Mindful / Intuitive Eating

Mindful / Intuitive Eating is an important mindset towards eating as it allows us to distinguish between emotional and physical hunger. Physical hunger is the biological urge to replenish nutrients within the body where as emotional hunger is driven by emotional needs and this is where we lose sight of whether or not we are hungry or full and just eat to satisfy those emotional needs.

The whole process involves trusting your body to make food choices that are right for you. This involves tuning in more to your hunger signals and giving your body time to digest the food and for your migrating motor complex to clear undigested food properly by taking time to eat food slowly. This also has a positive impact on reducing bacteria build-up within the small intestine.

If you feel as though this is something you struggle with, here are some useful techniques to become more mindful with your eating patterns and reduce the likelihood of binge eating!

1. Eating small or moderate amounts of food every 2-3 hours.

2. Before eating asking a few basic questions: Am I hungry? Am I thirsty? If so, what type of food/drink

do I want?

3. Set a nice place to eat and arranging food nicely on the plate. Do not eat standing or walking!

4. Being in the present (3 deep breaths) before beginning to eat.

5. Eat slowly, paying attention to the smell, taste, sound, texture and look of the food.

6. Put utensils or food down between mouthfuls.

7. Check in with your hunger signals as your are eating a meal.

8. Stop eating just before you feel full and wait 10-20 minutes before eating more food if you are still

hungry.

9. Enjoy your meal. If you don’t enjoy eating you will never be satisfied.

The mindful eating approach employs strategies which encourage awareness of the senses while eating to

bring you into the present moment. These strategies include: keeping a mindful journal, slowing down while

eating, focusing on eating (not watching television or reading), and mindful food shopping and preparation.

Mindless eating is common because from a very early age we are trained to eat in response to external cues

(time of day, availability of certain foods, for comfort, to alleviate boredom, out of habit, to clear our plate,

as a reward) rather than in response to hunger.