Eating with Purpose

What does is mean to eat mindfully? For me, it is about getting the most out of your food- the most nutrition, the most enjoyment.

Is your food working for you and adding enjoyment to your life, or is it just getting you by? You know how it goes. Often eating is something that gets crammed into the busy schedule of life. We eat on the go. We snatch bites here and there when we can. Sometimes we eat when we’re not really hungry. We might feel guilty for eating too much, or too little. Mindful eating causes one to pause and tune in to the purpose of eating. Interested in trying it? Next time you before you eat, consider this:

The choice of whether to eat or how much is always yours, and recognizing why you want to eat and what need it is meeting helps you make an informed choice.

The Why

Why am I eating right now? Am I hungry, celebrating, bored, stressed, etc.? Sometimes eating is an afterthought, we grab whatever we can get our hands on to ensure we don’t crash from lack of energy later. Sometimes eating becomes a pastime. This may come in the form of munching on popcorn during a movie, or cooling down with a sorbet on a hot day. The important thing is to create awareness around why we are eating. If you’re eating cake while commemorating auntie’s 60th birthday, that’s great! Consider why you are eating that cake. Because it taste amazing? You’re hungry? That’s just what you’re supposed to do at parties??? The answer to that question will influence whether you decide to eat cake or what size slice is going to satisfy that need. The choice of whether to eat or how much is always yours, and recognizing why you want to eat and what need it is meeting helps you make an informed choice.

The Need

And this leads to our second question: What does my body need right now? A full meal? A snack? Something to drink? Is food really what my body is asking for? For example, its midafternoon and you’re crashing. Is it because you didn’t get enough for lunch or do you need a quick walk and some fresh air to revive you. I am one of those people that tends to get hangry. This is one way my body lets me know I’m really, really hungry, but if I take the time to respond to my gentler hunger cues ahead of time, I can avoid dragging my negative emotions into it. Try to take time to recognize and acknowledge your hunger and fullness cues. The ability to eat the amount we need, when we need it appears to be something we are intuitively born with[i], but sometimes after years of ignoring our body those cues can be hard to recognize. In my experience ignoring these cues led to lack of energy, bouts of grumpiness or overeating. It took me a while to "wake up" those earlier, gentler hunger cues. Sometimes I had to look at the clock and check in on myself, “It’s been 4 hours since I last ate. Am I hungry?”

Eat for You

Mindful eating is a call to embrace the method we been given to obtain our daily dose of energy. Own it! Enjoy it!

Am I enjoying my food? Instead of scarfing it down, pause and enjoy the flavors. Aren’t you glad is a pleasurable experience? There are so many flavors, so many textures, so many foods that suit our moods and whims. So let’s make sure we enjoy what we eat. Take some time to appreciate the smooth texture of that cream pie, or that perfect combination of basil and tomatoes. Likewise if your food isn’t enjoyable or meeting a need, consider what changes you want to make to improve the experience. Going back to the subject of cake….I really like cake, and it seems like at birthday parties cake and ice cream are always served together. I don’t really like ice cream that much—weird I know—but for some reason I always found myself eating it at parties. Why? I don’t know that’s just what you do at birthday parties, right? You eat cake and ice cream. Once I realized that ice cream contributed no real nourishment and no real enjoyment to my party experience, I quit eating it at parties. That simple. No more ice cream with my cake and I’m very happy without it. Now, I know that may sound silly, but think about it, do you ever eat like that???? Do you have crackers with soup or bread with your pasta solely from habit? Ever deny yourself pizza for breakfast because it’s not a “breakfast” food? Think of the possibilities of mindful eating! No overeating of foods you don’t really like that much anyway. Enjoying more of the foods you love! It can be refreshing to recognize what your body needs and when it needs it. Mindful eating is for everybody-- those gaining weight, those losing or maintain weight. Too often we eat on auto pilot. Mindful eating is a call to embrace the method we been given to obtain our daily dose of energy. Own it! Enjoy it! And happy eating :)

Cierra

[i] Fox, M., Devaney, B., Reidy, K., Razafindrakoto, C., Ziegler, P. (2006).Relationship between portion size and energy intake among infants and toddlers: evidence of self-regulation. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Volume 106, Issue 1, Supplement, Pages 77–83 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2005.09.039