Read

July/August 2010 Living Now
Mindful Eating

by Mary Ann Wallace

In many ways our relationship with food defines our relationship with life.

From the moment we are born, we experience sensations of the body, including the feelings of hunger or fullness. When we think of being nourished, we think of being cared for and getting our needs met. The feelings of safety and satiety associated with eating have both emotional and physical components.

For many people, the empty places inside yearn to be filled, and we spend an inordinate amount of energy both trying to get those needs met and hiding the fact that they exist. These inadequacies may play out in our daily lives when we eat more than we need and gain weight, or when we feel needy in relationships. Eating represents nourishment in many ways.

It’s a confusing picture when we try to sort out exactly why it is we eat what we do. Eating is more complex than just satisfying the natural hunger needed to fuel and sustain our ongoing lives.

In the Mindful Eating classes I teach, I start with a simple question: Why do you eat — what is it inside that prompts you or propels you?

The class usually shares about 30 reasons, and “hunger” is seldom mentioned. Often participants link their current motivations to their stuck past. The reasons on the list mainly share a common sensation in the belly, whether it’s emptiness or tension, that in some way mimics the sensation of hunger.

Be mindful in what motivates you to eat. Here are a few practical pointers to make it easier to make changes in your eating habits:

• Make mealtimes special. Sit down to eat and prepare the table as if you have a guest. You do. You.
• Use smaller plates if you want to reduce the amount you’re eating. A full small plate leaves the psyche feeling more satisfied than a partially empty big plate.
• Slow down every part of the meal. How fast you put food in your mouth, how many times you chew before swallowing. Notice the flavors, textures and nuances of your food.
• Don’t do fast foods. “Fast foods” is an oxymoron.
• Pause to check in with yourself before you eat and periodically as you are eating. If you are experiencing sensations or an emotion other than true hunger, meet that need in a way other than food.
• Focus on gratitude: For the flavor of the food, for the nourishment it is bringing you, for giving its life for you, for the many people who have contributed to this before it became food for you. Think about where it came from and all who put effort into its being right here right now for you to eat.
• Stop eating when you are satisfied. Give yourself permission to box up leftovers, even at home.
• Plan how to end a meal mindfully. Consider a simple after-dinner dessert, tea or mint. Brush your teeth, move to another room or plan a project for immediately after dinner. Build in a ritual such as doing dishes or some other event that you consistently do after eating.
• Keep healthy snacks around: precut veggies with a crunch or a snap, fruit or whatever you know you’ll eat if only it’s there. Drink lots of water all day long — at least eight glasses.
• Consider meal preparation a mindfulness exercise.
• Use olive oil in cooking. Buy precut vegetables if it increases the likelihood you’ll use them.
• Know your difficult times and plan preventively ahead of time. Keep a list of things you can readily and easily divert to, other than eating, to fill needs.
• Enlist the help of a friend as support. If needed, speak to those who sabotage your efforts. If possible, avoid those who are not helpful or cooperative. Choose your friends wisely.
• If you goof up, smilingly and kindly, like a friend, ask yourself what’s going on.
• Love yourself as you are. Really.

Mary Ann Wallace, M.D., author of Mindful Eating: Mindful Life, is a physician whose primary focus is mind, body and spiritual healing. Visit www.maryannwallace.com.