Mindful Eating

nancycola

In a search I was happy to discover this post. Sorry to be late to the conversation!
I just wanted to add that I came across an article that had a few helpful tips to make mindful eating a bit more doable.

- Try to eat the first 3 minutes of your meal without distraction of your computer, TV, phone, etc. This will give your brain just enough time to "register pleasure" and get you the "beginning of satiety".
- On the fullness scale from 1-10, shoot for a 6. This is the point when you're no longer hungry and your belly is comfortably full.
- To get to the 6, put your fork or utensil down a few times during your meal to see where you're at and whether you're still hungry.

I've done these on and off and they've really helped. I'm posting this in case it helps others on MFP and as a reminder to myself.
Cheers!

Mindfullyjo

Thank you Nancy for these useful tips and glad there are others out there practicing mindful eating.
I'm now at my desired weight and in some ways I find it harder to maintain than to lose weight. So reminders and encouragement are essential!

WendyLaubach

I definitely still have to count calories, though I'm getting better at instinctively judging how much I need. At the same time, mindful eating helps me be happy and satisfied with the amount I've calculated I should eat by counting calories, which is absolutely crucial to my sticking with this (four months now, and 48 lbs. lost).

I distinguish sharply between "mindful eating" and "instinctive eating"--the latter, to me, is munching without much awareness and paying no attention to when I should stop. Someday I hope to be able to eat instinctively without overeating, but it's going to take me more time learning new habits.

My body is quite capable of letting me take in three times as much as I need, just in case I'm going to have to fast for the next three days while trapped in a cave by a saber-tooth tiger. That's not a skill I need right now. I need to eat an amount that's not quite sufficient to get me to my next meal in a few hours. Later I can graduate to eating an amount that's "just sufficient" instead of slightly short.

KaruBlack

I am trying this right now. I did count every calorie but I learned that I was chasing the number and wasn't aware of what I ate, just how many calories. This made it so I never actually lost any weight. Now I'm trying to think about what I put in my body. The idea of sitting at the table is great. I haven't done that in years and just sit in front of the TV. I will start sitting at the table and not use my phone to watch Netflix at lunch time. I'll try this for the next two weeks. Thanks for the great suggestions!

ObsidianMist

I've always been a naturally mindful eater, to the point that people would often make fun of me for how much attention I paid to my food with I ate it.

that said, I still managed to put on 30 pounds. lol

robingmurphy

Mindful eating is supposed to give you the time and space in your brain to make better decisions in alignment with your long term goals around food. It doesn't mean you have to use that space that way - it's totally possible to continue to choose to overeat.

positivepowers

6502programmer wrote: »

Nance_61 wrote: »

I pretend the voice is Alan Rickman - doesn't always help

I can see that working most of the time...

Sorry, the only thing I can hear Alan Rickman say is, "Yippe ki yo mudderf***er!" RIP Alan . . .

I try to practice mindful eating, but I have to tell you that I fall back into my old (destructive) ways about 1/2 way through the meal, so I've decided, while I am perfecting mindful eating, to practice mindful preparation. That means I weigh, measure and log every bite, so that, even if I "phase out" while eating, I only eat that which I have planned.