10 Things Mindful Eaters Do Differently

Applying mindfulness to your eating habits can pay off for your health. (Photo: Stocksy/Wells)

We all eat mindlessly at times, out of habit, in response to stress, just because the food is there, and for reasons that may be difficult to figure out. When eating mindlessly leads to weight gain or health problems, the temptation may be to try yet one more diet, test out yet one more set of rules, and give up our favorite tempting foods.

Diets are appealing because they provide structure, but they’re often just another way to eat mindlessly. Research by Brian Wansink at Cornell University has identified that we make, on average, 200 to 300 choices a day related to our eating: what to eat, when to start, when to stop, and how much to eat in between. So a diet simplifies things, but also may teach us little about how to handle the myriad of choices we face every day in a way that is flexible, wise, yet still enjoyable.

Mindfulness can help. It involves slowing down, bringing attention to the moment, and letting go of judgment. You may associate mindfulness with sitting on a cushion in a Zen temple or going on a meditation retreat. These will indeed help cultivate that quality of mind we call mindfulness. But it’s also possible to simply bring mindfulness into your day-to-day life. We all have this ability to simply pause, observe, and respond to choices, rather than react.

Letting go of judgment also means quieting that voice in your head that is constantly saying, “I’m being good … I’m being bad … I want this … I don’t want that.” Appreciate the moment – and then move on.

There are many ways to do this in relation to food, and in doing so, creating a better relationship with food. The following are all elements of mindful eating, and my research and that of others is now showing how they can be cultivated by anyone, bringing a sense of greater balance, well-being, and more pleasure in eating, rather than less. Here are 10 habits practiced by mindful eaters, which I’ve gathered throughout my 25 years of research in the field — and how you can apply them to your own life.

They realize that just because they’re feeling hungry, doesn’t mean they’re actually physically hungry.

Our bodies send us signals that we are physically hungry. Try tuning into the difference between those feelings, such as your stomach growling or feeling a little weak, and other reasons you might want to eat, such as boredom, anxiety, or other emotions. People do differ regarding the strength and clearness of these signals, but everyone can learn to tune into them.

If you’re having a hard time doing so, try eating a light breakfast – and then wait for a couple of hours longer than usual before planning to have lunch. What feelings are you experiencing? How hungry are you? (You can even use a 1-10 scale, going from “none” to “starving.”) This isn’t about finding a perfect level to eat at – that doesn’t exist. It’s about tuning into your own experience, so it can help guide you through the day.

They “ride the waves” of cravings.

Sometimes we crave food when we’re not physically hungry. It may be due to emotions, anger, depression, or some other intense emotion that we’ve “quieted” in the past with food. Or it may be a memory awakened by a smell, the sight of a favorite childhood food, or associations of comfort. Cravings have to do with feelings and thoughts. Picture a wave rising and then falling again. You can fight the wave, and have it crash on top of you, or gently ride it out, “surfing the urge.” Cravings are also like this. They will rise, and then they will fall. If you simply observe these thoughts and feelings mindfully, you may be surprised that they can lose their power after a short while. Research has shown that even people struggling with urges to drink alcohol or smoke can use mindfulness to let these desires go without being overwhelmed by them.

Learn to “ride the waves” of cravings, rather than have them crash on top on you. It may be that you’ll still decide to have some of the ice cream, or a cookie (or two), or stop for a small serving of French fries. But you might be surprised to realize that you can do so without going overboard.

They savor every bite of food, like a wine taster might explore a new wine.

Have you ever eaten something and not even realized what it was? Maybe it was as you were simultaneously chatting at a party, or gobbling down the free sandwich at a meeting. Of course, this will happen. But when you cultivate your mindful tasting ability, you’re awakening your “inner gourmet.” Tune in as fully as possible to the first bite, the second, the third… You may be surprised. Some foods that you thought you loved may not even be so good, while others — when you fully savor them like a wine taster exploring new vintages — may surprise you with their complexity. One of the simplest mindful practices is eating four raisins, one by one, savoring the first three as fully as possible — and then deciding if you even still want the fourth one. You might be surprised.

They keep this in mind: That oh-so delicious food will become less delicious the more they eat it.

Even when we fully savor our food, our taste buds get tired very quickly. And that’s a good thing. When you fully tune into taste, you’ll find that food that you’re craving, or that you occasionally “binge” on, simply doesn’t continue to have much flavor after the first few bites – and will likely lose most of it after about a usual serving size. And eating more will never bring that flavor back. As research is showing, the brain cells connected to the taste buds have mostly stopped firing. You may be aware of the book French Women Don’t Get Fat. France has a culture of eating mindfully. Paul Rozin, at the University of Pennsylvania, found that the French eat less, enjoy it more, and take longer to finish meals — not because they are timing themselves, but perhaps because they are engaging more fully in the experience.

Sometimes being stuffed is worth it — but most of the time it’s not. Mindful eaters know the difference.

Have you ever found yourself eating until your stomach can’t manage one more bite? That’s fullness at a level 10 out of 10! Again, like hunger, you might want to start tuning in to this useful feedback from your stomach. Sometimes you might want to eat quite lightly, because you’re headed out to exercise. Other times, a little more is fine. Or you’re out at a remarkable restaurant or at Thanksgiving dinner, and one more bite really is worth it. But again, start tuning in mindfully. The leftovers will indeed probably taste better the next day. No one (except perhaps the inner voice of your mother) is telling you to clean your plate. And wrapping up the rest of the sandwich (or just tossing it) really may make more sense.

Related: 3 Ways to Defeat Mindless Munching

They avoid the “I’ve blown it” reaction.

You’ve been “good” all day, or perhaps all week. You avoided all those “bad” foods, because of x, y, or z diet. But then you have a brownie at the work party, eat a cookie left out in the kitchen, the list goes on. And you panic. So you say to yourself, “What the ****, I always do this; I’m weak; I have no willpower, so I might as well keep on going.” This is the “I’ve blown it” effect (technically called the Abstinence Violation Effect). This pattern was first shown to occur with people battling drug or alcohol problems, but also is well documented in relation to eating. So while you might still have this type of thought, try instead reassuring yourself, rather than giving in. Perhaps you really are physically hungry, or tired, or want to celebrate. Regardless, you haven’t “blown” it. In our research, people told us that even as the frequency of their binges became less and less, the size of them also became smaller and smaller, as they realized they didn’t have to keep going.

They don’t think of calories as something to be counted. Instead, they think of calories as something they’re simply curious about.

Does even the thought of ‘checking’ calories make you feel anxious? Join the crowd. But mindfully checking them is more like looking at price tags at your favorite store. Even if something is on sale, you still want to know how much it is before you decide to buy it Remember that part of mindfulness is letting go of “judgment.” So, checking to see how much “food energy” is in those crackers you’re craving or in the frozen pizza can be helpful if you do it from a place of curiosity. Calories do count, so it’s better to use your wise mind in keeping in balance around all the marketing and dieting information we have to negotiate, as so clearly laid out by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim in their book, Why Calories Count.

They use their calories wisely.

What does this mean? Always having your five daily fruits and vegetables? Never eating chocolate your coworker offers you? No, it means keeping things in balance, attending to the health benefits of food choices, and spending those calories on foods you enjoy (in moderation, of course). It may mean simply checking in more carefully as to which sandwich at the deli is calling you more right then, or deciding whether you really want an apple or a banana more in the moment. If you check in on this, you might be surprised. You will enjoy it more.

They don’t stress out about eating “bad” food.

As noted, we now know so much about the health effects of food that the information can feel overwhelming. And it may seem that all your favorite foods are ‘bad’ for you. But unless you have a specific food allergy or sensitivity, our bodies can handle most foods in moderation. Avoiding foods out of fear now has a new label: orthorexia. This is taking healthy eating to the extreme. Eating in balance, eating for health, and eating with pleasure don’t have to be at odds with each other. It can instead be done mindfully, and wisely.

They eat mindfully — so they can eat flexibly.

One of the values of learning to eat mindfully is realizing you can trust yourself to be more flexible. You may eat more one day and less another. You might suddenly realize you really do want a large salad for dinner – not because you “should,” but because that’s what’s calling you. You might go for days without any ice cream, and then suddenly decide that’s exactly what you want. And then are able to fully enjoy a small cone of your favorite ice cream, without arguing with yourself the whole time. With mindfulness, comes wisdom – wisdom to know what to do with those 200-plus decisions each day, with self-acceptance and courage rather than self-doubt and fear. And even when mindless eating does appear, it will be healthier and more balanced.

Jean Kristeller, PhD, is a Yahoo Health advisory board member, clinical psychologist, and researcher who has been conducting research on mindful eating and the psychology of meditation for many years, culminating in the development of her program Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT) and co-founding The Center for Mindful Eating (www.tcme.edu). Her NIH-funded research, with a number of colleagues, has supported the value of mindfulness-based treatment for people with binge eating disorder, diabetes, and a broader range of weight-related issues. Click here for more information regarding her background and research, and learn more about her and mindful eating workshops and retreats at www.mb-eat.com.

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