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We’ve all been there: You’re grazing while watching a juicy TV show, and your hand hits the bottom of the bag of chips. When you look down, you find that all the chips have vanished. It’s all too easy to keep munching when you’re not paying attention to the fact that you’re doing it.
Getting distracted and eating quickly can drastically affect the amount of food you eat in one sitting, according to research. On the other hand, being mindful about what — and how — you eat can help you put the brakes on your calorie intake and reach your goal weight sooner.
When you eat mindfully, you are fully present and attentive while enjoying your food. “Mindfulness is being with yourself, where you are, in the moment,” says Milton Stokes, MPH, RD, a nutrition consultant. “This practice is about awareness without judgment, so you’re not rushing through the meal or ashamed of the calories.”
Also, mindful eating is not a specific diet with “good” or “bad” food columns. “Mindful eaters can comfortably enjoy a wide range of foods,” says Stokes. And eating with awareness should take many forms. A review published in Nutrition Bulletin in May 2022 found that employing multiple mindfulness strategies may be beneficial for both losing weight and disordered eating.
That said, staying present while eating isn’t always easy. So we asked Stokes — and other nutrition pros — for their best hacks to help you slow down, pay attention to what you’re eating, and keep your diet on track.
1. Mix Up Your Utensils
You can slow your mealtime pace by using a smaller fork, chopsticks, or even eating with your nondominant hand. Or, if you stick with your usual silverware strategy, change up how you use them. “Placing your fork down between bites helps you become more aware of your eating pace,” says Sue-Ellen Anderson-Haynes, RDN, CDCES, who is trained in adult weight management.
2. Eat From a Smaller Plate
This not only cuts down on portion size but also gives you time to reevaluate if you think you want to go back for seconds. “Sometimes that extra five seconds is enough time to ask, ‘Am I still hungry or should I continue to hold and reevaluate in a moment?’” says Stokes. There’s a very good chance you won’t go for a second helping after all.
3. Meditate Before Your Meal
You certainly don’t need to do a full mindfulness meditation practice before diving into your meal, but a brief time of contemplation can help you slow your roll. “Meditate for five minutes before sitting down to the meal,” says Stokes. “Perhaps the meditation can include some time toward expressing thankfulness for the meal.” Mindful eating can also lead to a sense of gratitude and a deeper connection to the food you eat.
4. Sit at a Table Without Distractions
Sure, it’s convenient to eat at your coffee table with your phone or laptop in front of you, but that makes it too easy to get distracted from the process of eating. Even if you’re dining alone, setting a place at the table with utensils, plates, and napkins creates a more intentional mealtime experience. Eating at the table without distractions lets us enjoy the full dining experience, says Anderson-Haynes. “This way, you’re able to savor the flavor in every bite.”
5. Play Some Happy Music
This is good mealtime advice for anyone, but particularly if you’re an emotional eater. According to a study from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, emotional eaters who listened to music while they ate snacks consumed about half as much as those who ate in silence. Music is one of the best ways to regulate mood, say the study researchers. The UK study authors asked participants to choose three pieces of music to listen to while eating: a comforting song, a distracting positive one, and one that’s angry or sad by nature. The comforting and distracting songs led to less snacking than ones that fueled negative emotions.
6. Don’t Skip Meals
Waiting too long to eat increases your risk of having strong hunger, which may lead to the quickest and easiest (read: unhealthy) food choices, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Plan on having meals at around the same time each day; enjoying a healthy, light snack like an apple or Greek yogurt will also keep you from feeling ravenous.
7. Listen to Your Hunger Cues
Everyone occasionally eats when they’re not hungry, but limiting your food intake to when your body is requesting it can seriously cut down on your daily calories. How can you pay better attention to that? “Listen to your hunger and fullness cues,” says Rahaf Al Bochi, RDN, owner of Olive Tree Nutrition. “Assess your hunger and fullness on a scale of 1 to 10 at the beginning of your meal, in the middle of your meal, and as you near the end of your meal,” she says. That will help you pinpoint when it’s time to eat. “When you are more mindful of your hunger and fullness, you are more likely to enjoy your food and catch yourself from overeating,” says Al Bochi.
8. Engage Your Other Senses
Food keeps your taste buds occupied, and a good playlist can make your ears happy. But your senses of sight, smell, and touch are still up for grabs. Activating those during mealtime can lead to a greater sense of satisfaction and enjoyment from your meals, says Al Bochi. “Observe the color, texture, and aroma of food and savor all the flavors your meal offers,” she says. Filling your meal with all five senses will make mealtime more memorable and pleasurable.
Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
- Artiles RF, et al. Mindful Eating and Common Diet Programs Lower Body Eight Similarly: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Obesity Reviews. August 2019.
- Tapper K. Mindful Eating: What We Know So Far. Nutrition Bulletin. May 10, 2022.
- van den Tol AJM, Coulthard H, Lang V, et al. Are Music Listening Strategies Associated With Reduced Food Consumption Following Negative Mood Inductions; A Series of Three Exploratory Experimental Studies. Appetite. May 1, 2022.
- Mindful Eating. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. September 2020.
