This conversation delves into the concept of mindful eating, emphasizing its importance in fostering a healthier relationship with food. Brooke Davis, women’s functional nutritionist and fitness specialist, discusses the benefits of mindful eating, including improved digestion, reduced emotional eating, and better control over hunger cues. Practical steps for implementing mindful eating practices are provided, along with challenges individuals may face and strategies to overcome them. Overall, the discussion highlights the significance of being present during meals and the positive impact it can have on one’s overall well-being.

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Today’s episode is part 2 of intuitive vs educated eating specifically on mindful eating.  I left this for it’s own episode because I wanted to be able to refer people to this who needed it without having to listen to the whole beginning of the episode – that while it’s still a VERY important concept to grasp – you can employ mindful eating with both intuitive and educated eating as well as throughout the whole learning process.  

There are so many benefits to mindful eating, this isn’t just about fat loss of body composition changes, although that is one of the potential benefits it’s not a guarantee if you don’t employ the educated eating portion of it.  But benefits include improved digestion, reduced overeating, less cravings, more control over emotional eating habits, more enjoyment of food as well as supporting stress management.  These are important for everyone but women in perimenopause who are finding that they get bloated over every little thing and have a ton of extra stress on their plate can usually benefit from making this priority. 

So what is mindful eating?  It is basically just what it says.  Being present during your meals, paying full attention to your food when you eat, savoring each bite. 

Too often we are eating completely distracted, we’re watching TV, scrolling social media, working or driving and this can be detrimental for a few reasons.

1. You’re not paying attention to WHAT you’re eating.  Maybe you just grabbed something on the go, is it even good? Is it nourishing? Or are you just trying to shove something in your face and move on with your day?  
2. You’re not paying attention to how MUCH you’re eating, and unless you’ve already portioned it out you will likely eat past the point of fullness.  This can be exacerbated if the foods are processed, hyperpalatable like we touched on in part 1. 
3. The speed at which you eat, the amount you chew, and even your preparation to eat can impact your digestion – the faster you eat, the less you chew and little to no prep and coming in stressed all reduce the ability of your body to digest your food optimally.

Being mindful is really hard these days in general, I’m terribly guilty of it – part of my job requires me to be on social media and I get sucked in just like the rest of you.  I’m thinking about work when I’m with my kids – I get it.  But Mindful eating is really connected to the general principles of mindfulness, which emphasize being fully present, in the moment aware, and non-judgmental.

When we eat mindfully, we’re focusing on experiencing each moment of the meal. This means tuning in to our senses—savoring the taste, texture, and smell of each bite—rather than just eating on autopilot. This allows us to truly appreciate our food and be aware of our body’s natural signals of hunger and fullness, and eat more intuitively (after we’ve been educated of course).

Mindfulness also teaches us to be non-judgmental, which is especially powerful in how we approach food. Rather than labeling foods as “good” or “bad” or feeling guilt around what we eat, you can accept your choices without criticism. Again, there’s a point of education because intuitively you might want to eat the whole cake, but once you learn what a serving is you can decide if eating the second helping is actually going to be serving you or not. And maybe it will, maybe mentally AND physically you need it at that point in time and that’s okay too.  But again, the mindfulness, the education all tied together can really help you let go of restrictive or guilt-based eating patterns and instead approach each meal with curiosity and self-compassion.

Something I’ve changed my mind on as a functional nutritionist is that while food is fuel, it’s also connection, its comfort, it’s something to enjoy so recognizing what you actually need in that moment and what is ultimately going to serve you long term is important.

By staying present and aware during meals, you can build a healthier, more balanced relationship with food—one that nourishes both our body and mind.

Going more in depth with some of the benefits. Number one is improved digestion.  When you smell something delicious, and your mouth waters.  That’s actually the first step in your body preparing for digestion.  So if you sit down, smell your food, get excited for a delicious meal – you’re already off to a good start.  Next is getting into that parasympathetic state.  Living off a cortisol high is all too common for most women, but this is fight or flight and we want to get into the rest and digest state.  So taking a few deep breaths and coming back into the moment can help you do that which will improve your absorption of nutrients and passage of food through your digestive tract.  

Then we get to the chewing.  Our saliva is the first chemical process that helps breakdown the food we eat so that we can get the nutrients out of it, then of course mechanically breaking it down with our teeth helps that process further.  If you notice you have undigested food in your stool, you need to chew better.  You shouldn’t be able to see that.  You might also need some digestive enzymes, but that’s for a different episode.  All of these things are oging to improve digestion, reduce bloating, gas, and promote regular bowel movements. 

Then of course because you’re chewing so much you’re going to actually get to taste your food.  If you’re a good cook or have a partner who is – then you get to enjoy your meals and indulge in one of the many fine things this world has to offer.

Like I mentioned in the last episode, eating slower also helps reduce the likelihood of overeating which can help support weight loss or weight management – especially if you have gone through the education to help re-regulate your body’s hunger and fullness hormones.  

It can help reduce emotional eating.  Instead of walking into the kitchen grabbing the first pint of ice cream or bag of chips you see – maybe instead you walk into the kitchen and take 5 deep breaths.  Ask yourself, what do I actually need right now? Am I actually hungry or am I just bored.  Am I hungry or just stressed? Maybe it is some ice cream…but even if it is, then you can mindfully portion yourself out some ice cream, eat it slowly, savor it and move on. 

I’ve done some overview – but I’m going to walk through a full example of what mindful eating might look like.

• Step 1: Pause Before Eating: First try to set your environment.  Ideally you’re sitting somewhere with your feet on the ground, with little to no distractions. If you have kids this might seem laughable – but do your best.  Turn the TV off, put your phone away, get off the laptop.  Take a moment to breathe in and out through your nose.  Take at least 3 breaths in through your nose with a 4 count, hold for 2 seconds at the top and then out for 6 seconds. This is a great time to practice gratitude.  Where did the food come from? Thank mother earth for creating it, if you’re religious, thank God for providing it, if your farmer grew it, send them a little thanks too.  

The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise:

There’s also the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise that can help you get in the moment before eating. 

• Step 2: Start to go through the senses.  Smell your food, look at the colors, the textures. Notice how it looks before you start eating.

You can use The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique helps you draw attention to your senses.

• 5: Notice five things you can see around you. Take in details you might normally overlook, like the color of your plate, the texture of your food, or the items in your surroundings.
• 4: Notice four things you can touch. This could be the coolness of a glass, the feel of the table under your hands, or the texture of a utensil.
• 3: Notice three things you can hear. Tune into subtle sounds like the clinking of silverware, the hum of the fridge, or the sound of your own breathing.
• 2: Notice two things you can smell. Take a moment to smell the food or any other scents around you, like spices or a warm drink.
• 1: Notice one thing you can taste. If you’re about to eat, maybe it’s the first bite of your meal, or even just the sensation in your mouth.
• Step 3: Eat Slowly: Take smaller bites, chew thoroughly 15-30 times per bite, and put down your fork between bites. Stay focused on the meal, maybe close your eyes.
• Step 4: Go back to the senses: Tune into the taste, texture, and temperature of each bite – think about the flavors and spices that are in it. Is it earthy, smokey, fresh, spicy?  If you’ve ever watched cooking shows, think about what the judges say about those dishes – get creative and really think about what you taste.
• Step 5: Listen to Hunger and Fullness Cues: Pause halfway through the meal and ask yourself how full you feel. Remember it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that it’s full so if you finish your meal before 20 mins is up you might have overeaten. Check in about the 10-15 min mark and see how you’re feeling and how much you’ve eaten.  Do you need to slow down? 

The Raisin Exercise: Mindfully Eating a Single Raisin:

Another exercise you can play with is The Raisin Exercise.

The Raisin Exercise is a classic mindfulness activity that guides you to slow down and pay close attention to a single bite of food. Here’s how it works with a raisin (though you can try it with any small piece of food):

• Appearance: Start by looking closely at the raisin. Notice its color, shape, and texture. Observe all the little folds and details that make it unique.
• Feel: Hold the raisin between your fingers and pay attention to how it feels. Notice its weight, texture, and any stickiness or smoothness.
• Smell: Bring the raisin to your nose and take in its scent, paying attention to any aromas you might notice.
• Taste: Slowly place the raisin in your mouth, but don’t chew right away. Focus on how it feels on your tongue. Finally, begin chewing very slowly, noticing every change in taste and texture as you chew.

This exercise helps you become fully immersed in the act of eating, encouraging you to slow down and appreciate every bite. It’s a great way to bring mindfulness to meals and can be incredibly grounding, especially when you’re really busy and stressed.  Your mind can’t be two places at once, which is another reason breathwork is so great.  

Challenges:

Like I said earlier – I know some of you are listening to this being like yea that actually sounds amazing to eat a meal sitting down without distractions, are you going to come take my kids, are you going to get my work done for me?  Believe me, I get it.  Like everything I talk about here, this doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to be every meal to be something that you work on.  Think of it more as a practice.  Do it when you can, when it’s accessible to you and maybe all you can do is 5 deep breaths and some gratitude before you eat but then you actually have to get back to work…that’s better than nothing!  

When it comes to emotional eating, the first step is identifying what your habits are, then working to replace and shift them.   like I said in the earlier podcast I actually did a live training recently in our free community so I’ll link that below make sure to check it out if that’s something you struggle with eventually I’ll do a podcast on it.

One of the hardest might be social situations.  Eating out, talking, being pressured with certain foods or drinks, so maybe here the first thing you do is go into the bathroom and take a few seconds to ground yourself.  Usually you’re going to be sitting so that’s easy but one of the easiest ways I think to eat mindfully while socializing is just to put your fork down between bites.  It gives you a chance to chat a little, it’s a physical cue for you to mentally follow.  That and/or taking small sips of water every few bites.  If it’s a snacking event, get one small plate of things you enjoy, enjoy them and be done.  Find a sparkling beverage or water cup to occupy your hand for the rest of the event to avoid too much mindless snacking.

Final Thoughts:

To sum this up, I know this is not an easy thing to do, at this point our habits are pretty well ingrained in our brains, life is busy but change is absolutely possible, and this can be a very powerful tool that is very worth doing-  so give yourself some grace but maybe also some sticky notes to help you remember to employ what you’ve learned here today and as always, just do your best!

Coach Brooke Davis Links:

Website: elysianwomen.org   

LinkedIn: Brooke Davis – Owner – Davis Fitness

Facebook: Brooke Davis, CPT 

Instagram: Brooke Davis  (@brooke_elysian)

Free Community: Women’s Fitness Simplified: Lean down, tone up, build confidence!

Book a Discovery Call: https://scheduler.zoom.us/brooke-davis-mjzn71/discovery-call

Listen to our podcast about macros: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113005/episodes/14960330

Get your personalized diet plan: https://brookedavis.typeform.com/to/XBmAYF6Q