Mindful Eating

Carianne Palumbo, MS, RDNEHHD Be Well Employee Wellness Program

Any of these sound familiar?Snacking while watching TV or surfing the internet?

Eating on the go while you are driving?

Having dinner and realizing afterwards you are way too full?

Looking in the refrigerator or cupboards for food when you are bored?

Eating dinner in less than 20 minutes?

Attending a party and mindlessly eating appetizers as you walk by the buffet table?

Eating out of a candy dish just because it is there?

Not putting your fork down between each bite?

Feeling like you have to eat everything on your plate?

What is “Mindful Eating”?•Becoming aware of physical hunger and satiety cues to guide your decisions to begin and end eating.

•Using all your senses in choosing to eat food that is both satisfying to you and nourishing to your body.

•Allowing yourself to become aware of the positive and nurturing opportunities that are available through food selection and preparation by respecting your inner wisdom.

•Acknowledging responses to food (likes, dislikes or neutral) without judgment.

History of Mindful Eating•Has deep roots in Buddhism stemming from the practice of mindful meditation

•Jon Kabat-Zinn founded Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at UMass Medical School in 1979

•Implemented clinical trials that focused mostly on mindfulness to manage chronic pain, stress and smoking cessation

•Now used clinically in weight management

Mindful Eating QuestionnaireINSTRUCTIONS: Answer each question with the number that best matches your experience. Answer as you think you are, not how you think you should be. Treat each question as a separate question. If you don’t know how to answer a question, leave it blank.

Focus in on your hunger and satiety cues!Asking yourself the questions:

Am I truly hungry?

Do I need second helpings?

Is this what my body is really asking for?

Remembering:

Just because I see it doesn’t mean I have to eat it

Physical Hunger

Gradual

Occurs out of physical need

Based in the stomach

Patient

Open to different foods

Choices & awareness of eating

Stops when full

Realizes eating is necessary

Emotional “Hunger”Sudden

Food specific

“Above the neck”

Urgent

Paired w/ an upsetting emotion

Automatic or absent-minded eating

Does not notice or stop eating in response to fullness

Feels guilty about eating

Consequences of Eating with Emotions

Emotional Eating can lead to:

Consumption of Empty Calories

Excess Calorie Consumption

Guilt & Frustration = continued Emotional Eating

Excess Weight Gain

It is important to find other ways to channel your emotions!

Recommendations to Prevent Emotional Eating

•Have a hunger reality check

•Keep a food diary

•Fight boredom

•Don’t deprive yourself

•Learn from set backs

•Use mindful eating techniques

How does one Mindfully Eat?

◦ Eat with intention and attention

◦ Focus on eating as a natural, healthy, pleasurable activity for satisfying hunger

◦ Be aware of physical and emotional cues for hunger

◦ Choosing food for enjoyment and nourishment

How does one Mindfully Eat?•OBSERVE

•BE IN THE MOMENT

•SAVOR

•PRACTICE NON-JUDGEMENT

•BE AWARE

Tips to be a Mindful Eater

•Sit Down

•When eating, only eat-no outside distractions

•Slow down

•Use utensils

•Take time to cut your food

•Gauge your hunger and satisfaction throughout the entire meal

Mindful Eating Eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied.

Pause throughout eating to ask yourself how the food tastes and come to realize your current fullness level.

Remember that you don’t have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters, so indulge your taste buds once in a while.

Use moderate constraint on your food selection to get the right food, but not being so restrictive that you miss out on pleasurable foods.

Activity Time

Let’s give this mindful eating a try!

Referenceshttp://www.diabetescare.net/article/title/how-to-be-a-mindful-eater

http://www.diabetescare.net/article/title/how-to-be-a-mindful-eater

http://eatingmindfully.com/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/

http://www.mindfulnessdiet.com/program/articles/a-mindfulness-eating-exercise-simple-instructions

http://thecenterformindfuleating.org/

Thank you for attending! And Be Well!

More Resources:

Mindful O’Meter Handout

BASICS of Mindful Eating Reminder

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

–Lao TzuClick here to enter your information to earn Be Well Rewards credit for completing this online refresher.