Mindfullness and eating

[Cyndy-loo]

I am curious. Is anyone else practicing "Mindful" eating? If so how is it going and what are you doing? I have my own techniques and am interested in other people's. Also do you find it works?

[greenmomma]

Yes I do it. Yes it works. Before every single bite I take I ask myself why
I'm eating it. Am (still) physically hungry? Do I really, really want it? (sometimes a girl just needs a piece of chocolate). Could I make a better choice? With mindfullness, I very often leave food on my plate. Sometimes it's just one bite. But if I'm full it goes in the trash, not my mouth. Someone on here made a comment that our bodies are not trash bins and we shouldn't treat them as such. That really resonated with me. Wish I could remember who said it and thank them. But it gave me the needed perspective to be able to throw those last few bites out.

[thenewmetoday]

Mindful living is wonderful, the problem for me is that I have trouble remembering to practice mindfulness. lol Seriously I took a wonderful course of workshops learning about and using mindfulness and it helped change my life.

[apythia]

I try to. It is still hard when I measure out 2 ounces of food to mentally come to terms with the fact that is completely okay if I only eat half of it, no matter what my doc or anyone else says. If my body is telling me we are done, we are done.

[Cyndy-loo]

I find it works for me as well but I struggle with remembering to do it. I think I need to get into some kind of ritual when I sit down to eat.

[Lee6Lee]

This is an important thread. I have to reel myself in every day.

[Cyndy-loo]

I am able to handle breakfast easily, but with the other meals I get distracted. I often have music on or my husband wants to talk about his day or we eat supper in front of the TV. Any ideas on how I can focus on the meal and pretend to listen to my husband?

[Janeanne67]

Hi I had to google what mindfulness eating is lol. I sort of gathered what it was about but I have never heard of it referred to as a way of life. I would love to hear what you guys do as rituals.
I guess I am sorting of practising it without realising it as I often tell myself food is just to keep me alive not a past time to enjoy and do ALL DAY, or I do stop myself from eating that last mouthful if I feel full in the stomach by thinking about if I need it or not, but same I have to remind myself it is not an automatic thing. Anyway thanks for bringing this up as I will try and keep doing it more often. But would love to hear what others do also

[Cyndy-loo]

The basic premise is to really pay attention to what you are doing and to take each bite as if it is the first bite of something you have never had before and the last bite of something you will ever have. What are the sensations? The smell? The flavors? The textures? How does it make you feel? How is it renewing your body? Will this be your last bite? Do you want/need more? I over eat when I am feeling down and I am trying to break that bad habit so I use the mindfulness now when I am suffering and try to focus on what is going on and why it helps. As I do it with food I understand that the purpose of the food is to renew my life not to stuff the suffering down deep inside as a way to avoid. It is hard at times and something I need to practice every day. The work I do to change my relationship with food is ongoing and at times difficult.

[lil_lisa]

I run into the same thing, get about 95 percent ate and that 5% is staring at me saying comon you can finish it, you don't want to throw away one bite do ya?? I think maybe I got that cause at the end of every dinner my mom said ok, there is a bit more of this or that left and someone has to eat it cause it's not enough to put away and I don't want to throw it away, and when the others said they were full I said ok i'll take it, just to make my mom happy. Just to think that later I was criticized by mom and dad for getting too fat? Ironic isn't it??

[crcindy]

I was always a member of the clean plate club. Until after surgery, that is. I dish up measured amounts of food, and then eat slowly, chewing thoroughly. I almost always finish my breakfast, because I have figured out the right amount for me, but lunch and dinner I almost always throw out a few bites because I am full. I am still on soft foods,(until March 16), and introducing new foods one at a time. I must say I enjoy food more eating it slower, and "new" foods taste especially good!

[tinman]

Ok....so it's true....you learn something new everyday.

This is a very, very, very cool thread.

I intend to look into this.