Mindful eating: what it is, benefits, and how to practice
Learn what mindful eating is, its health benefits, and why changing how (not what) you eat can support your wellbeing. Plus, 11 ways to practice mindful eating.
If you’ve ever found yourself mindlessly munching on chips while watching TV then you might have experienced eating mindlessly. You’re crunching on a tasty snack and before you know it, an episode of your favorite show has flown by, your plate is empty, but you feel like you haven't tasted one bite.
Enjoying your favorite pleasure foods every now and then can be a natural part of self-care, but if it’s a consistent habit, it might be worth examining. Changing how (not what) you eat can help you find a deeper pleasure in your food. Mindful eating isn’t about dieting or restrictions, but, instead is about experiencing the joy of eating in a more conscious and mindful way.
Mindful eating starts with being present. Eating mindfully encourages you to pay full attention to the act of eating and noticing the tastes, textures, and smells of your food and making thoughtful food choices and noticing how different foods make us feel. A mindful eating practice can lead to more positive eating behaviors, which can support your overall physical and mental wellbeing. Plus, it’s a step toward combating emotional eating and breaking free from mindless eating and overeating, both of which can make you feel sluggish and unwell.
💙 Learn more about how mindful eating works with our Mindful Eating Series
What is mindful eating, anyway?
Dietitian Rachael Hartley, RD, LD, certified intuitive eating counselor and author of “Gentle Nutrition” brings us up to speed on what we need to know. From the benefits of mindful eating to why it's different from intuitive eating, here's the scoop on bringing your mindfulness practice to the dinner table.
"Mindful eating is eating with the intention of paying attention," Hartley explained. "It's not just bringing awareness to the sensory experience of eating, like the taste, smells, and textures of food, but also noticing thoughts and bodily experiences, like hunger and fullness levels."
As its name suggests, mindful eating stems from mindfulness—a practice that involves checking in with your thoughts, feelings, environment, and body in a gentle, non-judgmental way. This attention-based practice originates from Hindu and Buddhist cultures and dates back thousands of years.
The most important thing to remember about mindful eating is to be kind and attentive to yourself. Mindful eating is a non-judgemental practice. You are meant to notice thoughts and feelings and to observe them without judgment.
Common misconceptions about mindful eating
Like meditation, mindful eating is simply a practice of paying attention. It’s best to approach it with curiosity and openness.
Mindful eating isn’t dieting
It’s essential to distinguish between dieting, particularly diet culture and mindful eating. Mindful eating is not a diet. It doesn’t impose restrictions on what or how much you can eat. It’s about developing a healthier relationship with food over time rather than chasing rapid weight loss results.
Mindful eating isn’t about ignoring cravings
Embracing mindful eating doesn’t mean you have to ignore your cravings. It's about understanding and acknowledging them and making conscious choices rather than impulsively reaching for less nutrient-dense food options.
Mindful eating isn’t about judgment or guilt
Mindful eating avoids the judgment and guilt that often comes with diet culture. It’s about aiming to foster a compassionate attitude toward oneself, regardless of food choices.
Mindful eating isn’t mindless eating (the clue’s in the name)
The opposite of mindful eating is mindless eating, where you eat without paying attention to what you consumed or how much. Mindless eating can lead to overeating and making less nutritious food choices in place of foods that will satiate and nourish your body.
Mindful eating doesn’t mean eating only when hungry
While mindful eating encourages you to tune into your hunger cues, it also acknowledges that sometimes we eat for reasons other than physical hunger. Sometimes we eat when we’re bored, and sometimes we eat to soothe emotions. Mindful eating encourages you to understand your triggers and respond in a nurturing, non-judgmental way.
What’s the difference between mindful eating and intuitive eating?
Mindful eating and intuitive eating often get confused, and although the two are similar, they're not the same thing. Intuitive eating is a framework founded by registered dietitians Evelyn Tribole, RDN, and Elyse Resch, RDN, in 1995 to help people cultivate a kinder relationship with food.
While both intuitive eating and mindful eating promote a healthy relationship with food, mindful eating focuses more on the present moment during eating, while intuitive eating encompasses a broader approach to eating, body acceptance and rejecting diet culture. Mindful eating is about the how of eating, while intuitive eating covers the why behind your food choices.
Both mindful and intuitive eating aim to shift away from restrictive, rule-based eating and toward a more compassionate, understanding relationship with food. Practicing mindful eating can be a part of your intuitive eating journey, helping you tune into the present moment and truly enjoy your meals.
What are the benefits of mindful eating?
Tuning into the sensations and experiences of eating can open up a world of benefits. Here are some of the positive changes you might notice when you practice mindful eating.
1. Mindful eating may help with digestive issues
Taking the time to chew your food thoroughly and eat slowly can significantly improve digestion. It's a simple yet effective step toward better gut health.
"Mindfulness techniques, including mindful eating, can be helpful in reducing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)," Hartley writes. Irritable bowel syndrome is a common gastrointestinal disorder that causes uncomfortable, and sometimes debilitating, symptoms, including excessive gas, abdominal pain, cramps, and diarrhea.
According to one review, a broader mindfulness practice can help people with IBS recognize and accept their discomfort instead of experiencing psychological distress when symptoms arise. While mindful eating certainly isn’t a be-all and end-all approach to IBS, it can be helpful for some.
2. Mindful eating may help treat eating disorders
By breaking free from the cycle of dieting and guilt around food, mindful eating may help foster a more positive, compassionate relationship with both food and your body.
While the therapeutic effects of mindful eating haven't been broadly studied on people with eating disorders, one study suggests that the practice may help with binge eating disorder, in particular.
The research published in The Journal of Treatment & Prevention surveyed 30 women struggling with binge eating disorder before and after following a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) approach. The 16 participants who completed the program reported their mindfulness practice improved their self-awareness and behaviors and thoughts about food.
3. Mindful eating can help to nurture a healthier relationship with food
"While pleasure is an overlooked facet of healthy eating, I believe it is extremely important, and mindful eating can help make eating a more pleasurable experience," Hartley says.
When you choose to eat mindfully, you give yourself permission to savor all the flavors, textures, and aromas of your food. Food becomes a source of pleasure rather than just another part of your day. Sometimes, the simple act of paying attention to what you’re eating can add joy to your day and make you feel more present and connected with the moment—and there's something to be said for that, too.
4. Mindful eating can help you to discern physical hunger from emotional hunger
By recognizing and understanding your triggers for emotional eating, you can find more productive ways to cope with emotions. Emotional eating often translates to binging on junk food (we’ve all been there), and being mindful can lead to making more nutritious food choices, which ultimately can make you feel better in the long run.
When you pause to consider your options, you're more likely to opt for nourishing foods that serve your body well than reaching for the foods that offer a quick boost of feel-good chemicals and not much more.
5. Mindful eating can enhance your overall wellbeing
The practice of mindfulness extends beyond the table. The awareness and presence you cultivate through mindful eating can pour into other areas of your life, which can help to reduce stress. Mindful eating encourages a non-judgmental attitude, which can help you learn more about your overall mental health. Appreciating your food and forgiving yourself when things don’t go as planned, such as an accidental binge, can also promote self-compassion and patience.
11 ways to practice mindful eating
Unlike diet culture, which promotes unattainable food rules and shame around fueling your body, mindful eating champions self-compassion, eating to satiety, and food enjoyment. Mindful eating also condones food flexibility and adaptability for when life happens. Sometimes, you have to eat a quick lunch at your desk before running to a meeting or grab fast food for dinner on the way home from a hectic day. In short, there’s no right or wrong way to approach mindful eating. The key is to experience meals with greater awareness and do what works best for you.
Here are eleven tips to take with you on your mindful eating journey. Through these practices, you'll be able to cultivate a more mindful relationship with food and enjoy the many benefits mindful eating can offer.
1. Try a mindful check-in before eating
Before you begin eating, take a moment to check in with yourself to notice how hungry you are and how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. This simple practice brings you back to the present moment and can help set a mindful tone for your meal.
💙 Looking for some motivation to give mindful eating a try? Press play on our session on the Benefits of Mindful Eating.
2. Start your meal with a gratitude practice
Before eating, take a moment to appreciate the food in front of you. Consider the effort it took to grow, transport, and prepare the food. Think about how your meal will nourish your body. If you’re eating with loved ones, look around and find gratitude in sharing a meal with friends or family. This sense of gratitude can enhance the joy of eating.
💙 Checking in with feelings of gratitude before eating can help you to be more present during the meal. Check out our Gratitude Before Meal session with Tamara Levitt.
3. Savor each bite of your meal
Remember when you were a kid and adults always told you to chew your food thoroughly? Well, they had a point! Slower chewing gives your stomach the time to signal to your brain that you’re full, which can help with digestion and allow you to savor the flavors and textures of your food. Eating too quickly can lead to overeating, which can make you feel overly full and unwell. Slow down, savor the moment, and enjoy your meal at an unrushed pace when possible.
4. Minimize distractions during meals
Try to stay present during your meals. It’s easy to overeat when you’re distracted. Instead of eating in front of the television or scrolling on your phone, try to eat without distractions, which helps keep your focus on the experience of eating. It’s meal time. We can multitask later!
5. Tune into your senses as you eat
Engage all five of your senses while eating. See the color of your food, smell the aroma, taste the flavors, feel the textures and listen to your hunger cues. Focusing on how your food interacts with your senses keeps you in the present moment, which also tunes you into your body.
💙 Learn more about mindful eating tactics with our Mindful Eating Practice session.
6. Take a mindful pause between bites when you’re eating
Engaging in the present moment as you eat includes the moments when you’re not actively chewing. Put down your utensil between bites to create a pause. Take a breath, and check in with your hunger and fullness cues. If you’re still hungry, take another bite, chew, and repeat until you’re full.
7. Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness signals
Mindful eating is about listening to your body. So make a conscious effort to tune into those hunger signals to understand when you need to eat and pay attention to when you start feeling full to avoid overeating.
8. Choose nourishing foods
Opting for nourishing foods is about making choices that are good for your body and satisfying at the same time. A great place to start is with adding more fruits and vegetables to your meals to boost your vitamins, minerals, and fiber intake. Not only are you fueling your body by eating more fruits and veggies, but you’re fueling your mind, too. Eating fruit and vegetables everyday can help reduce stress and ward off depression.
9. Reflect on the way you think and feel when you’re eating
After your meal, take a moment to reflect and ask yourself the following questions: How do I feel? Was the meal satisfying? Do I want more? This reflection can provide valuable insights for your mindful eating journey.
10. Acknowledge and make space for your cravings
Cravings are normal and are our body’s way of communicating what it wants and sometimes needs. Mindful eating teaches you to recognize cravings, pause, and decide whether you’re dealing with emotional hunger or physical hunger. Are you wanting to eat because you’re hungry and need fuel, or are you wanting to eat because you’re bored, feeling sad, or experiencing stress? Understanding any emotional triggers behind cravings can help you to identify patterns and make more conscious food choices.
11. Seek support when you need it
If you find it challenging to practice mindful eating on your own, consider joining a mindfulness eating group or working with a professional who has experience with mindful eating to help guide you.
💙 One of the best ways to start you on your mindful eating journey is to explore our Mindful Eating Journal.
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