Mindful Eating Tip: Put Down That Fork!

Mindful Eating—also sometimes referred to as Intuitive Eating—is one of the things being talked about a lot lately in the nutrition world.

I once watched a webinar about Mindful Eating as part of my continuing education for my ACE Personal Trainer Certification, and it was very interesting!

So…what is Mindful Eating, and how have so many of us (✋🏻) become Mindless Eaters?

Here’s what ACE had to say about Mindful Eating and Mindless Eating during the webinar:

Mindful Eating is…

• Being aware of the foods you choose to eat because, let’s be honest, everything you put into your mouth is a choice!
• Being in tune with your body and what foods make it feel healthy or unhealthy.
• Paying attention to how you eat: Slow, fast, distracted, etc.
• Keeping an eye on how you think about food. Do you view it as fuel or as a solution to other problems?

Mindless Eating, on the other hand, is…

• Not paying attention to what you’re doing while you’re eating.
• Doing other things while eating.
• Eating because of stress or other triggers.
• Being distracted while eating.
• Not making healthy eating a priority.
• Chewing food rather than tasting food—there is a difference!

As I watched this webinar, I realized that I can easily fall into the Mindless Eating group:

• Doing other things while I eat, like working or watching one of the multitude of screens available or doing other stuff.
• Not really paying attention to the speed of my eating. My mom used to sometimes ask me while eating, “Are you going to a fire?”
• Not really tasting and enjoying my food, except for chocolate—I ALWAYS taste and enjoy chocolate! 😉

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but sometimes, before I’ve even chewed and swallowed a bite, I’ve got the next one ready to go! So, here’s my #1 and so-easy-to-accomplish Mindful Eating tip:

Put that fork (or spoon) down in between each bite

And don’t pick it up with your next bite until that current bite is well tasted (read: chewed) and enjoyed.

The bonus to this tip? You’ll actually eat less because you’re eating slower, which means you’ll get those feelings of “I’m full, I don’t need any more food” sooner AND not overeat and feel stuffed. Which can be quite uncomfortable.

And if you’re trying to shed some pounds, this is definitely a win-win!

I’ve been trying this for several weeks now, and I’ve been pretty successful, but it does involve paying a lot of attention to what I’m doing while I’m eating AND constantly reminding myself to put that fork (or spoon) down. It’s so easy to fall into that old habit of not really focusing on what I’m doing while fueling my body—eating bite after bite without really even realizing it! And when this happens, I’m definitely not tasting and enjoying my food.

My takeaways:

• When I do remember to put that fork down and really taste and enjoy my food, I feel fuller sooner.
• It allows me the space to be grateful for every bite I’m eating. Because I am so blessed to be able to eat the foods I get to eat every day!

Wanna’ give it a try? Let me know how it goes!