Most of us have heard, in the jumbled mix up of hundreds of food tips and nutrition advice, that we have to eat more mindfully. But what does that even mean? And why though? Here’s a quick fun bit of information as to just why we SHOULD eat more mindfully and some starting tips to doing so!
The body, in all its fantastic fascinating glory, does an incredibly great job of sending our brains signals to help us regulate ourselves in all sorts of way. Think, when we place our hands on something hot we get a near instantaneous signal of that sensation that’s sent straight from our hand to our brain and back down to allow us to feel pain and as a reflex remove our hand immensely fast. So fast in fact that we don’t even notice that all those signals had to be passed around in order for that to happen! Well guess what!?…… Your stomach is not that fast when it comes to sending satiety signals….
In the simplest terms, our stomachs and small intestines have hormones, namely cholecystokinin and leptin, that are signaled and secreted when our bodies have determined that we have begun to reach fullness. The stretching of the stomach lining, as well as the presence of cholecystokinin in the small intestine are factors in triggering the secretion of leptin in the stomach which in turn triggers the sending of a signal to the brain to tell us that we are full and give us a feeling of satiety. It can take up to 20 mins for our body to start secreting these hormones, and as such it can take about that amount of time for us to register that we are beginning to feel full!
Why do I bother telling you all that? Well when it comes to saying “eat mindfully” one of the corner stones of this idea is to take the time to listen and pay attention to what your body is telling you. One of the tips to doing so might be to eat more slowly. Take your time, enjoy your food, do not over eat large amounts in a short period of time. When you inhale your food quickly and gloriously, say within 10-15 mins, you may find you’re still not feeling very full, prompting you to go for more. This gives your body no time to start secreting those satiety hormones and start sending signals to the brain that you are indeed feeling full. This can lead to over eating, and once those hormones start doing their work you may find that you are actually feeling grossly over full and uncomfortable. Do you ever feel like this after a meal that you’ve eaten too fast and/or too much of?
Eating your meal, slowly and thoughtfully over the span of 30-40 minutes, even as much as 1 hour, can give your body that time it needs to do it’s job, and allows you to listen to those ques that you are actually beginning to feel full. If, given that time, you are still feeling hungry, then going for seconds shouldn’t end with you feeling “stuffed”, with a stomachache and uncomfortable.
Tips to eating more mindfully might be to eat slowly, chew your food well, eat around a table with no distractions that might cause mindless eating. Eat most of your meals NOT in front of the TV, where you may pay less attention to your body and the signals its sending and more to the show or movie you’re invested in. Wait a moment or two before going for seconds, have you given your body enough time to do its job? Eat regularly and don’t will yourself to skip out on meals or force yourself to ignore your hungry ques (the responsibility of a whole other hormone!). Ignoring when we are actually hungry and skipping out on meals can really mess with our ability to naturally or intuitively read and understand our bodies ques (especially if we’ve been conditioned to do it for years and years) but it also tends to lead to ravenous hunger and a drop in blood sugar levels, and often contributes to over eating past satiety. Its hard to slow down when you finally let yourself eat, if you’ve been starving or depriving yourself.
Whats the take away?
- Our bodies do a great job of regulating its self.
- It takes time for your satiety hormones to send you signals that you’re feeling full.
- Eat slowly, take 30-40 minutes (even up to an hour) to enjoy your food.
- Eat most of your meals undistracted, don’t make eating in front of the TV a habit.
- Wait a moment or two before getting a second helping.
- Listen to your hunger ques, don’t ignore it for no reason and try not to skip out on meals.
Note: There are many many other things that contribute to our hunger and satiety levels, and feeling full or feeling hungry, whether that be psychological or biological. This covers only a very basic understanding of the hormones that help regulate these feelings and is meant only for educational purposes and to provide insight as to “the why” of mindful eating and simple steps in starting to do so.
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“Fun” Reads: Brain regulation of appetite and satiety (nih.gov)
R. Anne. R Holistics 