Be Mindful of Mindless Eating

by Jennifer Tveitnes, RD, LD, Clinical Dietitian with Boone Hospital Center WELLAWARE

Mindless eating is a part of most everyone’s lives. Mindless eating often leads to overeating, and just an extra 100 or 200 calories a day can add up. Gain an extra 5 pounds a year, and you will be 15 pounds heavier in 3 years. The little extras that we sneak throughout the day are much bigger and more significant than many realize.

Are you ready for some good news? A few small changes in your physical and mental environments can make a big difference.

20% Rule

Mindless eating leads to overeating. A simple way to curb overeating is to reduce high-calorie foods and increase low calorie foods. Cut away 20% of your plate for foods higher in calories (i.e., fatty, fried and high carbohydrate foods foods) and increase the section of your plate for low calorie foods (i.e., vegetables) by 20%. Your plate is still full, but you’ve cut calories and increased fiber.

A Clean Plate

Often mindlessly, we have a tendency to clean our plates. A strategy implemented by well-intentioned parents everywhere, it’s not the best way to make sure you are getting adequate nutrition. Cleaning your plate often results in consuming too many calories, as well as a bloated, uncomfortable stomach.

How can you know when to stop eating? 

• Listen to your body, and follow your hunger cues. Use the hunger scale (see image). Stop eating around a 6 or 7, not an 8 or 10.

• Focus on slow eating. Eating slowly combats mindless eating because it forces you to stop and pay attention to how much and how quickly you put food into your mouth. It takes 15-20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s full. Eating too quickly results in overeating, because the signal hasn’t reached your brain.

• Pay attention to all aspects of your food. Sight, smell, taste and texture all enhance your dining experience. Being attentive to each bite will naturally result in a slower eating experience.

• Use smaller plates and bowls. You will eat a lesser amount, but still gain the satisfaction of finishing your plate.

• Following the 20% Rule reduces calories from your plate, even if you finish the whole thing.

• Don’t put too much food on your plate to start. Less is more. You can always go back for seconds if needed.

Snacking

It’s okay to incorporate snacking into your eating habits, as long as you are genuinely hungry.

• Snacks should be planned and purposeful. Use snacks as an opportunity to get in another serving of fruit, vegetables, or lean protein. Do not use snacks as a time to eat more added sugars or unhealthy fats. Keep fruit and vegetable trays at the office to avoid a trip to the vending machine.

• If it isn’t there, you can’t eat it. Move or eliminate the candy dish. Remove unhealthy snacks from your desk at work or pantry at home. Those little treats throughout the day add up quickly.

• Refer to the hunger scale. Are you at a 3, maybe a 4? If not, think about why you want to snack. It is likely due to a laundry list of reasons: feeling bored, tired, stressed, happy, sad, or angry. Find another way to react to your emotions that doesn’t involve food.

• Is it hunger or a craving? If you are truly hungry, then you should be hungry enough for an apple, some broccoli or fat-free yogurt.

• Whatever snack you reach for, put it in a bowl or on a plate and sit at the table. Eating out of the container while on the couch or standing in the kitchen is mindless eating.

Though some foods are certainly healthier options than others, we can incorporate all foods into a balanced meal plan. The keys are moderation and portion control. Don’t completely avoid the foods you crave, but do make sure to enjoy them. Eat smaller portions, eat slowly and pay attention. You will get much more enjoyment out of a small bowl of ice cream eaten slowly and savored than eating a giant bowl but not paying attention to a single bite.

Further Reading: For further reading, we recommend the book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink.