Mindful Eating: Breaking Free from Guilt and Finding Gratitude

Our complicated relationship with food often stems from childhood, where being fed helped soothe our distress, creating deep connections between food and comfort that persist into adulthood. We explore the mindful approach to comfort eating, focusing on how to be present with both our food and feelings without judgment.

• Direct correlation between stress levels and comfort eating behaviors
• Distinction between mindless eating and mindful comfort
• Importance of naming feelings while also seeking appropriate comfort
• How curiosity without judgment can transform our relationship with food
• The power of engaging all five senses when eating comfort foods
• Moving from guilt to gratitude for food's capacity to soothe
• Using comfort eating as a signal to tune into underlying emotions
• Understanding that comfort food and nutritious food serve different purposes

Take time to slow down while eating, engage your senses, and be curious about what's underneath your cravings – this practice can transform your relationship with food and help you better understand your emotional needs.

Opening Music by Jeremiah Alves from Pixabay

Closing Music by Aleksandr Karabanov from Pixabay

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Stress Eating Confession
• 1:48 Our Complicated Relationship with Comfort
• 3:31 Practicing Mindful Eating Techniques
• 4:56 From Guilt to Gratitude

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:18

Hi there, welcome to episode 13 of the Wellness Minutes, a podcast that reminds you to pause and take a deep breath. Recently, in the middle of a highly stressful conversation about immigration paperwork, I found myself craving Pringles chips. I've realized there is a direct correlation between my stress and the number of chips I can eat in one go. I can eat five chips at once, you know, like a sandwich. When I discuss USCIS, I think I was feeding that part of me that feels really helpless and sad some days. But I realize I feel better only if I do both things name my feelings and comfort myself. When I eat mindlessly, it doesn't help. I don't even taste the food. So today I thought I'd do this episode on comfort eating and mindfulness. I know I'm not the only comfort eater out there. I'm not the only comfort eater out there.

Speaker 1: 1:30

So when you feel cold, do you ask yourself to control yourself or say it's not cold enough, you shouldn't be wearing this jacket? I hope you simply wear the jacket, and if you're feeling abnormally cold, you still wear the jacket first and ask the questions later. When you need comfort, are you able to comfort yourself while also staying curious about the discomfort Curiosity without judgment, though. Similarly, when you find yourself craving comfort food, how do you feel about reaching out for it? In the triangle of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, comfort food can be an effort to soothe ourselves while also dealing with difficult feelings. It can be an attempt to relax after a long day, but sometimes the comfort food itself prompts feelings of guilt or self-criticism. I wonder if you can imagine reaching out for comfort food while also remaining curious about what's going on. Are you hungry or do you need a chocolate-shaped hug? It makes sense that food comforts us. From the time we were babies, being given something to eat or drink helped us stop crying, fussing, complaining. So what comforted us as children tends to comfort us as adults too. It's almost wired in our bodies. The only difference is now you are the grown-up who has to also soothe yourself.

Speaker 1: 2:57

Our relationship with food can be complicated. We have ideas about good food, bad food and body image concerns to throw in there as well. I've been reading a lot about intuitive eating and health at every size. To improve my relationship with food, to be thankful for food that nourishes me and also the food that comforts me. Comfort food does not replace nutritious food, just like an apple does not make up for the chocolate cake I crave. Also, comfort food isn't really about the food. It is about the feelings underneath. So I realized the trick was to practice mindful eating.

Speaker 1: 3:42

While comfort eating, tune into the food. Actually, thank it for what it's doing. Slow down the process of eating and enjoy every bite. Notice how the food affects each of your five senses how it smells, how it looks, what kind of textures does it have, what does it sound like, the nuances of its flavors and how your entire body responds to the food. Slow down as you eat. Luxuriate in the process of eating what you just did. I hope this invites you to make the journey from guilt to gratitude for food's capacity to soothe you. Also, I hope you'll let comfort eating be a signal to tune into your feelings too. Name those feelings instead of pushing them away.