Mindful Eating Miniseries: Part 4 An Attitude of Gratiude

Remember from our Mindful Eating Mini Series, mindfulness involves bringing one’s full and deliberate attention to what you are doing at the time you are doing it. Mindfulness embraces a moment by moment awareness of the thoughts, feelings, and surroundings of ourselves and others.  We have learned to create mindfulness while eating that favors us to stop, taste, savor, and enjoy the experience of eating.

Despite the awareness of the experience, do you feel like you are still in a rut? Do you fight to make good food choices and feel deprived in the process? Just as the powerful intentions we have learned with mindfulness, what if we took the time to shift our focus? What if we shifted our focus from frustration and deprivation to thoughts of appreciation and gratitude? Gratitude includes being thankful for small things- that may simply be, having food in the first place.

Reflect on your Attitude of Gratitude. Fill in the blanks to the questions below:

I’m glad for____________________.

I’m grateful for____________________.

I am fortunate because____________________.

I do not have to worry about____________________.

Someone in my life I am very thankful for is ______________________because____________________.

Something I do not recognize that is good in my life as often as I should is________________.

I am lucky because____________________.

I am blessed to be able to____________________.

I am happy that I can____________________.

Before you sit down to a meal this week, take a brief moment to appreciate all the different aspects of the food in front of you; the aroma, the colors, the path, the preparer. Having an attitude of gratitude brings mindfulness to your eating and meaning to your mealtime.

Mindful Eating Miniseries Part 3: Savor Each Bite- Practicing Mindful Eating

Remember from our Mindful Eating Mini Series Introduction, mindfulness involves bringing one’s full and deliberate attention to what you are doing at the time you are doing it. Mindfulness embraces a moment by moment awareness of the thoughts, feelings, and surroundings of ourselves and others.  Mindfulness includes acceptance, an awareness of our thoughts and feelings without judging them.

The assignment this week was to invite yourself to a celebratory dinner experience.

1. How did you treat yourself as your own dinner guest? What did you do?
2. How did this compare to how you typically eat?
3. Did the food taste any different in this special environment?
4. Did you feel more in tune with your feelings of hunger and satiety?
5. What was your overall reaction to this exercise?
6. Would you do this on a regular basis?

Celebrating the meal allows us to be in the moment and enjoy the experience. It deters the usual multitasking in thought and action and supports you to be in the moment. You become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. This week we will expand up the experience of eating.

Do you ever find that before you finish chewing the food that is in your mouth, you begin thinking about the next bite? Do you generally pick up the next morsel or forkful before you finish the first? The following activity will ask you to pay full and deliberate attention to your current bite, to savor the moment, to savor the food.

Prepare two slices of fruit. This could be two types of apples, granny smith and gala, or two different fruits entirely, pineapples and strawberries. Place them on a pretty plate. Prepare to complete each step below, pausing in between to ponder the bullet points below.

1. Close your eyes. Take a moment to think about where this fruit came from. Imagine where the fruit grew. Envision how it travelled from the farm to our town to sitting in front of you.
2. Open your eyes. Look at the fruit’s color and shape. Try your best to concentrate on only the fruit. Take a moment to think about the details you see.
3. Pick up one piece of fruit. Notice the scent of the fruit. Imagine how this piece of fruit is going to taste.
4. Now, take a small bite of the fruit. Chew slowly. Try to place your entire focus on this piece of fruit. What is the texture? How does it taste? Is it sweet?
5. Notice the burst of flavor. Take time to chew slowly. Take small bites, chew slowly, until the first piece is gone.
6. Next, pick up your second piece of fruit. Look at the details. Smell it. Imagine the taste. Bite the fruit. Feel the texture and compare the taste. Chew slowly. Take small bites, chew slowly.

Consider this experience. Have you ever eaten like this before? We generally do not take the time to savor each bite. Did the fruit taste any different to you than it has in the past? Was it satisfying? What do you think would happen if you ate like this on a regular basis? Even though it might seem silly, try this for one meal or snack this week.  You may be surprised at how much more satisfying food can be when you stop, taste, savor, and enjoy the experience. 

Mindful Eating Miniseries: Part 2 Be Your Own Guest at Dinner- Creating a Meaningful Mealtime Environment

Remember from our Mindful Eating Mini Series Introduction, mindfulness involves bringing one’s full and deliberate attention to what you are doing at the time you are doing it. Mindful, or mindfull, eating is a powerful strategy that can impact not only your calorie consumption but many other aspects of your life. Mindfulness embraces a moment by moment awareness of the thoughts, feelings, and surroundings of ourselves and others.  Mindfulness includes acceptance, an awareness of our thoughts and feelings without judging them.

Think of a celebrity whom you would love to meet. Imagine you were going to meet this celebrity. Imagine this celebrity was coming to your home for dinner! Imagine… What would you do? What food would you serve? What kind of environment would you create? How might you set the table?

Now, think about how you typically eat dinner…

Do you usually eat seated, standing, or perhaps in front of the television? Do you light candles? Set a nice place for yourself? Are you lucky if the food makes it out of the containers onto the plate?? The reality is that most of us would respond with little or no preparation or effort. Why? Ask yourself, why do I not make a big fuss over my own meal? You do not even know the celebrity yet we “roll out the red carpet” for them… but not our own self. It is important that you recognize and celebrate your own value. This, however, is easier said than done. The assignment this week is to invite yourself to dinner.

How do you invite yourself to dinner? Simply, treat yourself as you would a special dinner guest: turn the television off, light a candle, set a place at the table. Savor each bite. The food can be as simple as a frozen entrée, but take it out of the box and place it on a dinner plate.  The idea is to create an experience for you… so you not only enjoy the meal, but celebrate yourself. Try this for at least one meal this week.  We’ll discuss our experiences at our next meeting.

Ask yourself the following questions after putting this into practice:

1. How did you treat yourself as your own dinner guest? What did you do?
2. How did this compare to how you typically eat?
3. Did the food taste any different in this special environment?
4. Did you feel more in tune with your feelings of hunger and satiety?
5. What was your overall reaction to this exercise?
6. Would you do this on a regular basis?