Mindful Eating

Presented By: Keene State Dietetic Interns,

Samantha Fitzsimmons and Hilary Hendrix

Ice Breaker

Describe a Food Memory…

• Paint the picture!

• Describe the food

• What is it about this food that feel fondly about?

• Traditions

• Comfort

• Special treat from a loved one

Objectives

• Practice techniques for eating slowly and mindfully

• Identify strategies for dealing with food cravings

• Learn about plate presentation methods

Today’s Focus

•Discuss the 4 key concepts of Mindful Eating

•Food activities

•Break time in the middle

4 Key Principles of Mindful Eating

Key Concept #1

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

Key Concept #2

Choosing to eat food that is both pleasing to you and nourishing to your body by using all your senses to explore, savor and taste.

Key Concept #3

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

Key Concept #4

Learning to be aware of physical hunger and satiety cues to guide your decision to begin eating and to stop eating.

Break!

Choosing Your Plate

•Size and Shape • Highlight Food

• Support Composition

• Portion Sizes

Choosing Your Plate

•Colors and Patterns

•Rule of Thumb… It is all about contrast

Plating Food

•Shapes

•Let different shaped foods come together to add visual appeal!

Plating Food

Colors

• Foods come in the color of the rainbow

• Balance and contrast

Plating Food

• Texture

• Crispy, crumbly, creamy ect!

• Different textures make plate presentation more visually appealing

Arranging Food on Plate – General Guidelines

• Find a Balance

•Choose a Focal Point

•Remember: a plate’s composition should flow naturally

How to Deal with Food Cravings

• 1) Avoid it

• 2) Directly encounter it

• 3) Identify exactly what you are craving

1) Avoid it…

• Suppress the craving and hope it goes away

•Drink water

•Wait 20 minutes and see if you still have the craving

•Wait until tomorrow

2) Directly encounter it…

•Allow yourself to have the food

• “ I will allow myself to have a small piece of chocolate”

•Might prevent overeating later on

3) Identify your craving…

•What is it that you are really craving?

•Usually one of these things

• Sweet

• Salty

•Creamy

•Crunchy

Lets chart this out!

Why do we have cravings?

• Stress

• Emotional times

• When do you crave certain foods?

Lets practice using our senses!

• Pay attention to the different..

• Tastes

•Mouth feels

• Textures

• Temperatures

20 Minute Rule

• How long does it take you to eat a meal?• When we are in a hurry?

• Have you ever devoured a meal quickly due to hunger and realized later you ate too much?

• Goal 1: Take 20 minutes to eat a meal!

• Goal 2= 40 chews per bite • Minimal goal = 20 chews per bite

• Most people only take 15-2o chews per bite

Why 20 minutes?

• Taking time to chew food suppresses the hormone, Ghrelin

• Hunger hormone that stimulates appetite.

• It takes roughly 20 minutes for the brain to respond to reduced ghrelin levels

Savoring Our Food

• Which bite of food tastes the BEST??

• Savoring our food lets us appreciate the food

• Concentrate on the food• Smell

• Taste

• Texture

• Where it came from

Recap• Eating mindfully is...

• Being aware of the positive and nurturing aspects that we receive from our food

• Choosing foods that are healthy and pleasing

• Acknowledging our responses to food

• Being aware of physical hunger vs. stress eating

• “Plate Presentation” is a way of making our food appear more appealing

• Try to eat meals slowly and with purpose

• Aim to eat a meal with 40 chews per bite over the period of 20 minutes

Thank you for joining us!!