Mindful Eating Meditation

This meditation by Jamie Zimmerman, M.D., will help you learn to handle food cravings with awareness and intention. You’ll use the acronym STOP to help you through moments of fear and weakness. “S” stands for simply that: stop. “T” stands for “take three deep breaths.” “O” stands for “observe.” “P” stands for “proceed,” in a way that supports you and those around you. You’ll use this acronym to understand where the craving is coming from and what it means. What thoughts are going through your head right now? What is your craving telling you? What do you imagine will happen if you act on the craving? Breathe deeply and allow yourself to discover what you truly need.

Mindful eating is a practice that allows us to tune in to the body’s needs and be thoughtful about how we nourish ourselves. By fully appreciating a food’s flavors and textures and being in the moment while eating, we open ourselves up to a deeper level of enjoyment, and it becomes easier to make better choices. But what happens when you just really, really want to dig in to that piece of chocolate cake?

6 Ways to Practice Mindful Eating

Eating as mindfully as we do on retreat or in a mindfulness course is not realistic for many of us, especially with families, jobs, and the myriad distractions around us. This is not to mention that our friends, family and colleagues might not have the patience to eat with us as we take five minutes with each bite. So have some self-compassion, and consider formal mindful eating on retreat and special occasions, as well as informal mindful eating in your daily life.

What I want to offer in this piece is what I call more mindful eating, perhaps “informal” mindful eating as opposed to formal mindful eating. Especially during the craziness and stress and extra food of the holidays, that Halloween to New Years stretch in which are more likely to eat mindlessly than mindfully. Here are six simple guidelines to keep in mind to discern between mindless and (more) mindful eating, and bring our bodies and minds back together.

1) Let your body catch up to your brain

Eating rapidly past full and ignoring your body’s signals vs. slowing down and eating and stopping when your body says its full.

Slowing down is one of the best ways we can get our mind and body to communicate what we really need for nutrition. The body actually sends its satiation signal about 20 minutes after the brain, which is why we often unconsciously overeat. But, if we slow down, you can give your body a chance to catch up to your brain and hear the signals to eat the right amount. Simple ways to slow down might just include follow many of your grandmother’s manners, like sitting down to eat, chewing each bite 25 times (or more), setting your fork down between bites, and all those old manners that are maybe not as pointless as they seemed. What are some ways you can slow down eating and listen more deeply to your body’s signals

2) Know your body’s personal hunger signals

Are you responding to an emotional want or responding to your body’s needs?

Often we listen first to our minds, but like many mindfulness practices, we might discover more wisdom by tuning into our bodies first. Rather than just eating when we get emotional signals, which may be different for each of us, be they stress, sadness, frustration, loneliness or even just boredom, we can listen to our bodies. Is your stomach growling, energy low, or feeling a little lightheaded? Too often, we eat when our mind tells us to, rather than our bodies. True mindful eating is actually listening deeply to our body’s signals for hunger. Ask yourself: What are your body’s hunger signals, and what are your emotional hunger triggers?

3) Cultivate a mindful kitchen

Eating alone and randomly vs. eating with others at set times and places.

Another way that we eat mindlessly is by wandering around looking through cabinets, eating at random times and places, rather than just thinking proactively about our meals and snacks. This slows us down for one thing, but prevents us from developing healthy environmental cues about what and how much to eat, and wires our brains for new cues for eating that not always ideal. (do you really want to create a habit to eat every time you get in the car, or other situations?) Sure, we all snack from time to time, but it can boost both your mind and body’s health, not to mention greatly helping your mood and sleep schedule to eat at consistent times and places. Yes, that means sitting down (at a table!), putting food on a plate or bowl, not eating it out of the container, and using utensils not our hands. It also helps to eat with others, not only are you sharing and getting some healthy connection, but you also slow down and can enjoy the food and conversation more, and we take our cues from our dinner partner, not over or underrating out of emotion.

Having a mindful kitchen means organizing and caring for your kitchen space so it encourages healthy eating and nourishing gatherings. Consider what you bring into your kitchen and where you put things away. Are healthy foods handy? What kinds of foods are in sight? When food is around, we eat it.

There are many reasons that the raisin eating it is such a powerful exercise, but one is that when we slow down and eat healthy foods like raisins, we often enjoy them more than the story we tell ourselves about healthy foods.

You don’t have to plan your food down to each bite, and its important to be flexible especially at special occasions, but just be aware of the fact that you might be changing your eating habits at different times of year or for different occasions. And when you do plan ahead, you are also more likely to eat the amount your body needs in that moment than underrating and indulging later, or overeating and regretting it later.

Classic advice is to also not shop when hungry, but the middle path applies here as well. A psychological effect known as “moral licensing” has shown that shoppers who buy kale are more likely to then head to the alcohol or ice cream section than those who don’t. We seem to think that our karma will balance out and we can “spend” it on junk food, or other less than ideal behaviors.

4) Understand your motivations

Eating foods that are emotionally comforting vs. eating foods that are nutritionally healthy.

This is another tricky balance, and ideally we can find nourishing foods that are also satisfying and comforting. But think back to that first mindful raisin. Did that seem appealing before you tried it? There are many reasons that the raisin eating it is such a powerful exercise, but one is that when we slow down and eat healthy foods like raisins, we often enjoy them more than the story we tell ourselves about healthy foods. As we practice eating healthier and a greater variety foods, we are less inclined to binge on our comfort foods, and more inclined to enjoy healthy foods, ultimately finding many foods mentally and physically satisfying as opposed to just a few.

5) Connect more deeply with your food

Considering where food comes from vs. thinking of food as an end product.

Unless you are a hunter-gatherer or sustenance farmer, we have all become ever more disconnected from our food in recent years. Many of us don’t even consider where a meal comes from beyond the supermarket packaging. This is a loss, because eating offers an incredible opportunity to connect us more deeply to the natural world, the elements and to each other.

When we pause to consider all of the people involved in the meal that has arrived on your plate, from the loved ones (and yourself) who prepared it, to those who stocked the shelves, to those who planted and harvested the raw ingredients, to those who supported them, it is hard to not feel both grateful and interconnected. Be mindful of the water, soil, and other elements that were part of its creation as you sit down to eat whatever you are eating. You can reflect on the cultural traditions that brought you this food, the recipes generously shared from friends, or brought from a distant place and time to be a handed down in the family.

As you consider everything that went into the meal, it becomes effortless to experience and express gratitude to all of the people who gave their time and effort, the elements of the universe that contributed their share, our friends or ancestors who shared recipes and even the beings who may have given their lives to a part of creating this meal. With just a little more mindfulness like this, we may begin to make wiser choices about sustainability and health in our food, not just for us but for the whole planet.

6) Attend to your plate

Distracted eating vs. just eating

Multitasking and eating is a recipe for not being able to listen deeply to our body’s needs and wants. We’ve all had the experience of going to the movies with our bag full of popcorn, and before the coming attractions are over, we are asking who ate all of our popcorn. When we are distracted, it becomes harder to listen to our body’s signals about food and other needs. With your next meal, try single-tasking and just eating, with no screens or distractions besides enjoying the company you are sharing a meal and conversation with.

So while formal mindful eating practices may be what we think of when we look back on a mindfulness course or retreat we attended, the reality is that we do live, and eat, in the real world which is a busy place. But we can take the insights gained from our formal practice- slowing down, listening to our bodies, doing one thing at a time, making even small rituals, and considering all that went into our meal on a more regular basis and bring more informal mindfulness to our daily meals.

Meditation In Action: 10 Tips For Mindful Eating (PHOTOS)

How often do you actually taste the food you eat? Most people tend to acknowledge the first few bites, just to ensure they’re eating what they think they’re supposed to be, and then slip into a semi-conscious state of eating. As it’s not particularly complicated to move a fork back and forwards from a plate, or a sandwich from hand to mouth, we’ve developed an ability to carry out the task without even thinking about it, in much the same way we have with walking.

What would it be like to be fully present for every mouthful you eat? What might your experience of food be if you tasted every flavor and if your meal or snack was actually an opportunity to connect with the moment? What would it be like to have a healthy relationship with food, to give up any feelings of guilt, anxiety and craving, and instead regain that sense of healthy appreciation and enjoyment that all good food deserves? And what if that same approach showed you how to make genuinely sustainable change, toward better physical health and a body that made you feel confident and comfortable? Below is a practical exercise from the mindfulness experts at Headspace to introduce you to the multi-faceted benefits of mindful eating.

1. Sit down at a table, preferably alone, and free from any external distractions. Don’t worry too much if there are sounds that are out of your control; you can build these into the exercise. Before you even pick up the food to eat, take a couple of deep breaths –- in through the nose and out through the mouth -– to allow the body and mind to settle.

2. Next, take a moment to appreciate the food. Where has it come from? What country? Was it grown or was it manufactured? Try to imagine the different ingredients in their natural growing environment and even the types of people who would have been looking after the crops or animals.

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3. As you’re doing this, notice if there is any sense of impatience in the mind, of wanting to get on and eat the food. Perhaps you’re thinking of all the things you need to do. Whatever the reaction, it’s most likely just conditioned behavior — a habit — but one that you may find surprisingly strong. Regardless of the feeling, take at least a minute to reflect in this way.

4. Next, without going on some kind of guilt trip, take a moment to appreciate the fact that you actually have food on your plate. We’re so familiar with this situation that we forget that for many people in the world, this just isn’t the case. A deep sense of appreciation and gratitude is at the heart of any stable mindfulness practice.

5. If it’s a food you’re going to eat with your hands, notice the texture as you pick it up, the temperature, and perhaps the color(s). If you’re eating from a plate with a knife and fork, notice instead the texture and temperature of the cutlery as you move it toward the food, but still take the time to notice the colors on the plate. You might find it more effective to hold your fork or spoon in your non-dominant hand: This will prevent you from going too quickly.

6. As you move the food toward your mouth, shift the focus away from the hands and more toward the eyes, nose and mouth. How does the food smell? What does it look like up close? And, as you put it in your mouth, what is the taste, the texture, the temperature? You don’t need to ‘do’ anything. You’re simply observing the different bodily senses at work.

7. In addition to the physical senses, notice how the mind responds to the food. For example, is the food met with pleasure or displeasure in your mind? Is there acceptance of the food as it is, or maybe some resistance to certain aspects of it? Perhaps it’s too hot, too cold, too sweet or too sour. Notice how the mind rushes to judge the food and to make comparisons with previous meals or other possibilities. Whatever you do, take the time to chew the food fully. Not only is this a healthier way of eating, but it will allow you the time to taste and appreciate all the different flavors.

8. Once you’ve taken a few mouthfuls, you may find that the mind starts to get bored of the exercise and will wander off into thinking about something else. This is quite normal and nothing to worry about. So, in just the same way as before, as soon as you realize it’s wandered off, gently bring your attention back to the process of eating, and the different tastes, smells, textures, sights and sounds.

9. As you continue to eat your meal in this way, you can start to notice whether there’s a strong habitual urge to eat more quickly (perhaps to move closer to dessert!). Or maybe there are feelings of unease about what you’re eating. If it’s an especially big meal, you may even notice the desire to consume gradually decreasing as the stomach becomes full and you become more aware of these sensations. As much as possible, simply observe these different thoughts and feelings (acting on them when appropriate) and, if you can, notice how the breath appears. The breath may give you some indication of how comfortable or uncomfortable the process of eating is for you.

10. Before jumping up to get on with the next thing you have planned, try staying seated for a moment or two. This is an opportunity for you to take that sense of being present to the next part of your day. It’s an opportunity to realize that the thoughts, feelings and physical sensations that were present before eating have now moved on. In time, this awareness of change can help the mind to feel more spacious and at ease.

Want more tips on how to make meditation part of your day? Headspace is meditation made simple, accessible and relevant to your everyday life. Sign up for the free Take10 program to get the basics just right with guided audio programs and support to get your Headspace, anytime, anywhere on the

How Meditating Before Eating Changed My Relationship With Food

After sleeping poorly for the past few months with a new work schedule, I downloaded the meditation app Headspace, hoping that its guided meditation program would help me fall asleep. As I was browsing the app’s various categories—commuting, sleeping, walking—I saw one for eating. As the kind of person who chops onions while watching TV and eats with a fork in one hand and my iPhone in the other, I’m not what you’d call a mindful eater. But I was curious.

So I asked Andy Puddicombe, Headspace founder (and former Buddhist monk), why I should bring meditation to my diet. “Mindfulness gives us that extra space to make healthy choices. If we can observe the mind with a clearer sense of awareness—to see and understand how our minds can sometimes be bigger than our stomach—then we can fundamentally change the way we eat,” he says. This resonated with me: I’m always the first person to finish a meal, and the first one to reach for seconds. I seem to bounce between extremes: starving to stuffed to starving again. In search of a middle ground, I decided to use the eating recordings before every meal, every day for a week. 21 sessions later, I haven’t achieved Buddha-level consciousness, but I can say it completely changed how I eat.

Monday

I’m sitting on a pillow in my new makeshift meditation sanctuary in my living room. The soundtrack guides me through what feels like an eternity of examining, touching, and smelling my food of choice—a clementine—then letting it sit on my tongue. Finally, about six minutes later, I’m instructed to take my first bite. “So much information taken in that we usually miss because we’re just thinking about stuff,” says Puddicombe’s voice (he’s the virtual coach). I think of my own eating habits—snacking as I walk to the subway or spearing ziti onto my fork without even looking down as I dine in front of the TV—and how I little I truly tune in when I eat.

“It’s amazing how often when we eat food we’re rushing to get to the next piece and then the next piece…until we finally run out and wish we hadn’t rushed it so much,” he adds. After completing the 10-minute recording, I’m amazed by all the details I’ve never picked up, like the way the fruit’s pith tangles together between segments and how vibrant its orange color is. But I’m also dreading the long week of clementine contemplation ahead.

Tuesday

I’ve now devoted 30 minutes of my life to this citrus fruit and only made a three-clementine dent in my massive bag. Today, before breakfast, I decide to mix it up with a mini yellow sweet bell pepper. As I snap it open, I watch the vegetable’s liquid bubble ever-so-slightly. Touching the smooth texture of the exterior, I feel relaxed. After eating my regular breakfast tortilla, I feel truly full and note on the clock that it took me seven minutes longer than normal to finish. By the end of day two, I notice carving out this time for meditation has infused more reflective moments into my day. I took a phone-free walk around my block before work and began the app’s “Take 10” series, a brief daily practice to teach you the foundations of meditating.

Wednesday

I’m an omnivore, but I mark my calendar with a red “V” on days I manage to stick to a vegan diet. Tonight, I notice three little Vs are lined up. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with my meditation progress, but I wonder if the app can work wonders on guilty pleasure foods. I immediately grab a hunk of Parmesan and spend ten minutes smelling, petting, and finally eating it. I’m inspired by the teachings to take three breaths before my first bite, and decide this is a ritual I want to do before every meal to shift mind frames. After the exercise, I can’t say my craving disappeared, but I certainly ate much less than I normally would and didn’t feel painfully full afterwards. I also had to cross out my bright red “V.”

Thursday

In the name of research, I decide to take a stab at mindful drinking. I follow the now very familiar words of my good friend Puddicombe as I sip slowly on a glass of the Dreaming Tree’s Sauvignon Bland. Normally, when I sling back this $14 vino, I’m on autopilot since it’s my go-to dinner wine. Somehow I’ve been completely oblivious to its incredible nose: Is that freshly cut grass I detect? Normally, I down two glasses during an episode of Schist Creek.  And, while drinking typically inundates my mind with impulses—what would happen if I ordered pizza? Texted that ex? Had another glass of wine?—after my 10-minute sitting, I’m completely content. The tension in my forehead seems to melt away, my chaotic mind slows, and, one episode later, I’ve still only consumed half a glass.

Friday

I’m 1,746 miles from home in Austin, Texas, and eager to see if I can keep the practice up while on the road. When eating out somewhere I’m excited about, my urge is often to snap a photo and then inhale my food. I’m joined by a friend for appetizers at the Azul Rooftop Pool Bar. So as not to mortify her, I opt to leave my phone in my purse and work through my first self-guided per-meal meditation. The edamame with smoked sea salt seems like a good food to start reflecting upon and a welcome change from clementines. A few small plates later, I’m enjoying orecchiette with pesto, tomatoes, and Manchego cheese. I ask the waiter, “Is that pesto made with arugula?” “You could tell!” she replies.

Saturday

Today, I’m in San Antonio. As I wander the city’s River Walk, my senses seem to pick up on more details than normal. Why do puffy tacos smell so good? How come there’s no trash on the street here? Do all Hyatt hotels have the same atrium-eccentric design? Does traveling make us pay more attention to how we eat or is the meditating paying off? Thinking I’m hungry for lunch, I decide Café Ole will be a good pit stop. As I sit down, I hear Puddicombe’s voice in my head:  “Engaging our senses allows us to make genuine changes to our diet and sense of well-being instead of being so easily led by our pangs, stress, emotions, and cravings.” I realize I’m not hungry; I ate breakfast an hour earlier. I’m confusing my anxiety over some looming deadlines with a hearty appetite for fish tacos. I chug a glass of water, place a $5 bill on the table, and head on my way.

Later on, I find myself at another rooftop bar and, for the first time in my life, I order a virgin cocktail. I’m not sure if it’s the meditation thing or the insane sunset views, but I swear I still catch a buzz.

Sunday

I’m looking for an afternoon snack at Market Square, an open-air plaza lined with food vendors, restaurants, and shops. That’s when I spot a sign for gravitas, and feel an inhuman urge to sink my teeth into the fluffy, gritty goodness. Seven dollars gets me a massive gordita brimming with re-fried beans, salsa, onions, and flecks of hot sauce hiding in the cornmeal shell’s crevices. A live western band is playing “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” The smoky embers from chariness stands are blowing in my face. I stand under a storefront, relishing the last bite as sauce drips down my chin, and I know this will be a food memory that stays with me for years to come. That’s when I realize—shit!—I forgot to meditate.

One Month Later

A month after my week-long experiment, I’m still taking three deep breaths before each meal, and I haven’t had a single meal at my desk. I also continue to kick off my day with a walk around the block, sans cell—a few moments of solitude I really look forward to, and I carve out a few minutes a day for the “Take 10” series. While I don’t do the guided eating meditation sessions before every meal, I flip them on from time to time. Especially when I’m going to a social event or out to eat, I find completing the recording beforehand helps curb overeating and cues me to be more mindful throughout the evening. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, I still like clementines.

Transform Eating Into A Mindfulness Meditation

Meal Time Mindfulness Meditation

As a great Zen Master, Thich Nat Hahn says, the only thing that you should be putting in your mouth and chewing is the food. That probably sounds quite simple, but often when we sit down to eat, we’re still planning, we’re still thinking, perhaps even having a busy luncheon with other people. But to actually taste that food, every mouthful, to try to be with it in a very sensual way without being distracted is a pure mindfulness meditation. The pure experience of eating is a mindful delight and brings calm, clarity and grace to every meal.

Also saying a prayer even before you eat, I think it’s a great way to connect with your spiritual core and a sense of gratitude for the food. A sense of love for the people that prepared it, a connection and gratitude with Mother Earth.

So eating can become a whole spiritual practice in itself and it’s something that doesn’t have to be done separately, we all have to eat. So I  suggest people to give that a try when they’re eating, just try to be with their food without being distracted. Say a prayer, be grateful, and cultivate a loving attitude.

So it’s a very practical tool to have a few deep breaths before you eat, say a simple prayer of love and gratitude, and then try to eat that food with mindfulness. Your body will be in the most receptive state to be able to take in the nutrition from the food, as much as it has to offer, and to get the most benefit out of eating.

So I think eating food with mindfulness is a really holistic practice that brings in a lot of different elements of health, of mental and emotional health, and spirituality. The grace of a Zen Master doing a tea ceremony is quit wondrous. The simplicity and the total of power of such a mundane thing as drinking tea shows that you can bring grace into all aspects of your life.

Thich Nhat Hanh On The Zen Of Eating”Mindful eating is a very pleasant practice. It is a deep mindfulness meditation practice. Each morsel of food becomes an ambassador from the cosmos.  When we pick up a piece of vegetable, we look at it for half a second. We look mindfully to really recognize the piece of food, the piece of carrot or string bean. We practice mindfulness by simply knowing, “This is a piece of carrot. This is a piece of string bean.” It only takes a fraction of a second of recognition.

When we are mindful, we recognize what we are picking up, when we put it into our mouth, we know we are putting it into our mouth, and when we chew it, we know that we are chewing. It’s very simple. Some of us while looking at a piece of carrot can see the whole cosmos in it, can see the sunshine in it, can see the earth in it, and the rain. It has come from the whole cosmos for our nourishment.

You may like to smile to your food before you put it in your mouth.When you chew it, you are aware that you are chewing it, and don’t put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in, and when you chew, chew only the carrot, not your projects or your ideas.

Drinking a cup of tea is a pleasure we can give ourselves every day. To enjoy our tea, we have to be fully present and know clearly and deeply that we are drinking tea. When you lift your cup, you may like to breathe in the aroma. Looking deeply into your tea, you see that you are drinking fragrant plants that are the gift of Mother Earth. You see the labor of the tea pickers; you see the luscious tea fields and plantations in Sri Lanka, China, and Vietnam. You know that you are drinking a cloud; you are drinking the rain. The tea contains the whole universe.

You are capable of living in the present moment in the here and now. It is simple but you need some training to just enjoy the piece of carrot. That is a miracle.

Every minute can be a holy, sacred minute. Where do you seek the spiritual? You seek the spiritual in every ordinary thing that you do every day. Sweeping the floor, watering the vegetables, and eating food become holy and sacred if mindfulness is there. With mindfulness and concentration, everything becomes spiritual.”