The BASICS of Mindful Eating and Beyond

Contrary to what you might think, mindful eating isn’t tedious and boring. It’s fun, flavorful, and restores our relationship with our food. This video from the Newsy crew with Dr. Lynn Rossy covers the BASICS of mindful eating, which are:

B – Belly Check and Breath for hunger signals before you eat

A – Assess Your Food to determine what it is that you are about to eat

S – Slow Down — Most of us eat too fast

I – Investigate Your Hunger particularly half way through the meal

C – Chew Thoroughly so that your body processes your food appropriately

S – Savor Your Food and enjoy the pleasure that comes from eating

Beyond the BASICS of mindful eating, what do we learn about eating from this video? Here are a few key takeaways.

1. You can socialize and mindfully eat. We eat many of our meals with others, but we can still navigate conversation while we consciously eat.

2. Mindful eating can happen anywhere. In the video, we were in a busy restaurant at noon. We were even able to continue eating mindfully when a group of toddlers sat down next to us to have a birthday party. If you are easily distracted, focus on the color or texture of your food; even close your eyes while you’re chewing if that helps.

3. You can use the BASICS as a fun mealtime exercise to do with others. People are always asking me how to bring mindfulness home to their families, and you can see from the video how much fun it can be to talk about mindful eating. This exercise is especially helpful to practice with children—it will teach them good eating habits for their lifetime.

4. No food is forbidden. Food is not enjoyable if you have placed it in the “bad for me” category. Let yourself have what you want and savor it.

Enjoy your meals and make them mindful!

Dr. Lynn Rossy is a health psychologist specializing in mindfulness-based interventions. She is the author of The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution.