The Practice of Mindful Eating

Annie Hewitt is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and Director of Australian Dietitian. She consults in Lismore, Ballina, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah and Brisbane on a weekly basis. Annie has experience in chronic disease management and a particular interest in the treatment of food intolerances"

Considering it is such an essential part of our daily lives and health, eating is surprisingly easy to become disconnected from. For many, comfort food cravings - whether triggered by boredom, loneliness or as a reward - are a common experience, with serious health consequences for some. Despite this, there is growing research to suggest that the practice of mindful eating may assist individuals to better manage their cravings and improve their appreciation and relationship with food.

Food cravings

Although food cravings are a common experience for many of us, what makes it different from hunger? Psychological scientist Eva Kemps of Flinders University suggests that the key difference between hunger and cravings is how specific they are. “We don’t just want anything, we want salt and pepper chips or chocolate” says Professor Kemps.

While many food cravings come and go, they can pose serious health risks, having been shown to provoke binge-eating episodes that can lead to eating disorders and obesity.

While research into food cravings is an emerging area of science, studies suggest that cravings for comfort food could be the complex interplay between taste buds, brain, stomach and hormones (a relationship that experts still don’t fully understand). Studies also show that certain activities and thinking styles can alter brain chemistry.

Being Mindful

Mindfulness is a form of self-awareness training based on Buddhist meditation. It is defined as paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.

It follows that mindful eating is a practice of mindfulness with a central focus on food and the eating experience. It is defined as paying attention to an eating experience with all senses (seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling, feeling); witnessing, without judgment, the emotional and physical responses that take place before, during and after the experience.

The goal of mindful eating is to appreciate food and explore the eating experience. By using all our senses, mindful eating allows individuals to choose foods that are satisfying and nourishing to the human body.

It also allows individuals to become aware of the positive and nurturing opportunities that arise from food selection and preparation while acknowledging responses to food (likes, dislikes) and learning to be aware of physical hunger and satiety cues to guide decisions on when to begin and stop eating.

The Centre for Mindful Eating has created the following principles intended to guide people who are interested in mindful eating.:

Mindfulness is deliberately paying attention, non-judgmentally in the present moment
Mindfulness encompasses both internal processes and the external environment
Mindfulness is being aware of your thoughts, emotions and physical sensations in the present moment
With practice, mindfulness cultivates the possibility of freeing yourself of reactive habitual patterns of thinking, feeling and acting
Mindfulness promotes balance, choices, wisdom and acceptance of what is

The principles of mindfulness has been incorporated in a variety of therapy modalities. Some of the most prevalent treatments include mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

Results from several studies have shown improvement in chronic disease parameters including blood glucose control, diet adherence, weight loss, and mental well being after mindfulness interventions. An exploratory study involving six weeks of treatment using mindful eating practices resulted in decreased depression, anxiety and binge eating rates among subjects. While available evidence suggests favorable outcomes utilising mindful eating practices, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials to demonstrate the efficacy of mindful eating, therefore calling for further research.

Creating a Mindful Eating Practice

The next time you feel stressed and reach for a chocolate bar, it is important to consciously stop and give yourself the choice. As Dr Rick Kausman, director of The Butterfly Foundation for Eating Disorders said in an interview with the dietitian Stephanie Osfield, “Tell yourself: ‘I can eat this if I want to, and I can have it anytime I want, but do I really want it?’” He explains that by “simply posing this question can act as an emotional circuit breaker, making people realise they are in control and can exercise that control to say no to comfort food.”

As with learning anything new, practice is essential. There are many triggers, both personal and environmental that can pull us out of awareness in the present moment and back into habitual comfortable routines.

By establishing a daily mindful eating practice we can change this mechanical way of eating. It all starts with making a commitment to set aside a few minutes each day. The Centre for Mindful Eating has useful resources available on their website to assist practitioners and individuals interested in mindful eating.