Let’s admit it, when Remy the Rat in Ratatouille asked his friend to relish each bite of the grape and cheese, we also felt as though we were transported to the hobbled streets of Paris, eating grape and cheese.
Little did we know that Remy was teaching his friend the art of mindful eating.
Mindful eating is an experience of preparing and eating food with all our senses, our heart, and our mind. It is about focusing on what is on front of us, and not being flustered by thoughts about the past or the future. When our attention is entirely on what we are eating, and we recognise the cues from our body, we avoid overeating, and the guilt that comes along with it.
It stems from the Buddhist teachings of Mindfulness – deliberately paying attention and being fully aware of the present, and what is happening both, around us, and within our bodies, minds, and hearts. It emphasizes on making use of all our senses to bring awareness without judgement and criticism.
Unlike dieting, mindful eating is not guided by charts, tables, or scales, although their results can be quite similar. Mindfully eating anything and everything, over mindlessly eating are two poles of the spectrum. One helps enrich our relationship with food, and bring us joy, while the other could often lead to frustration and non-satiety. Mindful eating is a process that is guided by us, based on our inner experiences and satiation. We are our own monitors.
In the recent past, we have all become extremely busy trying to keep up with life, and eating has become but a corollary of existence. Our mealtimes have shortened, and even while we’re eating, we are not paying attention to what is being eaten. It has become an extremely common practice for us to watch the television while we’re eating, or fiddle with our phones constantly. These specks of technology distract us from enjoying and appreciating the food we have in front of us. It may be difficult to come to terms with this, but our Instagram followers will still be there the next day, despite not being notified about what we ate for dinner last night.
Eating in silence is a major aspect of mindful eating. It helps you to slow down, chew properly, and calmly enjoy the food in front of you. As we know, digestion begins with breaking food down in the mouth. Therefore chewing properly can ensure that the enzymes in the saliva are effectively absorbing nutrients from the food we are eating.
Mealtime at home is also a common time for family members to catch up and talk about their day with each other. Although important, these could also be stressful on occasion.
Pragmatically, it may not be possible to have complete silence at the dining table at home, especially with kids around. But attempting to have at least one meal a day in silence, without any distractions, can be very helpful. Simply savouring a few sips of tea mindfully can also be relaxing and enjoyable.
We must also learn to acknowledge our responses to food without judgement or guilt. It is acceptable to not like how something tastes; eating food that is not only nourishing, but also pleasing, is integral to the process of mindful eating.
Like everything else, practice will make us better at mindful eating. So maybe next time when we find ourselves browsing through the refrigerator for a snack, we must stop and evaluate our genuine feelings. Let us ask ourselves whether a snack will truly bring us satisfaction, or are we looking for something else? Are we truly hungry, or are we just bored? Being present in the situation can help relax our need for instant gratification, and we will avoid eating unhealthy or unnecessary food.
Mindful eating is also an attempt to rekindle our relationship with food. From buying fresh fruits and vegetables from the market to preparing them for a meal, the journey in itself can change our outlook about food. If we can take time out of our busy lives and start cooking at least one meal a week for ourselves, we can learn to become more appreciative, grateful, and happy with what we have.
The practice of mindful eating, along with other psychological therapies, has helped people with obesity, binge eating disorders, emotional eating problems, and those who eat in response to external cues. Mindful eating helped them recognise triggers that pushed them to overeat, and eventually gain control over them. Their attitude about eating changed over a period of time, and their quality of life also increased.
For the longest time, we have paid attention to what we eat in terms of healthy or unhealthy food. If we also start thinking about how we eat, our lifestyle will become much more healthy, we will feel satiated, and we will avoid the siren calls of junk food every once in a while.
Authorship: Shreya Agarwal, Student at Flame University, Pune.