Using mindfulness as a tool

cyberotosis74

I have just started using mindfulness as a tool to be aware of my overeating. I want to be mindful of my food intake and use a mindful "stop sign" to keep me from binge eating at night. That is when I struggle. Today is day one.

88AViva

Hi 👋🏼
Day 1, I hope you have a regular plan for your meals. Planning your meals takes a lot of the pressure off and you will less likely eat the wrong things.

Eating at regular times also helps. Take your time with your meals. Eat slowly, at the end of it you will feel like you had a solid meal. Plan the time for your last meal, brushing your teeth after helps motivate you not to eat again after that. Hopefully that helps you not snack at night. It works for me.
Good luck 🌼

JolieSvelte

For over a month now, I’ve been mindfully eating almost every meal. For me, that means sitting down and concentrating only on eating my food with no distractions - no tv or music playing in the background, no fiddling around on the phone or talking to anyone.

I really concentrate on the taste and texture of my food while I’m eating. I even close my eyes. I do my best to keep my mind on my food and not let it wander off, a lot like meditation. When my mind wanders I literally tell myself to “be present” with my food.

This has been working for me because I realized that, without doing this, I am missing out on the pleasure that eating gives me. Being on a calorie deficit means that the portions that I’m eating are quite a bit smaller than what I’ve eaten when not thinking about getting into shape. I’ve had to get used to recognizing the feeling of satiety rather than the feeling of fullness.

If I don’t keep my mind on my food while I’m eating, my whole meal can be gone in a flash, and since I do spend some of my day really looking forward to certain meals, I don’t want to deprive myself of that hit of dopamine that comes from eating, because that keeps me from having insane cravings to gorge on unhealthy foods. Some nights I allow myself about 100 calories (2 squares) worth of chocolate, and, although I would really love to eat the entire chocolate bar, what stops me is taking the time to really let the chocolate melt in my mouth and to concentrate on the pleasure I’m receiving from eating it.

Best of luck to you with mindful eating. It’s strange how it’s almost a foreign feeling concentrating on a meal rather than eating while doing something else, but I think it’s an effective strategy for staving off the desire to eat way more than you need.

Sinisterbarbie1

You have received some great advice already above and I agree with both those posts. I would add a couple more ideas.
On meal planning, consider using the opportunity to meal plan in a fun way that will give you something to be mindful about - for instance go to the farmers market and resolve to use an ingredient from that trip in several dinners that week, or just identify something new you want to incorporate into your meal plan and then look forward to and pay attention to using and enjoying and figuring out how it works and other ways it could be used/improved

On eating slowly - try eating with your non-dominant hand if you are a fast eater. Or with chopsticks. Put down your utensils between bites to concentrate on the flavors and textures. Discuss with your dining partners. My Cats, dogs and houseplants also love hearing about meals if no one is home!

Check in part way through the meal to see if you are still hungry. You don’t have to finish everything on your plate. You can save it for breakfast, lunch or dinner tomorrow.

Consider some sort of ritual before and/or after meals to be intentional about eating and grateful about what you have. Maybe just a quick recognition of the fact that you or someone has prepared the meal - thank you for this beautiful/nourishing meal. Thank you for the care we show each other for making time to eat together. Or just acknowledge “this is good” or “this is enough”. Or “this is plenty” to yourself. Even a silent acknowledgment to oneself acknowledges the food and makes you more intentional and mindful of eating.

Consider going for a short “constitutional” post meal walk around the block (or whatever your equivalent is) before moving on to the end of the evening.

Maybe start a ritual of having mint tea after dinner to cleanse your palate, and leave a fresh taste in your mouth so you don’t want to snack. Mint grows like crazy pretty much anywhere if you stick some in a flowerpot and ignore it. You just need to pull off about 10 healthy fresh leaves and smack them against your palm a few times to release the oils, put them in the bottom of a teapot or a mug and pour hot water on them to steep for 3 min or so.