This is the seventh post in the Mindful Eating series. To view other posts, please visit:

(1) Learning to Eat Mindfully
(2) Thinking about Food
(3) Choosing the Foods We Eat
(4) Cooking with Awareness
(5) Serving Food Thoughtfully
(6) Preparing to Eat
(7) Experiencing the Meal
(8) Cleaning with Intention
(9) Conclusion

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Now that you have taken several moments to look deeply at your meal and at your companions sharing this meal with you, it is time to eat. As you eat remember to pay attention to three things:

• the food
• the effect the food has on your body
• the people gathered around you

First, breathe in and out mindfully several times, and come home to your body.  It takes only two or three or four breaths like this, and you are able to leave the swirling thoughts in your head behind and truly experience the world around you.

As you put the first bite of food into your mouth, allow yourself to taste it as if for the very first time, even if this is a food you’ve enjoyed since your childhood. Notice the flavor. Is it different from the scent? Is it surprising to you, or familiar? Is it pleasant? Is it intense, or is it subtle? Can you identify the various herbs and spices? The salt? Can you taste each individual ingredient? How does the food feel in your mouth? Is it soft, or tough? Is the texture crisp or chewy? Juicy or dry? Does it seem to melt away on your tongue?

Chewing

Chew the food, and notice the way the texture of the food changes. Chewing begins the body’s digestive processes. In fact, it is essential to digestion. Many nutritionists have recommended that you chew each bite fifty times or more. Do this with mindful awareness, both of the food and of your body’s response to it.

Chew the food thoroughly, but chew only the food. Do not chew your worries and your fears, your projects, your sorrows and regrets. Chew just the food that is in your mouth right now. Make sure you do not chew the next bite before it is in your mouth. This is difficult for a great many people. They will search out their second spoonful of food while the first is in their mouth, and because of this, they hardly notice the first spoonful, at all. If you find that you do this, closing your eyes as you chew each bite may make eating mindfully much simpler for you.

Relearning

When you pay attention to the food like this, you may notice your tastes changing. Foods that previously seemed bland will suddenly appear to have more flavor. Our taste buds have been tricked by those who market convenience foods into believing that they need a great deal of salt, sugar and fat for food to taste good. Choosing, preparing and eating foods mindfully allows our taste buds to relearn flavors, and soon you may find that many foods you previously considered to be boring or bland are really very flavorful.

When you are present with the food and with the people around you, you can truly enjoy the meal. Eating is a pleasure. Take care to experience each moment of it mindfully, and truly savor the event.

Playing with your food can be both enjoyable and illuminating. Peel the threads from an orange, or open a segment to see the hundreds upon hundreds of pieces of pulp packed inside, and marvel at the wonderful knowledge the tiny orange tree seed held inside. Taste two different foods together, even (or especially) if they seem mismatched. Eat each pea or bean one at a time, sliding off the skin with your tongue. Slurp your spaghetti. Suck on a raisin until it begins to soften. Take your time and really get to know the food. Experiment. Let yourself be open and curious.

Eating with Others

If you are eating with others, choose to keep hurtful or negative remarks out of the conversation. When we talk poorly about the food or discuss our struggles at work, when we gossip or talk carelessly about others not with us, when we argue or debate, we are not taking good care of the present moment. This moment is all that we have. Cherish and nurture it.

If the others who are eating with you would also like to practice eating mindfully, you may want to try eating the first half of the meal silently.  At first, eating in silence with others may seem awkward, but it will soon become comfortable and very peaceful.

Finishing the Meal

After placing each small bite in your mouth, lay your spoon or fork down, and concentrate only on the food. This is a reminder to eat slowly and truly enjoy every morsel. Eating slowly allows your body the time it needs to register feelings of satisfaction and fullness, so you avoid overeating. It takes approximately 20 minutes before your body recognizes the food you have just eaten and sends signals back to your brain. In that time, you can still eat a lot of food. If you eat more slowly, however, you will not eat much food in that time, and you will feel more energetic and less heavy. Do not eat until you are completely full and can fit no more in. Instead, stop eating when you are no more than 75 or 80 percent full.

As you continue eating, notice the changing sensations in your body.  Don’t look to outside sources to determine whether you have eaten enough. Do not think about how much food is left on your plate; it is a simple task to put it into the refrigerator for another time. Do not worry about whether others around you think it is time for you to stop eating, and do not rely on how much experts believe you should eat. Your body is a miracle. It, alone, knows how much food you need in any moment. Listen to it. Feel the sensations of hunger and fullness transform during your meal, and choose when to stop eating because of them. Take good care of yourself, and do not eat less or more than you need.

You may wish to say something to commemorate the meal.  “The meal has ended.  I go in peace,” or a mindful “Thank you” will signal to your body that the time for eating is over.

Take a moment to look down at your plate and be grateful. Know that, soon, your plate will be full again, and recognize that you are extremely fortunate. Feel the comforting fullness inside your belly, and smile.  Know that you have nourished yourself with your full awareness, as well as with the salad on your plate. Eating like this nourishes not only the body, but also the mind and the spirit.