"When walking, walk. When eating, eat.”
― Zen Proverb
In last week's post I wrote about staying engaged with your health goals by using the attitude of a Beginner's Mind.
In Zen Buddhism the concept Shoshin aka “Beginner’s Mind” refers to the idea of letting go of expectations and preconceived ideas about something. Cultivating a beginner’s mind makes it possible for us to see that every moment truly is new and fresh, that it has never existed before and will never exist again.
As I discussed last week, this mindset can bring brightness to all areas of health and self-care including meditation, physical activity and eating.
Practicing Shoshin through our eating requires us to break out of autopilot by implementing mindfulness - bringing our full presence to each eating experience - without feelings of judgement, guilt, detachment or boredom.
While many New Year's Resolutions focus on changing WHAT someone eats, a mindful eating practice focuses on HOW, WHY, WHEN, and WHERE someone eats.
Mindful eating encourages its practitioners to appreciate food rather than demonize it, to trust in their own decisions rather than following rigid rules and to focus on the sensual awareness and experience of food.
It has little to do with calories, macros or meal timing - as the purpose of mindful eating is not to lose weight. However, studies suggest that those who adopt this style of eating as a regular practice will lose weight and keep it off. This is because eating mindfully requires a commitment to behavior change similar to that needed for any diet plan - the need to pay attention.
Although countless studies have been done to determine which diet is the most effective for weight loss, the conclusion is always the same: all are effective in the short term, and almost none are effective in the long term, primarily due to lack of ongoing adherence. An ability to continue to “stick to the plan”, whatever that plan might be, is what determines long term success.
Sticking to the plan requires paying attention.
This is the difference between “mindless” eating and conscious eating. Mindful eating encourages us to gain awareness of our eating experiences by savoring our food while also paying attention to our physical sensations and thought patterns.
This practice can lead not just to a major shift in one’s relationship with food, but can support an overall attitude of self-acceptance and non-judgement that allows us to live fully in each moment and appreciate life as it is.
How Can You Apply a Beginner’s Mind to Build a Mindful Eating Practice?
Eat intentionally
When you are eating, see if you can only be eating. Sit down, put away all work and other distractions and pay attention to your food.
Notice the environment
Look at not just the food, but the bowl or plate, the fork or spoon, the place mat, the water glass, the firmness of your seat, the temperature of the room.
Try to find details that you might not have noticed previously.
Savor each bite
Eat with all of your senses - take note of texture, flavor, sound, sight and smell.
Approach your meals as if you don’t already know how the food will taste.
Check in with physical sensations
After each bite, check in with your body to see how you are feeling.
Are you still hungry? Or are you full? Do you need more? Or is it time to stop?
Be curious
Rather than approaching each meal as a complex math problem with calories and macros to balance out, allow yourself to be curious about what you want and need to eat.
Examine the thoughts and beliefs that contribute to the choices that you make.
Check in with emotions
Before automatically reaching for a food or drink, stop and take a moment to identify what you are really craving.
Are you stressed, bored, angry, or sad? Are you lonely? Or, are you actually physically hungry?
If your desire is not about hunger, be mindful of your reactivity and choose to do something else more appropriate for the desire instead.
Appreciate each bite
This food is a precious gift that should not be taken for granted.
Consider the many lives and resources that made this meal possible - from the sun and soil it took to grow the ingredients to those who worked to plant, process, transport and cook the food.
Mindful eating allows you to let go of what you think you know about managing your diet and instead turns your focus inward to physical sensations and emotions experienced before, during and after eating.
By being present to the full experience of eating you build skills that not only contribute to lifelong weight management but also bring an awareness and energy that permeates into other areas of your life.
In addition to the practices above, check out this Raisin Meditation led by Dave Potter on YouTube. This exercise is a very common introduction to mindful eating and is part of most Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction courses (MBSR, created by Jon Kabat-Zinn). If you give it a try, let me know what the experience was like for you! Happy eating!
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