Have you ever pulled your car into the driveway only to realize you barely remember driving home…..almost like your car had driven itself home…your body on autopilot while your brain was elsewhere, swimming with thoughts, worries, or plans?

Scary, isn’t it?

Have you ever reached the end of a bag of chips only to realize in disbelief that you ate the whole thing? You remember opening the bag and taking out a handful as you reached for your laptop….

Mindless driving has it’s obvious dangers: without proper focus, you could cause a major accident! Mindless eating, albeit much less dramatic, can also cause serious harm to the body. When eating mindlessly, we usually eat far more than we would eat if we were acknowledging the true tastes, sensations, and pleasures derived from the food. Not only does mindless eating cause weight gain due to overeating, it can be a major roadblock in maintaining a healthy weight as it disturbs your body’s natural hunger and satiety cues. These cues are the body’s natural mechanisms to keep your weight in homeostasis – taking in as much energy as is being put out. These messages from the brain tell your body that you are hungry as well as tell your stomach that you feel full and should stop eating.

Mindless eating can trick your mind and body in many different ways. Appetite, for instance, is a very natural part if the hunger cycle. It can be thought of as the emotional component of hunger or as a message from the brain to seek satisfaction and pleasure from food. Natural appetite is a good thing, it ensures that we eat enough when energy is needed, yet also aids us to decline food when our body does not require the fuel. Unfortunately, however, when we eat with distractions, we drown out our appetite cues. This can occur in several different ways:

Firstly, eating mindlessly, especially from an open container holding multiple servings of food, usually results in robotic eating: going through the motions until the food is finished. With this style of eating, we usually eat far more than one serving since we are not paying attention to the quantity we are consuming.

Equally problematic is the way in which we ignore the quality of the food when we eat mindlessly. When distracted, we do not savor and experience the full enjoyment of the food, which usually drives us to eat more in order to achieve the same amount of enjoyment. For example, eating a piece of pizza while checking your email: you may be so distracted by what you are reading or writing that your body barely experiences any pleasure from the pizza. Once you are finished with your email, your body still feels as though it needs nourishment or pleasure. You’ll likely reach for another piece.

Mindless eating also happens during times of procrastination. Sometimes people find themselves opening the fridge when they start to think about the long list of things “to do.” Other people may find themselves prone to snacking while standing up at the kitchen counter……un-motivated to start a chore or prepare for a presentation at work the next day. In these instances, eating serves as a distraction from the inevitable. The eating is masked as a productive activity: we all need to eat, so it doesn’t seem like a waste of time…..yet it certainly is! Eating while procrastinating is often mindless because your thoughts are focused on the task you are dreading rather than the food you are eating. When eating to procrastinate, you are neither acquiring pleasure from the food nor are you any closer to completing your task. This type of eating is often a motivational mechanism with regards to the work to be done rather then a response to genuine hunger cues from the body. No matter how tedious the task is that you are avoiding, consuming calories when your body does not actually need them will result in excess weight gain.

Mindful eating, the healthful contrary to mindless eating, is indeed a lifestyle that takes practice and conscious effort. When working with my clients on mindful eating, I encourage setting small goals such as eating mindfully for two weeks. I ask them to take note of the pleasures, as well as the frustrations, of mindful eating and write them down in a journal. Most importantly, I encourage them to not give up if they slip up. Mindless eating is a habit that most people have been doing for years; it takes time to build up new, healthy habits and lose the old, unhealthy ways. After practicing hard for two or more weeks, it is usually easier for people to incorporate mindful eating into their everyday lives and schedules. Try it for yourself!

Rather than consuming food while paying attention to other thoughts or tasks, eating mindfully requires that you place your full attention on your food. When you eat, savor each bite; experience it with each of the five senses. Take note of the smell of the food or the way it looks on your plate. Take note of the sounds the food makes, such as the crunch of a juicy apple. Acknowledge the tastes and textures of the food and the way it fills you and fuels you.

To some readers, the concept of mindful eating may seem implausible in a busy work week. However, it is crucial to realize the importance of mindful eating in long-term weight maintenance. Before embarking on a lifestyle change, it is important to make a plan to ensure your success. Take 10 minutes to contemplate what changes you may need to take in order to eat mindfully. Perhaps you will need to wake up 15 minutes earlier, log-in to Facebook less often, or alert your friends and co-workers that you may take slightly longer to respond to emails as you will no longer be using your smartphone over lunch. Whatever it is you need to do, set yourself up for success! By consciously enjoying your food, you’ll likely find you experience more pleasure from eating and need less food overall.

Guest Blog by: Barb Lankamp, MFTI