Mindful eating to regulate food intake
Mindful eating means eating with attention on the taste of the food and on the body's hunger and fullness signals, which helps regulate food intake.
Remember
Eat slowly, remove distractions and notice the signals of fullness as you eat. Skipping meals is a restriction strategy, not mindful eating.
Mindful eating applies mindfulness to food: it means giving deliberate attention to the present moment, without judgement, while eating. The eater attends to taste, portion size and the body's hunger and fullness signals (also called cues). This helps a person notice what triggers eating and interrupt automatic eating.
In practice, that means eating slowly, taking away distractions such as screens or books, and choosing a smaller plate with proper portions. Satiety (the feeling of being full) takes a little time to develop, so eating fast makes it easy to miss the right point to stop. When attention is on a screen, fullness signals are easily missed and a packet of snacks can disappear without being tasted.
Mindfulness seems to work by raising awareness of internal cues, such as hunger and fullness, rather than other cues such as stress, boredom or the sight of food.
Mindful eating is a skill, not a diet, and it changes how a person eats rather than banning foods. A balanced diet is still just as important as portion control, and losing weight is no use if it leaves a person without enough of the key vitamins or minerals.
Key facts
- What it is
- paying attention to the taste and portion of the food and to hunger and fullness signals as you eat.
- How to do it
- eat slowly, remove distractions such as screens or books, and choose a smaller plate with proper portions.
- Why it helps
- eating quickly while distracted makes it easy to overlook fullness cues, so a meal can end before fullness is noticed.
- Not a diet
- it is a skill rather than a diet, so it changes how a person eats and does not need foods banned.
- Balance
- a balanced diet is still needed, because losing weight is no use if it leaves a person without enough of the key vitamins or minerals.
Exam traps
- Skipping breakfast to cut calories does not build awareness of fullness, and in one trial the missed energy was made up by about 10% more intake later in the day.
- Strict calorie counting and weighing every meal follow external targets, whereas mindful eating asks a person to notice and respond to the internal hunger and fullness cues.
- Ending a meal when a timer runs out sets the stop by the clock, not by taste and fullness cues, though slowing down is part of mindful eating.
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