Hello! My name is Melissa Roberts and my main internship site has been Medstar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, MD. I am currently doing my Clinical Nutrition Management & National Nutrition Month Rotations but the community rotations will be here in a few short weeks. My internship concentration is leadership and one of the things I am interested in doing in the future is teaching nutrition classes. Along that path, this week I will be giving my first community presentation. The presentation will be to adults who are participating in the year-long Diabetes Prevention Program through the Holy Cross Senior Source. The materials are from the Group Lifestyle Balance program that has been provided by the Diabetes Prevention Support Center, a non-profit organization that is through the University of Pittsburgh.
The topic of the class I will be leading is Mindful Eating. Being “mindful” while eating means being aware of what food is on the plate, how it smells and looks, how you feel – emotionally and physically – when you sit down to eat, and then being aware of each sensation while you eat. Much of the time we eat mindlessly or don’t even think about the food or enjoy it as we eat. Trying to multitask while you eat is one of the ways that lead to mindless eating; for example, eating while watching TV, driving, cooking, playing on the phone, or reading. During the class we will talk about situations in which class members find themselves eating mindlessly. Following that we will do a mindful eating exercise. There will have be a raisin and chocolate chip put on a napkin in front of every person. Then we will look at each item, think about, smell it, put it in our mouths, and finally chew it, all while being aware of how we feel about the food. We will discuss actions or strategies that class members can use to be more mindful when they eat. I will challenge the participants to eat mindfully for at least one meal or snack each day. By doing this, research shows that they may eat less food and enjoy the food more.
Here is a list of ideas for eating more mindfully:
The topic of the class I will be leading is Mindful Eating. Being “mindful” while eating means being aware of what food is on the plate, how it smells and looks, how you feel – emotionally and physically – when you sit down to eat, and then being aware of each sensation while you eat. Much of the time we eat mindlessly or don’t even think about the food or enjoy it as we eat. Trying to multitask while you eat is one of the ways that lead to mindless eating; for example, eating while watching TV, driving, cooking, playing on the phone, or reading. During the class we will talk about situations in which class members find themselves eating mindlessly. Following that we will do a mindful eating exercise. There will have be a raisin and chocolate chip put on a napkin in front of every person. Then we will look at each item, think about, smell it, put it in our mouths, and finally chew it, all while being aware of how we feel about the food. We will discuss actions or strategies that class members can use to be more mindful when they eat. I will challenge the participants to eat mindfully for at least one meal or snack each day. By doing this, research shows that they may eat less food and enjoy the food more.
Here is a list of ideas for eating more mindfully:
- Hara hachi bu – Okinawan for “eat until you are 80% full”
- Really look at your food before you eat it, really look at it while you eat it
- Use smaller plates or glasses
- Leave serving dishes in the kitchen so if you want seconds you must choose to go get more food
- Make tempting foods less convenient
- Find a distraction when you are tempted to snack. Are you really hungry?
- Find new comfort foods – ex. instead of “death by chocolate” have a bowl of fresh strawberries
- Package snacks in portion sizes and store out of sight
