One Bite, Then Another: How to Cultivate a Habit of Mindful Eating

by Lakshmi Jagad

Our mind is a stimulation junkie. When it comes to eating, it races faster than the tongue can taste and the teeth can chew. How can we cultivate a mindful approach to the simple act of eating?

I used to be a slow eater as a child. My mother would lose patience as I sat at the table, chewing stoically with little interest or enthusiasm. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a good appetite, or that I didn’t enjoy the food Mom cooked — I did. But I ate in a slow, unhurried manner, often being the last person to leave the dinner table.

I wish I had retained that habit, sigh.

These days, I am a fast eater. I take medium-large mouthfuls, chewing quickly, gulping down the last bit. Some days, my rushed eating leads me to inadvertently bite my tongue or the inside of my mouth, creating open sores.

I don’t know why I eat in such a hurried manner. I work from home most days, and I rarely have pressing deadlines or urgent appointments. I don’t have children, so my schedule is largely my own. Yet I often feel a vague sense of hurry, as if I am meant to be someplace else, doing something else. I feel the pressure to use my time wisely, since I have a lot of it. Perhaps there is a smidgen of guilt too because I have friends juggling motherhood, a full-time job, and other responsibilities while my life seems to be relatively calmer, fewer balls in the air. Perhaps it is this vague idea of needing to be busy that leads me to eat in a rushed manner.

I also think there may be another aspect to this. When we take a bite of food, the full intensity of flavor exists only in the first bite. Bite#2, the flavor is reduced. Bite#3, it diminishes even further. And so on it goes. Which means that if you are the kind of patient eater who slowly chomps her way through 32 bites, you will find that Bite#32 bears very little resemblance to Bite#1. It is virtually unrecognizable in terms of flavor and/or texture. I feel that the mind starts to grasp the change as you begin chewing. It becomes impatient; it has no desire to wait through the additional bites before it can get a fresh and new infusion of flavor. So it hastens forward, prompting the hand to push another morsel of food into the mouth, and the teeth and tongue start their jobs all over again.

And so it happens that you begin chewing a second mouthful of food even before you have fully finished the first. This is telling of how sensitive the mind is to new sensory experiences and sensations, how it is constantly looking to be aroused, to be stimulated, and how it leads us in new directions to fulfill its desire.

There are many benefits to chewing food in a slow and thorough manner. It kick starts the process of digestion. It allows us to be properly attentive to sensations of hunger and satiation. It helps to prevent overeating. It elevates eating to an act of mindfulness, a meditation practice. However, it takes restraint and maturity to patiently chomp your way through thirty-two bites of food.

How can one cultivate this habit?

One day, I chanced upon a pretty set of table placemats at a local store. They were made of vinyl, pale pink in color. I bought them on a whim, thinking I’d bring them out when I invited people over for dinner. I ended up leaving them out on the breakfast table, which means we use them every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea and snacks, etc. Previously I wouldn’t think twice before plonking myself on the couch with lunch and a TV show. I yearned to sit at the table and eat in a slow, mindful manner but Netflix was so tempting! The placemats are charming and elegant, and I love eating lunch off them. They have certainly helped me become a more mindful eater.

I also learned that as much as I enjoyed going out with friends for meals, I didn’t much like the experience of eating on such occasions. I found that I tend to get distracted by conversation, so I lose focus of the food and the process of eating. I also end up eating faster, so I barely taste the food, let alone savor it fully. I am now beginning to accept that eating alone may be my most preferred mode, although I do enjoy eating with my husband too. He is also someone who strives to eat in a quiet, mindful manner, so we make a good pair!

A regular practice of meditation & breathing techniques also proved helpful. I had taken a class many years ago that introduced me to these ancient yogic practices. As I began my own daily practice, I realized that the breath had its own native intelligence. It showed up in various rhythms and patterns, depending on the situation. Sometimes it would be light, nearly invisible, and on other occasions, it would be heavy and deep. I also observed that there were times when I didn’t breathe at all. I’d be holding my breath for no apparent reason, or my breathing would be highly shallow and superficial, and I’d feel a strange, inexplicable nervousness. The nervousness, alas, led me to eat faster. But the magical phenomenon was that as soon as I become aware of its specific pattern, the breath would begin flowing in a smooth, rhythmic way. It seemed like it only wanted me to pay attention, become aware of its presence. I understood that all I needed to do was periodically “check in” with my breath during the meal, so the mind would also relax, and I would eat slower.

I also began to say a little prayer before eating. It was something I learned on a meditation program. It goes, “anna dAthA, pAka karthA, tathA bHokthA, sukhI bhava, sukhI bhava, sukhI bhava,” translated as, “Giver of food, the one who cooks (it), as well the one who consumes it – may you be happy, may you be happy, may you be happy.” It is a simple prayer-blessing that brings me to the present moment, putting things in perspective. I am reminded that I owe gratitude to many individuals for the food I consume. It has traveled a long way to reach me, assisted by many unknown hands. I am immensely grateful for having access to healthy, delicious food, and I hope to never take this for granted.

Ultimately, a regular practice of meditation has helped me to become a more mindful eater. As I observe the food, breathe in the aroma, feel its texture in my mouth before I take a bite, pay attention to the rush of flavor and its nuances, experience fully the taste sensations, take awareness to the breathing rhythm, mind, and memory patterns, all triggered by the food – I cannot help but think that this is an act of mindfulness, a practice of meditation.

Paying total attention to the food we consume is a skill. It may be something we learned as children and yet it seems like we forget it as we grow into adulthood. However, it is a beneficial habit that is well worth learning and relearning, no matter how old one is.

Find more of Lakshmi’s writing here: https://therichvegetarian.com/