Do You Have Zombie Eating Habits?

Maybe you’ve had nights like this: You settle down to enjoy your meal and queue up that new Netflix show you’ve been meaning to catch up on (so you finally know what your coworkers are talking about). The next thing you know, you look down at your plate and your food has disappeared before you could enjoy it — or even notice it was gone. 

Have zombies invaded? Has a ghoul snuck in and stolen your food? Nope. But you are a victim of “zombie eating,” also known as mindless or distracted eating. While zombie eating may be okay now and then, it can interfere with weight loss and your overall health once it becomes a habit. Below, find out if you could be a “zombie eater,” and if so, how to swap your distracted eating habits for more mindful ones.

What Is Zombie Eating?

Kelsey Costa, a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant, tells Lose It! that zombie eating is the act of eating without being mindful or aware of the process.

According to Costa, zombie eating might look like: 

• Scrolling through social media while snacking
• Watching TV while eating
• Working through meal times
• Eating while driving
• Reading and eating
• Eating or drinking on public transit

Other signs you might be eating mindlessly include: 

• Not remembering what you’ve eaten
• Having no idea how much you’ve eaten
• Finding empty plates or food wrappers without recalling the act of eating
• Being surprised when the meal is finished
• Grazing or snacking nonstop, even when full
• Having a sudden onset of fullness while not being aware of how it happened

“These instances suggest a disconnection between the individual and the eating process, pointing toward a pattern of zombie eating,” Costa says. 

Is Zombie Eating Dangerous?

Costa notes that while zombie eating isn’t necessarily dangerous in and of itself, it does pose a “significant risk” for overeating and potential weight gain as your brain fails to accurately register how much food you’ve eaten. 

There are other potential risks as well. “Zombie eating … robs us of the joy and satisfaction that mindful eating provides, often leading to unhealthy cravings,” says Costa. “It can also be the root cause of various digestive issues, underscoring the importance of conscious chewing and focused meal times.”

Registered dietitian nutritionist Yelena Wheeler agrees that weight gain can be a risk of zombie eating, but also points out that the broader danger of zombie eating is the prevention of self-regulation. “When a person mindlessly eats, they are often not listening to the body’s cues of satiety,” she says. 

Satiety cues are the signals in your brain that say you’re full — and not being conscious of how much food you’re consuming could eventually lead your body to ignore or not process those signals as effectively, adds Gregory Curtis, MD, a physician who is board certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine.

Studies highlight various health consequences associated with distracted eating, and some suggest mindfulness could be a remedy. One study found that mindful eating can help regulate blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. (1) Another study found that mindless eating can reduce an individual’s taste perception and may be linked to higher BMIs. (2)

That said, while we all may indulge mindlessly on occasion — like nibbling away on Halloween candy during our annual viewing of Hocus Pocus — if you have a zombie eating habit, developing mindfulness around food may help you tame it.

How Mindfulness Can Stop Zombie Eating Habits

According to Curtis, mindful (aka conscious) eating focuses on sensory awareness during mealtime. It involves purposefully paying attention to your food, such as noticing its texture, smell, and taste, which Curtis says can lead to a “higher awareness of hunger and satiation cues.” 

Costa adds that other potential physical health benefits of mindful eating can include:

• Improved digestion due to slower consumption and more thorough chewing
• Increased satisfaction from meals
• A decreased tendency to overeat
• Improved ability to recognize hunger signals, leading to better-regulated food consumption patterns
• Greater food enjoyment and healthier relationship with food

“Mindful eating is known to help reduce stress levels, allowing us to relax and enjoy our meals in a more meaningful way,” Costa says. (3)

So how do you use mindfulness to stop zombie eating? The experts we spoke to suggested the following tips and strategies:

• Avoid eating while watching TV, in front of the computer, on your phone, or during work meetings.
• Chew each bite thoroughly before taking the next one.
• Place eating utensils down between bites.
• Take time to appreciate the colors, smell, texture, and taste of the food in front of you.
• Sit down at a table to eat your meals.
• Pay attention to hunger and fullness signals throughout your meal.
• Eat slowly.
• Practice mindful pauses throughout the meal.

Curtis also explains that paying more attention to the type of food you eat can be a form of mindful eating. For instance, he suggests focusing on whole foods that are high in protein and fiber and avoiding processed foods, excessive alcohol, and convenience-based eating patterns.  

Conscious Eating for Weight Loss

Curtis says that studies have not uniformly shown that mindful eating leads to weight reduction, so it’s still an area of ongoing research. However, he says some studies have shown that mindful eating is associated with reduced emotional and binge-type eating (4) as well as lower sugar intake and associated increases in blood sugar (5). A 2020 study also found that a subgroup of people who engaged in distracted eating tended to eat more calories than those who were not distracted during meals. (6)

The bottom line is that mindful eating may not be a magic cure-all for your health goals any more than unconsciously finishing a plate of nachos makes you a zombie. But Costa does say that mindful eating can help break zombie eating habits and unhealthy cravings while encouraging the appreciation of food, which are essential components for successful long-term weight management.

“Ultimately, engaging with mindful eating practices helps individuals become more aware of the foods they eat, how much they eat, and why they’re eating, allowing them to make more mindful and informed decisions when it comes to their health,” Costa says.

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking

1. Chamhuri NH, Tohit NM, Azzeri A, et al. Age and fasting blood sugar levels are associated factors for mindful eating among Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients during COVID-19 pandemic confinement. PLOS One. September 23, 2022. 
2. van Meer F, de Vos F, Hermans RCJ, et al. Daily distracted consumption patterns and their relationship with BMI. Appetite. September 1, 2022.
3. Cherpak CE. Mindful Eating: A Review of How the Stress-Digestion-Mindfulness Triad May Modulate and Improve Gastrointestinal and Digestive Function. Integrative Medicine (Encinitas). August 2019.
4. Czepczor-Bernat K, Brytek-Matera A, Gramaglia C, et al. The moderating effects of mindful eating on the relationship between emotional functioning and eating styles in overweight and obese women. Eating and Weight Disorders. July 16, 2019. 
5. Miller CK, Kristeller JL, Headings A, et al. Comparative Effectiveness of a Mindful Eating Intervention to a Diabetes Self-Management Intervention among Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Pilot Study. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. October 24, 2012. 
6. Marco LM, Giorgio C, Raffaella P. Using Smartphones When Eating Increases Caloric Intake in Young People: An Overview of the Literature. Frontiers in Psychology. December 3, 2020.