I took Mindful Eating as an elective in graduate school and it was by far the most challenging course (for me personally) that I took to complete my Masters. I took the class during my second-to-last trimester before graduating. At that time, I was juggling business ownership, graduate school, and planning my wedding. To say I was busy would be an understatement.
The requirements for the class seemed very simple. We were supposed to complete various mindful eating exercises throughout the week and journal about our experiences. No big exams, no group projects. Just some exercises, journaling and a research paper about mindful eating. I eagerly enrolled thinking it would be nice to pad my course load with an “easy” elective during this busy trimester.
What I didn’t realize was that the mindful eating exercises I had to practice required me to slow down and take time out of my day to eat a meal in silence and then journal about my experiences. While taking the class, I remember sitting in frustration, trying to chew my food at least 20 times before swallowing thinking to myself in distress – “Who actually has the time for this stuff?! I certainly won’t plague my future clients with this type of nonsense.”
Little did I know, this class and the benefits of mindful eating were exactly what I needed. Up until this point I had spent years studying the nutritional value of foods, human anatomy, physiology, and nutritional biochemistry but had failed to realize that how we eat, believe it or not, is just as important as what we eat.
As I prepare to lead my upcoming Mindful Eating and Nourishment six-week series at Terra Counseling and Consulting, I’ve been reflecting back on how mindful eating has transformed the way I feed myself. Below are some of the ways in which mindful eating has changed the way I eat for the better!
I started actually chewing my food
I used to take large bites of food and chew just a few times before swallowing which allowed me to eat more quickly. When I began to increase my awareness around how I was eating my food, I realized that I was barely chewing my food before swallowing. No matter how much of a rush I am in now I focus on chewing my food thoroughly before swallowing or taking another bite. Thoroughly chewing food has been shown to increase satiety following meals and the oxidation (often referred to as “burning”) of fat for energy, which can all contribute to a lower overall energy intake [1]. Chewing my food more has also heightened my appreciation of different tastes and textures in the food I eat.
I became more attuned to my hunger and fullness cues
From a young age, I’ve been motivated to clear my entire plate every time I eat. I’ve always had a strong appetite and a sense of guilt about wasting food. I remember getting positive feedback from adults as a child telling me I did a “good” job when I ate all of my food. This led to a subconscious connection between eating all of my food and feeling like I was doing the right thing, even though clearing my plate sometimes led me to feel excess fullness. When I began to practice mindful eating, I established a more sensitive connection to my hunger and satiety cues and became more comfortable leaving food behind or putting it away for leftovers if I didn’t actually want to eat it. I feel confident knowing that if I listen to my body, I’ll eat the amount of food I need each day without over or under eating.
I stopped judging myself for my food choices
I used to feel a sense of shame and guilt if I ate something that I felt wasn’t “good” for me. Non-judgemental observation of the sensations in our bodies and the food we eat is a key component of mindful eating. Our minds often judge our food choices more harshly than our bodies actually do. Mindful eating has taught me that there are no good and bad foods and that I can enjoy all foods in a mindful way without feeling guilty.
In addition to these observations from my personal experience with mindful eating, there is a growing body of clinical research suggesting that mindful eating can be an effective tool in the treatment of a host of medical conditions including IBS, binge eating disorder and mood disorders, Type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease. If you have any questions about if my upcoming Mindful Eating Series is appropriate for you, please don’t hesitate to email me with questions at alexa.bedingfield@terrabaltimore.com
References
- [1] Komai, N, Motokubota, N , Suzuki, M, Hayashi, I, Moritani, T, Nagai, N. (2016). Thorough Mastication Prior to Swallowing Increases Postprandial Satiety and the Thermic Effect of a Meal in Young Women. Journal of Nutritional Science 62(5), 288-294. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3177/jnsv.62.288
- [2] Labus, J., Gupta, A., Gill, H. K., Posserud, I., Mayer, M., Raeen, H., Bolus, R., Simren, M., Naliboff, B. D., & Mayer, E. A. (2013). Randomised clinical trial: symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome are improved by a psycho-education group intervention. Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, 37(3), 304–315. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.12171
