Mindful Eating

Learning to eat and savor meals with more presence of mind offers not only more enjoyment and satiety but also more productive ways of reaching any health-minded goals with gentleness and acceptance—all while lovingly reminding ourselves that we are already perfect in this very moment.

Transcript

My name is Greg McBride.

This is a meditation on mindful eating.

And this is something I know quite a bit about because at one time in my life I weighed so much for a long number of years that I would actually get out of breath on the phone.

That's how heavy I was.

And quite frankly how out of touch with my eating I was.

I wasn't very mindful in those days.

I would often even say to friends,

I don't know why I'm as heavy as I am or I don't understand why I'm gaining weight because I don't eat that much.

And the truth of the matter is I wasn't really present during those times.

When I would binge it was often as if I wasn't there.

I wasn't present.

I wasn't mindful.

I would be in sort of a trance.

I had different routines down where I would go and buy different foods.

Sometimes it would require a great deal of thinking.

One of my go-to's would be to go to a fast food restaurant.

And whether I was in the drive-thru or going in to order,

I would pretend to be ordering off a list for a bunch of people because I thought somehow the person taking the order might not think that I was going to eat all of the food that I was going to eat.

So there was obviously some thinking going on during those years but not a lot of presence.

Not a lot of mindfulness.

And I remember that when I would get my food back home,

Which was my favorite place to eat where nobody else could see me do it,

I would turn on the TV and have other distractions going on.

So that again,

Even though I had picked out this food that I wanted to eat,

I wasn't really present when I was eating it.

I wasn't really enjoying it to its maximum potential.

So being mindful while we eat is a gift that we give ourselves.

And this is a meditation that you can use at the beginning of your day or before a meal or however you see fit to fit it into your life.

However it might be useful.

I know that these are crazy times.

I know that we all have crazy schedules.

And we often rob time from ourselves.

And part of that is robbing time from eating.

Whether we're standing at a kitchen counter or trying to feed our families and not really thinking about our nutrition or our sustenance.

We don't take time before a meal because there is no time.

At least that's what we tell ourselves.

But we really are important enough to take a few minutes to get mindful.

And that doesn't mean having to listen to this meditation every time before you eat or maybe another mindfulness meditation that just brings you to presence.

But it can be about taking a seat and taking a few slow deep breaths and really just getting in touch with those breaths.

Feeling the seat.

Feeling the space around you and maybe hearing the sounds that are nearby.

And then going in to prepare your meal or your family's meal.

We really are worth taking this time.

Especially if we're on a journey to improve our health.

Whether that means maybe gain some healthy weight or lose some excess weight.

Or stay fit as we get a little older.

Whatever it is.

We can meet those goals more by taking the necessary time.

Getting mindful before we eat is really a gift and really worth the little bit of time that it takes in the long run.

Let's take a seat.

Or you can be standing.

But I invite you to be still.

Maybe that means laying back.

And I want you to just settle in.

Try and sit.

If you're sitting,

Sit with an upright back.

Which benefits your breathing.

Put both feet on the floor or on the ground.

Wherever you happen to be.

Feel the solidity of the earth or the floor below you.

Feel the comfort of your seat if you're sitting.

Just feel that right now.

Just be present with me.

Let's take three breaths.

And as we breathe in,

We're going to think in.

And as we breathe out,

We're going to think out.

With a little hold at the top and a little hold at the bottom.

And this is just going to bring our bodies and minds into sync.

Let's begin.

Breathing in.

Thinking in.

Maybe holding at the top that little bit of space.

And then breathing out.

Thinking out.

Once again,

Let's breathe in.

Hold it at the top just for a second.

And breathe out.

Thinking out.

Just really settling into whatever position we're in right now.

Dedicating ourselves to this moment.

One last time,

Let's breathe in.

Thinking in.

Hold it at the top.

Breathe out.

Thinking out.

And now just let your breath return to normal.

But try and stay present.

Try and stay in this moment.

If something pops up in your mind,

Something on your to-do list,

Something from the past,

Something you're concerned about in the future,

Whatever it might be.

See it as a cloud.

It's okay that it's there.

But just see it as a cloud.

Let it pass by and come back to your breath.

Let that be your guiding force right now.

And let's become more aware of our bodies.

Starting at the crown of our head.

Emphasis on crown because we are all royalty.

And then let's move down.

Just kind of thinking about our foreheads,

Our eyebrows,

Our eyes,

Which may or may not be closed.

Our nose.

There's that breath again.

Our mouths.

Let's move down to our neck.

Move into our shoulders.

Maybe roll our shoulders back.

Think about our posture again.

Try and keep that spine straight,

Which benefits our breathing.

Move down to the chest.

What does your chest feel like right now?

How's your heart?

I know that I carry a lot of anxiety and stress,

So when I think about it,

I'm like,

Oh wow,

There's a little storm raging in there.

Even if that storm is just my to-do list.

So just kind of breathe into that.

We're breathing into all the parts of our bodies right now.

Let's move down to our stomachs.

We're going to come back here because our stomachs have a lot to do with mindful eating.

Let's move down to the groin area,

Whether we're standing or sitting.

Just kind of see if you can pick up the sensations that matter to you right now.

Move down to our thighs,

Our knees,

Our calves,

Our shins,

Our ankles.

Can you be aware of your ankles right now?

Move into your feet.

Maybe wiggle your toes a little bit.

Press them against the ground or the floor.

Wherever it is you happen to be.

We're still breathing with these.

If a thought pops in,

We're just seeing it pass by.

We acknowledge it.

We're not angry at the thought.

There's no shame for thinking the thought.

But whenever we catch ourselves,

Let's come back to our breath.

Come back to this moment.

Let's move back up the body,

Acknowledging the stomach again.

Hello,

Stomach.

We love you.

And then move back into your heart center.

And again,

Just take some breaths.

I want us to think about our hunger right now.

And that has as much to do with the stomach as it does with the mind.

So depending on when you're doing this meditation,

It might be just before a meal,

Might be at the beginning of a day,

Whatever it is.

Think about the next time you're going to eat.

Maybe it's right after this or maybe it's in a few hours.

What is calling you to eat?

Is it the clock?

Is it that,

Oh,

We normally eat lunch at this time?

Or is it hunger?

Is it knowing that your body needs some nourishment?

And it's okay to admit that,

You know what,

I'm going to make a certain something,

A certain food that I really like.

And it really helps.

It really excites me to taste the food.

That's great.

As long as we're mindful about it.

Again,

There's no denial here.

There's no restriction.

We want to nourish our bodies.

We want to love our bodies.

So think about your next meal and what's drawing you to it.

And now think about how hungry you are.

Maybe give it a scale of one to ten.

Are you a three?

If you're a three,

Maybe you want to wait a little bit to eat.

Or maybe not.

It's up to you.

We're just being mindful.

We're being mindful of the choices we make with food.

We're not on autopilot anymore.

Are you going to have a full meal?

Maybe if you're at a three or four,

You'll have more of a snack.

Or maybe you're ravenous.

Maybe you've been doing some physical exercise or taking care of the kids,

Doing some gardening.

Maybe it's been a while since you've had your last meal.

Maybe you're clocking in at an eight or a nine on our hunger scale.

And so you know you're going to have a full meal.

And again,

That is excellent.

There are no wrong answers here.

Now before we think about the food itself,

Let's think about the prep.

Let's think about setting the table.

Are we going to eat at the counter?

I know that's easy sometimes.

We're just grabbing something and bringing it to our workstation in our homes.

Or maybe as we supervise the kids,

Whatever it is,

We're eating on the run,

Right?

Like we've got that down to a science.

But what about actually setting down a napkin for yourself?

Something that you would do for your favorite guest when they came over.

You could even pull out some of the fancier dishes.

You don't have to eat out of the Tupperware.

Get out some nice silverware.

Don't have to eat with a toothpick or with your hands.

I acknowledge for myself that there are going to be times that I have to eat on the run.

There are going to be times that the days dictate that.

But for the times that they don't,

It can be really great to surprise even your family.

Get out some really nice dishes,

Some really nice silverware.

Make them ask.

Are we having guests?

We are the guests.

We are the royalty.

We started at the crown on my head.

Remind them you are royalty.

So now,

Picture yourself preparing the food.

You don't have to nibble while you do it.

You could.

Maybe the recipe requires it.

Maybe you're warming something up in the microwave.

Maybe you're making a sandwich.

But prepare the food.

Put some love into it.

Put some energy into the food you're preparing.

We want it to be nutritious.

We want it to sustain our bodies.

We want it to be delicious.

Again,

That's an important factor of eating.

That's what being mindful during a meal is all about.

Really allowing ourselves to enjoy it.

So imagine being really present while you're fixing the food.

You don't have to necessarily be thinking of the 10 other things that you have to do.

If you need to pause and send yourself an email on your mobile,

Do it.

But then go back to being present,

Fixing your meal.

And then envision yourself sitting down for the food.

What is it like to not be standing at the counter?

What is it like to not be rushing through the meal?

What is it like to sit down and take a breath?

Maybe take a moment to do three breaths thinking in and out,

To get mindful,

To be there,

To be all in.

And then to be eating and enjoying the food.

Maybe there's music playing in the background.

But maybe not.

Maybe there's just silence.

Maybe the TV isn't on.

Maybe you don't have your phone open to email.

Maybe you're not reading the digital version of the newspaper on your phone.

You're just sitting there.

And I know for me sometimes this feels funny.

Like to just sit there with my plate.

What am I,

Crazy?

But it really can become a reverent ceremony where you're using silverware,

Cutting a bite,

And you're bringing it to your mouth.

And think about the sensations.

Is the food warm and the fork or whatever utensil you're using,

Is that cold?

What are the sensations like?

See yourself chewing.

See yourself enjoying every bite.

That's what mindfulness is all about,

Being fully present.

And also eating to satisfaction,

But not to excess.

And we're all supermodels,

Right?

We are royalty and supermodels.

Our lists go on and on.

So we don't have to necessarily finish every bite.

Or when we're preparing the food,

We can be mindful enough that we go with maybe a little bit of a smaller portion than we might normally eat if we are trying to shed some of those excess pounds.

Again,

It's all about your individual journey.

It's all about knowing that in this moment you are perfect.

Your body is perfect.

Everything about you is beautiful.

But from that place,

Some really positive changes can happen.

Some changes that are worthwhile.

Some changes that excite us.

That's what it should be about.

Motivation.

Happiness.

Not deprivation.

So we're going to choose foods that reflect that.

We're going to choose healthy foods.

That doesn't mean they don't have to be delicious.

That doesn't mean that they can't be rich.

But we can enjoy them in portions that fuel our body and don't leave us feeling full or sad or shameful afterwards.

Again,

This all comes back to the mindfulness.

So see yourself conquering that meal,

Enjoying it,

Eating to the point where you're satisfied,

Eating to the point where you're comfortably full but not stuffed.

You're chewing.

You're swallowing.

You are all in.

And then you're finished.

And you can just picture yourself for a moment wrapping up the leftovers or maybe doing the dishes,

Maybe putting dishes in the dishwasher,

Maybe giving them a quick rinse.

We all have busy lives.

There's ins and outs,

All sorts of different ways of doing this.

But again,

The key is to be mindful and to really love yourself during every moment of the eating experience.

And remembering that you are not going to live your best life down the road after meeting a certain goal.

That you are going to live your best life from this moment on.

You deserve it.

It doesn't matter what you weigh.

You deserve to be happy.

And you're beautiful.

You know it.

Let the rest of the world know it by seeing that sparkle in your eyes.

And our food is going to reflect that.

Our choices are going to reflect that.

Our being fully present during a meal can reflect that.

And again,

It doesn't mean it's going to happen every meal.

There's going to be times we remember to be mindful,

Times we don't.

And that's great.

It's perfect.

You are perfect.

And once the meal is finished,

Once things are put away,

We see ourselves knowing that we can eat again when we're hungry.

Maybe we chose a meal that's a little lighter in calories,

A little healthier.

But we know that down the road we can treat ourselves.

Again,

It's all about being mindful and making choices and being completely in touch with that.

We don't have to overeat to enjoy our food.

And in fact,

By not overeating,

We're going to enjoy it more.

No restrictions,

No limitations.

Just choices that reflect our healthy attitude and the love of ourselves.

You are the picture of success.

See yourself right now.

Again,

In this moment,

Whether you're sitting,

Whether you're standing,

Whether you're laying down,

See yourself as you are now.

You care enough about your body,

About your health,

That you're listening to this,

That you're making a commitment to be a little bit more mindful,

Or a lot more mindful,

However it works out.

You get a gold star.

Breathe that in.

See that gold star.

Maybe feel it in your heart space.

Just shining,

Reminding you of how much you're loved by yourself.

And now we're going to take three breaths again to close our practice.

So if you'll join me,

We're going to think in as we breathe in and out as we breathe out.

Maybe with a little hold at the top and the bottom.

So let's all breathe in together,

Thinking in.

Maybe hold it at the top for a second,

That beautiful quiet little space that's all yours.

Then breathing out,

Thinking out.

Hold.

And now once again,

Breathing in,

Thinking in.

Breathe in the breath of life.

Breathe in that gold starlight that's a part of you now.

Then we're going to breathe out,

Thinking out.

Not letting that starlight go though,

That's staying with us.

And finally our third breath,

Let's breathe in,

Thinking in.

Hold at the top,

Breathe out,

Thinking out.

And then gently open your eyes.

And remind yourself once again that you are worth it.

You are worth being mindful while you eat.

And I'll remind you one more time that a mini version of this is to just sit down and take three breaths,

Thinking in,

Thinking out.

Getting your mind and body in sync.

And then asking yourself,

What do I want to eat?

How much do I want to eat?

How do I want to feel after I eat?

These are all super healthy questions and all proof that you are amazing and perfect in this moment.

Namaste.

Reviews

I have listened to several mindful eating meditations and this one is my favorite. I love that he is speaking from the experience of having been very heavy and an over eater. This helped me prepare for my day.

Practical guidance for developing healthy eating mindfulness-thank you. 💙🙏🏻💜