Eating Mindfully

Mindfulness, and more specifically mindful eating, isn't a new concept. In fact, it is centuries old and based on the Eastern concept of mindfulness or “pure awareness.” If you are eating mindfully, you are aware and attentive to all dimensions of eating. It includes mindfulness of the mind, body, thoughts and feelings.

Mindful eating: is about being conscious of why you are eating. Are you hungry? Are you tired? Are you bored? There is no menu or recipes to follow. It's about learning HOW and WHY you eat, and less about WHAT you eat. When you are so closely in touch with what is going on inside, you know the exact moment you are satisfied rather than stuffed or starving. To understand the why, what, when and how we eat, we have to be compassionate and nonjudgmental. This allows us to take a closer look at our behavior.

Mind

• I accept that my eating and weight concerns are creating emotional distress, discomfort, and suffering in my life.
• I choose to accept my body and weight as they are at this moment.
  Committing to accept myself is a choice only I can make.

Body

• I accept that my genetic inheritance strongly influences my body shape and weight.
• I accept how important it is for me to eat mindfully in order to live a healthy life.

Thoughts

• To accept my body and weight does not mean that I am judging them to be perfect
• Acceptance only comes from within myself. I don’t seek it from the outside.

Feelings

• I accept that my worth is not reflected by my weight and shape, but, rather, my worth is determined by who I am as a whole person.
• Acceptance includes rejecting the cultural and social messages I receive about weight.