15 Simple Tips from the Book Mindful Eating

5 Jan

“Small moments of awareness can change the way we eat, one bite at a time.”

This article is based on a book I read a while ago — Mindful Eating by Jan Chozen Bays. It is filled with practical and meaningful insights about eating with awareness. What I’m sharing here is just a small part of what I learned.

The book has so much more to offer if you choose to explore it. I truly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand mindful eating gently and build a kinder relationship with food.

1. Present Eating

Mindful eating means slowing down and paying attention while we eat. Instead of rushing, we can notice the colours, smells, textures, and flavours in each bite.

When we are present, we enjoy our food more and feel satisfied.

2. Kind Eating

Mindful eating is about being gentle with yourself. Instead of blaming yourself for what you eat, you try to eat with kindness.

You listen to your body — when it is hungry and when it is full — without feeling guilty. This helps you stop judging yourself and start treating yourself with respect.

3. Gentle Tasting

With mindfulness, we can even eat foods we don’t really like and still learn something from the experience. Instead of reacting quickly, we slow down and notice the taste, texture, and how it feels in our body.

This helps us understand our likes and dislikes better and makes trying new foods feel less stressful.

4. Taste Fully

When we don’t really taste our food, we may keep eating without noticing. Our stomach becomes full, but our mind still feels unsatisfied because we didn’t enjoy the flavours.

This is why we can feel stuffed yet still want more. Slowing down and tasting each bite helps both body and mind feel satisfied.

5. Mindful Mouth

If we want to feel satisfied with what we eat, our mind has to pay attention to what is happening in the mouth. When we notice the taste, texture, and flavour, we enjoy the food more and feel fulfilled.

In other words, if you want a “party in the mouth,” the mind needs to be invited — awareness is what makes the experience complete.

Habits We Carry

6. Habit Awareness

Sometimes we act in certain ways just because we learned those habits as children — for example, finishing our plate even when we are full or feeling guilty for leaving food behind.

When we do this, we are not choosing for ourselves; we are just repeating the past. So we need to notice these habits and eat in a way that feels right for us now.

7. Gentle Change

Through small moments of mindfulness, we can slowly change old habits. When we pause and notice what we are doing, we stop acting on automatic patterns.

These tiny choices create a new direction inside us — a gentle movement toward better health and balance.

8. Hunger Habit

People who never eat breakfast often don’t feel hungry in the early morning because their body is used to not eating at that time. Their hunger signals start later.

But people who eat breakfast every day usually feel hungry in the morning because their body expects food. This shows that hunger can become a habit trained by our routine.

Influences & Triggers

9. Visual Temptation

Our eyes can sometimes control our eating more than our hunger. If food looks colourful or tempting, we may want to eat it even when we are not truly hungry.

This shows how our eyes can override our mouth and body. With mindfulness, we can pause and check if we really want it or if we are just tempted by how it looks.

10. Noise Overeating

When the place around us is very noisy, we may eat more food and drink faster without realising it. The loud sounds cover the small noises of our chewing and sipping, so we don’t notice ourselves eating.

Because of this, we lose track and may continue eating or drinking more than we need.

11. Taste Preference

Mouth hunger is the mouth’s desire for pleasurable sensations, like wanting something crunchy, creamy, spicy, or sweet. This feeling is different for everyone.

Some people enjoy crunchy foods, others like soft or spicy ones. These preferences come from our memories, habits, and culture. Understanding our mouth hunger helps us choose food on purpose, not just out of habit.

12. Cultural Taste

The difference between what we find delicious or revolting often comes from conditioning. Our family and culture teach us what is “good” or “normal” to eat and drink.

These lessons shape our taste. A food that feels comforting to one person may feel strange to someone else. Our likes and dislikes are mostly learned, not fixed.

Return to the Body

13. Treat Yourself

Try making a mindful meal once a week for yourself as if you are a guest. Choose a simple dish, set the table nicely, and eat without distractions.

Taste each bite slowly and enjoy it with care. This helps us remember to treat ourselves gently.

14. Handful Moments

Try eating your whole meal with your hands. Wash your hands before and after, as we do in many traditional homes, to keep the practice clean and respectful.

Using our hands helps us feel the food’s texture and temperature, which naturally slows us down. This creates a closer connection with the meal and brings gentle mindfulness to eating.

15. Stomach Signals

The stomach doesn’t care about flavour; it cares about volume. When it becomes too full and stretched, it signals discomfort or even pain.

The mouth may enjoy the taste, but the stomach reacts only to how full it is. This reminds us to listen to the body, not just the taste.

I hope you found something helpful in this article. Even one small idea can make a difference. Thank you for reading, and I wish you a gentle and mindful eating journey ahead.

Stay tuned! I’ll be sharing more in upcoming articles.

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