Mindful Eating Research Paper

Mindful eating is not a new concept. It is about listening to what our body is telling us about our hunger and satisfaction. It is about abundance and not deprivation. Ask yourself the question. Am I really hungry? Then listen to what your body tells you. When you really get in touch with what is going on in your body and your mind it becomes much easier to know in that moment when you feel full and satisfied or when your desire to eat is more about how you are feeling in that moment. It is about understanding why, what, when, where and how we eat. It is about being compassionate and non-judgmental allowing us to look more closely at our behaviours.

People eat for a variety of reasons and these reasons can often be very complex and difficult to
understand. We often find that people eat when they are alone or for comfort when feeling upset, while others eat to be sociable and may prefer to go out to a restaurant to eat. Some people eat at particular times throughout the day while others eat out of habit or because it serves them in some way.

Recognising when we need to eat is one of the most natural ways in which our bodies communicate with us. Sadly over time we have come to ignore and manipulate these natural cues usually caused by external factors. Such cues can range from our desire to be a certain weight, our need to conform to a certain image, our belief that we are not acceptable as we are or by using food to comfort us. Allowing this mind-body separation prevents us from really getting in touch with our inner knowing and drives us to seek information and guidance from external sources rather than trusting our own innate wisdom.

Mindful eating is not a diet.
It involves paying close attention to the mind and observing anything that distracts attention away from the eating experience. This can be through your thoughts, by just watching while the mind gets distracted without attaching to those thoughts. It is also about being aware of what's happening around you and within you. Is the TV on, are the children running around screaming or are you eating alone. Paying close attention to the food itself, how it looks, smells, tastes, is it hot or cold etc. How are you feeling, sad, happy, anxious or depressed? Do you really feel hungry, where do you feel the hunger, are you getting full, is the food satisfying your hunger? Really being aware of what is happening in your body. Mindful eating just asks that you observe all this without judgment or criticism. Here are ten benefits of mindful eating:

It's not something new. It's just something we have forgotten how to do. No matter what age or sex, you can learn to eat mindfully
It's not a diet. Following a diet means you are trusting that someone else knows better than you. Through mindful eating you will learn to trust yourself and only eat what you know your body needs and in the process lose
weight
It's a long term solution that you can follow forever with the bonus of weight loss
It gives you permissionto eat what you want and includes all foods
It's empoweringand can bring about many positive changes in your life, such as improved self-esteem, increased confidence and more self belief
It's an easy processto follow with no rules or restrictions that can make you feel deprived or "bad"
It's a mind-body approachinvolving the whole body which includes our thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.
It promotes self-compassionand self-acceptance which stops us wishing we were different
It's non-judgmental and can help people change their behaviour at their own pace
It workswhich means people can manage their weight easily and will continue with the process