What is Mindful Eating?

• Being aware of food choices and choosing to eat food that is both pleasing, and nourishing to the body, by using the senses to explore, savor, and taste.
• Acknowledging responses to food (likes, neutral, or dislikes) without judgment.
• Learning to be aware of physical hunger and taste satiety cues to guide the decision to begin and stop eating.

A Person Who Eats Mindfully:

• Accepts that his or her eating experiences are unique.
• Is an individual who, by choice, directs his or her awareness to all aspects of food and eating on a moment-by-moment basis.
• Is an individual who looks at the immediate choices and direct experiences associated with food and eating: not to the distant health outcome of that choice.
• Is aware of the effects caused by mindless eating.
• Experiences insight regarding how to achieve specific health goals as he or she becomes more attuned to the direct experience of eating and feelings of health.

Features of Mindful Eating Techniques:

• A step-by-step guide to creating a healthy relationship with food through a deeper knowledge of self, based on personal direct observations.
• A key underlying goal of the course is to teach participants to treat themselves with kindness.
• In small increments, the course provides opportunities and workbook exercises to look at thoughts and moods -- and their impact on eating behaviors.
• The course promotes understanding, and allowing, of emotions as well as providing tools for working with some difficult feelings as they arise.
• The course covers nutritional and physical fitness information.
• Teaches short centering breathing exercises to help create balance and a window of opportunity for making good choices.
• Mindful Eating teaches staying involved in the process of food choices and enjoying each moment of the process – rather than fixating on a long-term goal.
• Each class offers new concepts, themes, and activities to reinforce actual (rather than conceptual) understanding, and suggested workbook exercises for the week to develop and strengthen Mindful Eating skills.
• enVisioning Your Future classes help students create a personal mission statement providing positive motivation as a basis for behavioral change.