Redefining Obesity

Mindful Eating

Pay attention to your body and what it wants.  Then enjoy it!

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Mindful eating is a kind of anti-diet.  It is a non-restrictive philosophy of paying attention to your body's hunger cues, nutritional needs, and likes/dislikes without judgment.  Mindful eating practice can go a long way toward making peace with your body if you have spent years on restrictive diets.  

 

The practice can also help with awareness around when you eat out of non-physical hunger.  What is going on when you feel like eating?  Are you actually hungry?  Are you eating for your mind or your body?  Paying attention to these small things without judgement can give a huge amount of insight into our physical and mental well-being.

Resources

• Mindful Eating: How to really enjoy your meal - Jan Chozen (Psychology Today)

• The Principles of Mindful Eating - The Center for Mindful Eating

• Mindful Eating as Food for Thought - Jeff Gordiner (The New York Times)

• Stress Reduction and Mindful Eating Curb Weight Gain Among Overweight Women - Jeffrey Norris (UCSF)

• Mindful Eating vs. Obesity - Amy Spies (Huffington Post)

• Pilot study: Mindful Eating and Living (MEAL): Weight, eating behavior, and psychological outcomes associated with a mindfulness-based intervention for people with obesity - Jeanne Dalen, Bruce Smith, Brian Shelley, Anita Lee Sloan, Lisa Leahigh, Debbie Begay