re eating. For some people, eating slowly is a huge challenge – if this is you, try putting down your utensils in between every bite to help you slow down.

By paying attention and slowing down, you are better equipped to tell when you’re feeling full. When you feel full, stop eating. If you didn’t finish your meal, save the rest for a snack or a later meal.

As you practice mindful eating, you can incorporate more mindful meals. The goal isn’t to make every single meal mindful (if you’re at a potluck with all your friends and family, just enjoy yourself!), but rather to spend more time getting to know your body and appreciating your food.

Takeaway

Mindful eating is a way to approach your food intake – not as a specific weight loss strategy, but for life. On its own, it probably doesn’t lead to more weight loss than conventional weight loss interventions, but you’ll see many positive benefits in terms of mental health and your relationship with food. Having cultivated these behaviours, you’re probably more likely to maintain your weight loss in the long term.