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Mindful Eating Class
The Mindful Eating Class is designed to help people alter their behavior and improve their relationship
with food, eating, and their bodies. The class provides participants with tools, understanding and
practices to alter unhealthy behavior, thoughts, and habits that are at the root of mindless over-eating,
binge eating, and body dissatisfaction. I teach this course through the Mindfulness Center at the
University of Virginia.
Level I Class
Using principles from Mindful Eating, this structured therapeutic lass encourages participants to examine
the causes and conditions that give rise to and perpetuate disordered eating and how to interrupt the
vicious cycles of restricting and bingeing. The class is both didactic and experiential, providing tools for
developing a healthier relationship with food, body and Self in a supportive environment. This class is
intended for people struggling with Bulimia and Binge Eating Disorder and is a prerequisite for
participation in the level II group.
Level II Group Therapy (Completion of Level I class and/or The Mindful Eating Class required)
This therapeutic group provides the opportunity for interpersonal sharing and support among group
members and is less structured than the class. Members are encouraged to practice mindfulness and
utilize tools learned in the Level I class. Members are required to have an individual therapist while
participating in this group and a screening interview is required.
The Gratification of Mindful Eating By Barbara Maille, LCSW
Along with the cooler temperatures and shorter days that arrive in the fall, so too come the holidays where
we may be inclined to overindulge and/or eat mindlessly. It begins with Halloween. Suddenly there seems
to be candy everywhere. We may find ourselves reaching for a candy bar when we aren’t even hungry
simply because it’s there. There’s nothing wrong with eating a candy bar of course. The problem is that if
we eat it mindlessly-perhaps while we’re working on the computer or watching TV, --or even while
reading this article! we can scarf down a whole bag of candy without even noticing that we’re eating it!
Even if we eat just one, we would miss out on the pleasure we may have derived from paying attention
while we ate it.
Then comes Thanksgiving. Overeating is so commonly understood and accepted at this meal that it’s
often used to describe how full someone is at other times e.g. “I was Thanksgiving full”.
And, of course, Thanksgiving is the precursor for the tendency to overindulge in the ubiquitous sweets
and goodies that are synonymous with the winter holidays.
What if this year we set the intention to indulge in mindful eating? Rather than mindlessly consuming
the goodies around us, we could commit to eating whatever we eat with full, non-judgmental attention?
When we eat mindfully, we bring our awareness not only to the food we’re eating, but also to our
surroundings and to the thoughts, feelings and physical sensations hat arise as we eat. We eat slowly…
noticing the way it feels and tastes in our mouths and bodies. When we savor our food in this way,
we are much more likely to truly enjoy it and to feel gratified. It also helps us to pause between bites and
check to see if we want more or if we’ve had enough for now.
As with any mindfulness practice, mindful eating requires that we bring a sense of kindness along with
our attention. One of the best ways to do this is with a blessing of gratitude for the food and an
acknowledgement to all that made the food possible. Rather than just the cursory “we give thanks for
this food” we can really indulge in gratitude and appreciation. Here’s an example of what I mean:
Before beginning to eat, close your eyes, take a few slow deep breaths.
Feel your body sitting at the table. Consider the many beings and
circumstances that were involved in making it possible for you to have
the food that is before you. Consider the rain, the sun, the earth, the nutrients,
and the worms that helped make the soil fertile. Acknowledge the multitude
of beings that tilled the soil, planted and harvested the food, labored to
package and deliver the food to the store or the farmer’s market. In your mind’s
eye, see and thank the people that stocked the shelves, rang up and bagged
your groceries. Appreciate those who prepared your food (which may
include yourself!). Notice the sense of connection and warmth that naturally
arises when you do this.
Of course, it’s not realistic to think we will engage in this sort of extended gratitude practice every time
we eat. However, we can always do a short, sweet expression of gratitude—for example: "Thank you
cows for contributing the milk for my coffee”.
Whether you’re eating Halloween candy, the Thanksgiving meal, or a winter holiday treat, set an
intention to eat it mindfully. Give yourself complete permission to eat the food—even if it’s something
you (or someone else) consider to be “unhealthy”. Close your computer, pause your TV show, put down
your book, and eat the food with an open heart, a present body, and a focused mind. Notice how this feels.
It takes some practice to fully experience all of the satisfaction and pleasure that is available from
eating yummy food—especially if you have a history of telling yourself you couldn’t have certain foods or
yelling at yourself when you “give in” to the desire to eat “forbidden foods”. But stick with it. The freedom,
the sense of connection with yourself and others, and the true satisfaction you can experience will be your
reward.
RESEARCH STUDY
Impact of an Eight-Week Mindful Eating Program in a Population with Overweight*or Obesity*
Overweight and obesity are important health issues. Mindful eating can help decrease automatic eating behavior and
emotional dysregulation, both of which can contribute to overeating and negative body image. These researchers
studied the impact of an eight-week mindful eating intervention (Project EATT) among individuals with overweight
or obesity. Participants were allocated to either the mindful eating program or placed on a waitlist. Eating attitude,
mindfulness, self-compassion, and anxiety were assessed at baseline, following the intervention, and after 14-months.
Changes in body weight were assessed but the intervention did not include explicit weight loss strategies. Mindfulness,
self-compassion and oral control increased significantly, and anxiety and overeating symptoms decreased significantly,
among the EATT participants but not the waitlist group. Both increased mindfulness and self-compassion were
associated with decreased anxiety while only increased self-compassion was associated with a decrease in overeating
episodes. There were no significant changes in weight among either the EATT or waitlist groups. The authors concluded
that the EATT intervention improved participants’ relationship with food and resulted in changes that can support
successful weight regulation.
~Zervos K, Koletsi M, Mantzios M, Skopeliti M, Tsitsas M, Naska A. Psychological Reports 2022;125:1011-1040.
* I refrain from using the terms "Overweight" or "Obesity" as I view these words as inherently
judgmental and not scientific, but these are the words used in this study.
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