Mindfulness & nutrition - part 3 - tips for everyday life

5/14/2019 by Miriam Stangs

Don’t worry, this article doesn’t bring up aliens and raisins again. It's about ways to build mindfulness around food into your everyday life.

After describing the details of mindfulness & nutrition in my previous articles (part 1 & part 2), I figured you might like some practical examples and exercises to try. Suggestion 1: Focus intently on the first two bites of a meal, no matter where you are. This is also a great way to simply bring mindfulness into your busy everyday life. So even when you go out to eat or are grabbing lunch in the cafeteria or breakroom, take a moment to concentrate on your breathing, consciously inhaling and exhaling once or twice. Suggestion 2: When you find yourself wanting to eat, pause and ask yourself a few questions. What do I need right now? Do I feel hungry? Am I feeling stressed? Do I want to relieve some sort of tension? If so, how does the tension feel? Can I assign a feeling to it? Do I care how I’m feeling right now? If not, why not? What would happen if I rested for a few minutes? Or if I took a short walk? If I do eat something, can I enjoy it and do it mindfully? Suggestion 3: Start small! Eat mindfully just one meal a day. If possible, decide which one in advance. Bonus points if you choose a meal where you’ll have a pleasant atmosphere without distractions such as music, television or too much hustle and bustle in the area. Take your time and pay attention to taste, smell, consistency, temperature, the aroma of the food. In the beginning, eat as quietly as possible to increase your concentration and perception. It sounds like a lot, but doing this probably won’t take more than 15 to 20 minutes.

Mindfulness & nutrition diary

Another tip is to keep a mindfulness & nutrition diary for a little while. For example, these questions can give you a great place to start. Breakfast

Did you eat carefully and at a reasonable pace?
What thoughts did you notice while eating?
Did you have any particularly pleasant (or unpleasant) feelings that you noticed?
Did you feel satisfied after the meal? How was your energy level?
Did you enjoy your meal?

Lunch

Did you eat alone, or with company?
Were there any automatic thoughts about your food?
What feelings did you notice?
How long did you spend eating?
Did you feel satisfied?

Dinner

How big were your portions?
Did you notice any distractions during your meal?
What was there atmosphere where you ate?
Did you appreciate and enjoy your meal?
Did you feel satisfied?

Snack

How are you feeling right now?
Do you need food, or is there something else driving your craving?

These are just a few thoughts and ideas to help you put everything we’ve talked about into practice. With that, be proud of your new approach to eating mindfully and above all, enjoy the food!

The mySugr website does not provide medical or legal advice. mySugr blog articles are not scientific articles, but intended for informational purposes only.
Medical or nutritional information on the mySugr website is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a physician or health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Miriam Stangs

Miriam is a diabetes consultant DDG (German Diabetes Association) and a qualified diet and nutrition consultant VFED (Association for Nutrition and Dietetics). She works as a diabetes coach at mySugr and takes care of children with diabetes mellitus type 1 in a pediatric clinic on a part-time basis.

She found her vocation while studying ecotrophology with focus on nutrition at the HAW - University of Applied Sciences in the beautiful city of Hamburg. She discovered diabetes mellitus in a practice for diabetology and has been advising people with all types of diabetes ever since.

Miriam's home is the Bergische Land in Germany. In her free time, she goes on hikes and searches for forest and meadow monsters with her dog.