So, imagine you’re at the movie theater (with a bag of popcorn, of course). Just as the movie starts getting good, your hand hits the bottom of the bag. You’ve somehow eaten all the popcorn, but don’t remember doing so.
For a lot of us, we don’t have to “imagine” that scenario. It’s probably happened more than once and not just at the movies.
A Recipe for Overeating
It’s called mindless eating, a common issue for people of all weights, lifestyles, and eating habits. We tend to overeat when we hang with friends, when we watch Netflix, when we work at the computer, and, often, when we stress about relationships, our weight, or other problems in our lives.
All these thoughts or actions we have prevent us from truly paying attention as we eat. The bad news is that mindless eating is a recipe for overeating without experiencing true satisfaction from food.
The opposite of mindlessness is mindfulness — a term you have probably heard before.
According to mindful.org, mindfulness is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”
Essentially, it’s being fully present and consciously making each decision.
So if mindless eating makes it easy to overeat and miss out on the enjoyment of food, mindful eating makes it easy to stick to healthy portions and really enjoy that snack or meal. When you’re consciously aware of each bite, you can put down the fork and feel satisfied, not sluggish.
Mindful eating is just another way of recognizing that our health and wellness benefits when our mind and body are aligned.
How to Become a Mindful Eater
It sounds great, but how do you put it into practice?
One easy way you can become a more mindful eater is through meditation. (Don’t worry: it’s easier and a lot more approachable than you think!)
Meditation is just training yourself to be aware. And when you’re fully aware, it becomes nearly impossible to mindlessly eat or binge.
Research proves meditation reduces mindless eating. A 2014 review compared 14 unique studies and found that meditation, when used as the primary treatment, successfully decreased binge eating and emotional eating.
But most importantly, meditation reduces stress and anxiety which can be major factors in mindless eating. It trains us to sit quietly and be aware of our thoughts and feelings without passing judgment. As we learn to observe our mind, we learn more about ourselves and our patterns of thoughts. This can be so critical for long-term weight loss because weight loss isn’t just a physical action. It involves our emotions and mental control.
Meditation is how we tune in to what’s happening in our heads — so we can use it to change what we put on our plates.
Get Started with Meditation
Trying meditation takes 5 minutes. All you need is yourself and a quiet room. Try the exercise below and notice how you feel before and after:
- Set a timer for 5 minutes.
- Get comfortable where you’re sitting and let your eyes close.
- Then, begin taking deep, even breaths.
- Focus on the feeling of your breath in your belly, chest, and nose. (If it helps, count to 5 as you breathe in and count to 5 as you breathe out.)
- Actively relax any tension in your shoulders, hands, and neck.
How did you feel?
Just 5 minutes of meditative breathing can make you feel less stressed and more alert. Think about the benefits if you committed to 15 minutes of meditation a day!
Luckily, finding affordable resources on meditation is easier than ever before. The best way to get started is to try out an app like Headspace or Calm for guided meditations. These easy guides will help you learn more techniques for breathing and quieting your mind. (Headspace specifically has meditation practices for intuitive eating!)
To really see the effects, commit to trying meditation for a full week or two. Meditation is just like any other skill: the more you practice and the more consistently you practice, the easier and more natural it will feel.
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