Mindful Eating Dietitian Nutritionist in the St. Louis Area, Missouri, and Illinois
Get Mindful Eating Strategies from Registered Dietitian Nutritionists and Improve Your Relationship with Food and Body
What is mindful eating?
Mindful eating is the practice of paying full attention to the overall experience of eating, utilizing all your senses without judgment or distraction and being fully present in the eating experience.
How to practice mindful eating?
As non-diet dietitian nutritionists, we offer online or in-person medical nutrition therapy, recovery coaching for eating disorders, online support groups, and nutrition counseling to help our clients improve their relationship with food and body.
A few examples of practicing mindful eating include:
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Pausing before Eating: Take a look at your plate, and notice the colors and the different foods on the plate.
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Eating without Distractions: Whether you are with family, friends, or alone, make eating a priority. Far too often we juggle the act of eating with helping our kids with homework, getting caught up with work emails, and more. Turn off the TV, put away your cell phone, and simply eat. Science has shown us that what makes us healthy is not only what we eat but also how we eat.
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Engaging all Five Senses: Pay attention to the aromas, flavors, and textures of your meal. Savoring food supports healthy digestion.
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Tuning into Hunger and Fullness: Eating mindfully will help you move toward intuitive eating, and learning to trust your body again.
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Chewing Slowly and Mindfully: Take your time!
Listening to your body, being non-judgmental, and reflecting on the experience of eating will make a difference in your overall health and the relationship you have with food and your body. This can take practice.
How to help nutrition clients develop mindful eating practices:
The complicated relationship you may have developed with food and your body has taken years; likewise, learning to implement mindful eating can take time.
Not all of the above practices need to be met to be more mindful during meals and snacks. Begin focusing on one or two of the above techniques to improve your overall relationship with food and self.
Give yourself time to learn to appreciate and find pleasure when eating again. When you do, you are not only supporting healthy eating behaviors, but you're also giving your body a much-needed dopamine boost.
Finding pleasure in eating:
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Can connect you to your family traditions, heritage, and flavors
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Will help you digest and metabolize food quicker (this is true!)
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Pushes back against the diet culture
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Increases social connection
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Provides your body with emotional nourishment
How can mindful eating help the LOCE (Loss of Control Over Eating)?
Mindful eating can help with LOCE by reducing stress and tension around the eating experience. It allows for more awareness around food intake, being able to recognize potential triggers, facilitating emotional regulation, and allowing one to really savor the eating experience by focusing on the taste, texture, and aroma of the food. It’s important to note that mindful eating is a practice that takes time knowing that the loss of control of eating did not happen overnight and it will not get better overnight either.