Mindful Eating: How to Use Mindfulness to Improve Your Relationship with Food

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Last Updated: July 7, 2024

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In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to lose touch with the simple pleasures of eating.

Not only that, but disordered eating is more common than most of us realize. Thanks to the news, social media, and more, it can feel like we’re never good enough.

Growing up through the, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels era,” I remember all too well trying to keep my weight down as a teenager. Skinny was in. And of course, I wanted to fit in. Yet, from this, I developed the worst relationship with food.

It wasn’t until my late 20s that I overcame a lot of my limiting beliefs and finally let myself enjoy life (and food) to the fullest. Since then, it’s taken some work, but I’d say my relationship with food has never been better.

A lot of this has come down to some serious inner work and learning about how to properly nourish my body.

But the other side is mindful eating.

Mindful eating invites us to experience food with all of our senses and without judgment. It’s about being fully present during meals and listening to our body’s cues about hunger and fullness, rather than being on autopilot or distracted by our surroundings.

So, in this article, we explore the world of mindful eating and how it can improve your relationship with food (and even free you from any restraints you feel tied down by!).

What is Mindful Eating?

Mindful eating, dubbed “the art of being present while you eat,” involves experiencing the food we eat. It also means paying attention to the cues of your body and allowing those cues to guide you. But let’s break this down further.

Fundamentally, mindful eating involves:

Fully chewing every bite. We’re talking 10-20 chews per bite.
Eating slowly and with no distractions. This allows your focus to be solely on your current meal.
Understanding our hunger cues. Are you hungry or are you just bored? Mindful eating helps you determine this and tune into this.
Learning how to navigate guilt and anxiety around food. It allows us to appreciate the food in all that it does for us. Think nourishment and enjoyment.
Noticing how the food feels after eating it. Do you feel satisfied? Still hungry? Too full? A little tired? Energized? These are all things to note!

The truth is if we eat too quickly, this doesn’t allow time for our body to signal to our brain that it's full. So, slow and steady is the name of the game. Paying attention to what you’re doing is essential.

And yes, at first, it will feel really strange, especially if you’re used to eating in front of the TV or while scrolling your phone.

But soon, it’ll feel just as natural as riding a bike!

5 Mindful Eating Benefits

Mindful eating also comes with benefits, including the following.

1. Awareness of Hunger and Fullness Cues

Surprisingly, it takes a whopping 20 minutes for our stomach to let our brain know it's full. This means if we’re inhaling our food like it’s our last meal, we likely won’t actually be able to tell when we’re full until we’re stuffed.

But taking the time to chew each bite gives us moments of pause.

It gives us time for our bodies and brains to interpret the signals being sent back and forth.
It allows us to understand our physical being a bit more.
Then, it allows us to fully align with it.

2. Weight Loss and Maintenance

Since mindful eating allows us to tune into our hunger cues, it also allows us to lose or maintain a healthy weight that much easier. We end up avoiding overeating. Instead, we only eat what we need.

3. Improved Digestion

Digestion begins in the mouth.

But if we’re quickly eating our food before we move onto the next thing, we are more likely to experience digestive upset. This is because we’re meant to chew our food.

Our saliva has enzymes made to start the process of digestion, but we just need to ensure the food stays in our mouths long enough to get this process started.

4. Reduced Binging or Overeating

When we eat until we are satisfied (and know we’re satisfied from our body’s cues), we can avoid overeating and potentially binging later. We can leave the table fully satisfied and content each time, without second guesses.

5. Increased Satisfaction and Healthier Choices

As mentioned above, our overall satisfaction improves.

Not only that, but we can guide ourselves toward making better food choices — such as ones that feel good during and after.

How Do You Become a Mindful Eater?

Alright, so how can you start your mindful eating journey? Here’s a quick step-by-step guide:

Make an intentional shopping list. Plan your meals and make them ahead of time.
Make sure you’re hungry when you go to eat - but not starving.
Give yourself a small portion to start, chew every bite, and eat without distractions. Merely focus on the food you’re eating (and make sure you’re chewing!).
Pause and appreciate your food. Think about all the work that went into the creation of the plate in front of you, such as the farmer who harvested the crops or the truck driver who delivered the food to your local grocery store.
Use all of your senses here. Smell the aromas associated with the food. Be attentive to color and texture as you prepare your food, making it as appealing to the eye as possible.
Eat slowly and mindfully, doing all of the above. Pay attention to your hunger cues. Are you getting full? Slow down. Once full, save the rest for when you’re hungry again.