The mindfulness of eating

Tips to be a more mindful eater and revolutionize your eating experience

Photo by Ali Inay on Unsplash

We are all constantly in a rush and the majority of the time we don’t truly appreciate and enjoy the food we are eating. There are a number of things you could try to enhance your eating experience and become truly grateful for the meal that you are eating, as well as making healthier food choices in the moment. Being at one with food will not only improve you digestion and the efficiency of utilisation of food within your body, but also develop your awareness of where your plate has come from and all the hard work involved in it, which may ultimately increase your intrinsic happiness. An eating ritual is something we all need to appreciate the little things that we so often forget. There are a number of things you could do to become a more mindful eater.

1. Count your bites and do not rush

Don’t drink your food and chew your drink

The first step of digestion begins in the mouth. So chew slowly, and let the enzymes in your mouth do their part in the digestive process. Focus on each mouthful and the aim is to chew the food as best as possible. The finer the food that enters your stomach the less the digestive toll on your body. Novak Djokovic always focuses on each and every bite and chews as slow as possible. Remember food is your medicine. It could be helpful to visualize a cow in a field munching on grass as the ideal model to aim for. You will be surprised how hard it is just to focus on your food, without thoughts interrupting the process. See it as a challenge.

2. Space out your mouthfuls

Do not rush whilst eating. Avoid taking a second mouthful before you have even finished chewing the first. If you feel in a rush to eat or are feeling stressed, then it’s probably better to wait then eat. Eat whilst feeling calm to avoid symptoms of indigestion. Space out your bites. You can even pause a few seconds between mouthfuls and just contemplate the response of your body to the food that you are eating, as well as feel your hunger slowly dissipate with each and every bite.

3. Do not eat in front of a screen

Novak Djokovic never watches the TV or Netflix whilst eating. Similarly, Monk’s often eat in silence. Personally, I think that a discussion works well over dinner time, but maybe save it until the dessert or after the meal for optimal digestion. If you are eating by yourself, avoid any sort of visual stimulation which could take away from the eating experience. At the very most, listen to a podcast if you cannot eat a meal in silence by yourself, but you should aim to reach the level where you can just enjoy the food and no other external stimulation.

4. Focus on your posture and eating etiquette

Being aware of your posture and eating with excellent manners naturally tends to slow down your eating speed and make you more mindful. Sit up straight and do not slouch.

5. Have fixed eating times

The human body loves routine so try to stick to the same mealtimes on a daily basis even on the weekend. This will help you avoid cheat meals and unnecessary binge eating when you don’t have a plan.

6. Use all the senses

Food has more than one dimension to it: taste, texture, visuals, smell etc. Make sure to recognize all of the characteristics as you eat and acknowledge what you are actually eating. Feel the food that you are eating. Put the first bite of the meal on the edge of your tongue and savor it. Close your eyes periodically to feel all the sensations and texture of the food in your mouth. Similarly, smell the food as well, to work the smell receptors. Back in the paleolithic era, our smell receptors may have been much more sensitive when we were out gathering food, so it’s time we started working these receptors again.

Make sure to satisfy your taste, and have a least a bit of the different flavours on a daily basis to keep temptations at bay. Around the world, taste is categorised in five categories, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami, although ayurveda prescribes six: salty; sweet; sour; bitter; spicy and astringent. If you are going to have just one meal in a day, go for an indian thali (indian meal platter). It will leave you feeling full for hours as it covers all the tastes, so you will have less temptation to snack later on, or just cook with this in mind to keep your tummy satisfied.

7. Have a mantra or a ritual to generate gratitude

This could be a chant, prayer or just a physical gesture such as performing the cross or a bow towards your food before tucking in into your meal. This will help you become grateful for your food.

Here is an example mantra you could use before a meal:

• “This food, product of the ground, the sky, lots of work, love and pain, is a gift of the whole universe”
• “Eat this food in a state of full consciousness and gratitude, in order to be worthy of it”
• “Observe and transform the negative mental states, especially the greed, that pushes us to eat without moderation, and learn to eat with moderation”
• “We can maintain our awakened compassion whilst eating in a manner that reduces the suffering of all beings, preserves our planet and reduces the process of climate change”
• “We accept this food with gratitude in order to realise the path of understanding, love, fraternity and to construct our community in order to nurture our common ideal of being able to serve all living beings”

See eating as a type of meditation, focus fully on the food that you are eating. Think of all the workers responsible for your meal and the countless hours spend cultivating and transporting the food. Remember what you are eating and where it came from, its origins, in order to be truly grateful. If you are eating animal products, be aware of it’s origins and the life sacrificed. It is better to eat a smaller portion in full harmony with the food, then a large meal rushed.

8. Delay eating the last bit until the end

If you are eating in a restaurant, leave the last bite until just before you are about to leave. This is just another practice for self-restraint.

9. Rinse your mouth

Rinse your mouth with water after every meal, especially if you occasionally forget to brush your teeth. This not only helps to remove most of the food between your teeth, but also removes the taste of food in your mouth, which reduces the chance of unwanted thoughts about food and snacks popping up an hour or so later.

8. Take in only what your body requires and realize what hunger is to not bow to temptation

We all have this innate fear of missing out in life and not getting enough of something, whether food, money, fame, position etc. Your energy level is an indicator if you are getting enough calories, remember not eating enough will not kill you and you can always re-feed the following day instead of a late night binge. Check your energy level as an in indicator of hunger: if your energy levels are ok then you are most likely eating for enjoyment. We have been conditioned in our society to constantly eat all the time, even when our body does not require it. Enjoy the feeling of not being full, and don’t confuse the lightness with tiredness and weakness.

We have enough reserves to survive without that cheat snack, even if we have the innate fear of missing out on something, e.g. not getting enough food. Sometimes, it takes time for our body to tell us we are full after eating a meal, especially if we are eating fast and not chewing properly. Get to know your body and listen to the signals that your body is telling you as you eat.

Hunger comes in waves and is a temporary sensation. Even if you are content after a meal, hunger will return at some point. Normally if you can get over the hump, the pang will subside, so please learn to differentiate between true hunger and false temptation.

There are a number of things you could do to get rid of temptations:

1. When you have a temptation, meditate or do another activity which requires your full focus for at least 15 minutes, if you still want the food afterwards then tuck in. The majority of the time, you will find that you no longer have envy. Avoid eating when you are too ravenous and without a clear state of mind, as you are likely to make bad choices. Thoughts about food is rarely a sign of hunger and caloric deficiency, unless you are depleted and constantly low on energy, and is instead often just a distraction, so find better ways to keep yourself busy and occupy your mind.
2. Close your eyes and imagine yourself indulging in the temptation. Try to make it as real as possible. Maybe your urge will subside just through the act of visualisation.
3. Take a moment to reflect. Will you really feel better afterwards after you have benefited from the short term reward ? Is it worth indulging to feel the negative guilt afterwards only directed at yourself ?

9. It’s okay to have a treat

Finally, from time to time, don’t be worried to have a treat. Count your success and not your failures. But if you do indulge in a treat, make sure it’s a good one. Don’t have the worst takeaway in town as your treat. For example, if you have some chocolate make sure if it’s a good label. If you have a sweet tooth, then don’t shy away from fruits. Despite their sugar content, studies have shown that they do not raise sugar levels when eaten in their natural form with no unhealthy additions, such as cream.

Consistency will bring the changes. For example, eating a superfood once will have no impact in the long run. Focus on one change at a time on a daily basis in order to not lose track of the changes to reap the full rewards of making your mealtime more profound.