Mindful Eating
Mindfullyjo
Posts: 40 Member
Is anyone else out there practicing mindful eating? I'm hoping to lose weight by eating with awareness, savouring each mouthful, taking care where my food comes from and noticing any cravings or need to comfort eat in a non-judgemental way. If you're interested then how about sharing some mutual support?
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I'm mindful that it all comes down to CICO.1
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Mindful eating sounds better than mindless eating sat in front of the TV, for sure.
Mindful eating may help reduce CI if all you have is a hammer.0 -
Yes, I do. I have issues with emotional and binge eating. Eating mindfully helps me eat within my calorie deficit and combat my emotionally eating. Recognising cravings, riding them out, savouring my food, eating to the point of satiety rather than uncomfortably stuffe.1
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »I'm mindful that it all comes down to CICO.
This use of the word mindful is not the same as the way its used by the op. YOu use it as meaning that you are aware of something external to you. The OP uses it to mean awareness of her experience in the present moment.
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I am also trying this.0
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Patttience wrote: »
the food input side of Calories In Calories Out
or Calories out = Calories in + Weight loss
or however you want to arrange it.
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I don't know that I practice "mindful eating", but CICO requires that you measure (as in evaluate with careful thought) every calorie, which means when you're eating your allowed 28 grams of potato chips, you savor each and every one, rather than simply reaching into the bag for another handful.
I couldn't eat tofu and convince myself it's Chubby Hubby ice cream by pretending to like the experience more, but it is important to take the time to enjoy the indulgences you do allow yourself.0 -
Mindful/intuitive eating is great in that once you've mastered it, you'll no longer need to worry about CICO anymore - your mind and body will take care of that for you, you'll be able to listen to your signals and know what/how much your body needs and when to stop (perhaps controversial on a site dedicated to CICO...) but until you've reached that point, good luck!0
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Logging makes me have to think about the food I am eating before I eat it, and staying under a calorie goal inspires me to make better choices. And since the portions are very finite I take a little more time to enjoy the experience of eating them. I think anyone who is really doing CICO properly is being mindful.0
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There are some great comments here regarding mindful eating. Certainly better than 'mindless' eating, and I find MFP a great tool for keeping awareness of what I eat. Awareness is key to mindfulness. By being alive in the 'here and now' while we're eating, enjoying each mouthful and not letting our minds race about on other things, we can kick the addiction of 'comfort eating' and feel full with less food in the belly!1
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I practice mindful eating now, but thats after 3 yrs of logging my foods accurately on here.
I will always watch my portion sizes and make better food choices now because of what I've learned through this app.
I would encourage you to log your foods so you get to know portion sizes/calories/macros and how much you are actually eating before you try being mindful. Its the knowledge that I gained from knowing how many calories were in what I was eating makes not logging now come easy and I have been maintaining my goal weight range for a few years now.
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I've started mindful eating as well! I really enjoy the preparation: clearing the table and then setting it prettily, with a cute tablecloth and all. Some instrumental jazz playing in the background, good food and all the time to enjoy it, my cat sitting across the table (she's always hoping for scraps and is a great conversationalist)... Breakfast, lunch and dinner are small moments of bliss to me now. Perhaps I over-do the planning and preparation at times, but it's not like I have anything better to do at the moment in my life.
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Mindful eating has worked for me to maintain my weight, but I really need the logging for weight loss.
Mindfulness is a big part of my sobriety though, and I think those practices are very helpful for healthy eating.0 -
I do. I used to overeat midlessly and was almost always ashamed of myself because of that. MFP and weighing everything taught me awareness of appropriate portion sizes for my needs, and what I want to spend my calories on. I have a varied diet of fresh and nutritious food, but eat only things I like. Now I'm off calorie counting, but I still record what I eat, wait until I'm hungry before I eat, which is not at all unpleasant, it makes me apprecite food more, and I use the hunger scale to assess satiety after every meal. I enjoy meal planning, food shopping, cooking, and eating.0
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I do practice mindful eating. It's not only allowed me to really get a handle on how I deal with food, but specifically it's slowed my eating speed, so I'm eating less overall. I changed just a couple of things about our eating lifestyle and it was easy to do!0
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So is there a difference between mindful eating and intuitive eating, or is it the same thing?
'Listening to my body' (what I would call intuitive eating) is exactly how I ended up needing to lose weight as my body was telling me that yes, I did need to eat an entire share-size bar of chocolate to myself a night. As others have said, I imagine it is easier once you have spent a while logging your food and are more aware of calories content and portion control.
So is 'mindful eating' more of a meditation kinda thing, being appreciative of every bite, eating slower to saviour every bite, etc?0 -
NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »
So is 'mindful eating' more of a meditation kinda thing, being appreciative of every bite, eating slower to saviour every bite, etc?
That's exactly it. And it's about being kind to ourselves, so that means eating food that does us good, looking after our bodies and making life a bit easier for ourselves. I think that's what we're all trying to do.
I don't think I'd be losing weight on mindfulness alone! I'm using myfitnesspal to keep track of my calories, exercise and to lose a bit of weight. I love the supportive community here too. I don't see mindfulness as a new way to slim and I don't find it stops me eating cake, but I do find I'm less likely to take a second helping!0 -
I am trying to be more mindful in general - whether it's with respect to documenting what I eat, or NOT listening to the little voice that says ... oh just this once .. it won't hurt you ... come on.... (I pretend the voice is Alan Rickman - doesn't always help). I am prone to using food as a soother (gold medalist in emotional eating, runner up for overeating when tired). I am also very busy between my 150k daily commute, work, home etc. and when I'm in a rush, then I can fall into mindless eating. I am trying to savour, slow down, and listen to my body - full? not full? glass of water? pinch on the wrist to refocus? get up and do something till the feeling goes away? lazy? tired? pissed off? So, yes I think that mindful eating, in combination with documenting truthfully what goes into ones gob is absolutely key to long lasting success... signing off from the Colonies!0
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NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »So is there a difference between mindful eating and intuitive eating, or is it the same thing?
'Listening to my body' (what I would call intuitive eating) is exactly how I ended up needing to lose weight as my body was telling me that yes, I did need to eat an entire share-size bar of chocolate to myself a night. As others have said, I imagine it is easier once you have spent a while logging your food and are more aware of calories content and portion control.
So is 'mindful eating' more of a meditation kinda thing, being appreciative of every bite, eating slower to saviour every bite, etc?
The OP already gave a great reply to this, but I just want to add - you didn't "need" an entire share-size bar of chocolate. You "wanted" it. Mindfulness is also about realizing the difference between want and need and thinking about why is it that you want that share-size bar of chocolate. CICO works for weight loss. Mindfulness helps with the emotional side, if that's an issue (ie. realizing whether you are filling an emotional void by eating the entire bar of chocolate). It goes beyond that, as the OP has eloquently stated, but that's one side to it.0 -
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Remember to not confuse "CICO" with "calorie counting". Every dieting method relies on CICO. Counting calories is just one way to control calories in-out. Mindfulness can be another. They can work well together too.0
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I have been practicing mindful eating on and off for 3 years now. I did a silent mindfulness retreat with the monks of plum village and really learned a whole new way to eat!
The biggest lesson I got out of it is to put the fork down between each mouthful.
I have to admit eating mindfully is not very sociable. Mostly I eat in company but when I get to eat on my own I try to remember to practice mindfulness when I eat. I do love the whole experience and while I never thought of it before as a weight loss tool it is definitely a great thing to practice!1 -
YOu went to Plum Village? In France? Lucky you.
I don't think you can eat mindfully whilst chatting with people.
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Right, no matter what we call it, at day's end, you're either in a slight deficit or you're not.Liftng4Lis wrote: »I'm mindful that it all comes down to CICO.
Mindful eating sounds cool so long as it produces results.
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Ever since I've cleaned up my diet, I've been trying to slow down while eating and really appreciate the flavor of things. Surprisingly, this has caused me to be aware that I'm full or not hungry after one serving, rather than waiting until I feel like I'm about to pop after two or three.0
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NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »<snip> So is 'mindful eating' more of a meditation kinda thing, being appreciative of every bite, eating slower to saviour every bite, etc?
For me, the "mindful" part is not only paying attention to what I'm eating, how much of it, and ingesting it slower, but honestly understanding *why* I'm eating as well. Am I really hungry or am I thirsty, which sometimes comes off as hunger? Am I eating because I need to ingest food or am I stressed or pissed or some other emotion? Do I *want* this food or do I *need* this food and is there a better option to get what I need?
Analyzing why I'm eating, as well as changing a few small habits, has helped me immensely with food triggers, portion control, and generally I've stopped thinking about food as anything other than a tasty vehicle for required nutrients.0 -
I am learning mindful, or intuitive, eating. it has helped me start to learn to listen to my body. it's not easy, but it makes the most sense to me. It's always going to be CI vs CO for me, but at least i can get to the point where i am listening to my body instead of the scale or #s on packages0
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