5 Easy Mindful Eating Tips To Slow Down Eating

The most common nutrition goal I hear from new clients is “I want to improve my eating habits”.

While some may jump right into a purge of their kitchen cupboards or hop into a restrictive diet plan, the most commonly successful mindful eating tool that my clients love is eating slowly.

Did you know it tastes the body roughly 20 minutes to signal to the brain that it is satiated? When you eat more slowly, you’ll be more in tune with your body.

Here are 5 Mindful Eating Tips You Can Do Right Now!

1) Do Something Between Bites

Pausing between bites extends the duration of your meal time and gives your body enough time to accurately signal and process satiety. Some of the things you can do between bites include:

• Putting down your fork

• Taking a sip of water

• Taking three deep breaths

• Asking someone a question at the table

2) Eat Without Distractions

Try to avoid eating while driving, watching TV, or scrolling your phone. Instead, eat at a table without distractions. This practice redirects your attention away from distractions and towards your physiological and emotional hunger cues. When you’re actively searching and aware of these cues, you’ll be able to more accurately identify satiety, how certain foods make your body feel, and make more mindful eating choices.

3) Thoroughly Chew Your Food

Not only does thoroughly chewing your food slow down your eating, but it also plays a vital role in digestion! When your food is thoroughly chewed up, your body can extract nutrients better and the food moves through your digestive system better.

4) Notice What Affects Your Eating Speed

Consider factors like:

• Who you eat with

• When you eat

• What you eat

• Where you eat

For example, you may find that when you’re having a stressful work day at the office and you’re feeling pressured to complete a project, you quickly devour your lunch before your supervisor even notices you’ve left your desk.

On the other hand, you may find that when you’re out for dinner with your besties, you eat a lot slower because you’re chatting it up, laughing, and enjoying good company.

Once you’ve made some observations, ask yourself:

• What can you do to improve on what is working well?

• What could you change, given what is not working well?

5) Match The Slowest Eating Person In The Room

Become aware of those eating around you and mimic the slowest eating person in the room. This will give you a tangible example of a speed to follow.

Refine Your Practice

As you move through this journey of mindful eating, adopt an experimental mindset and adapt your practice as you move along.