Man in the Arena with Craig Spear

The Power of Mindful Eating

• Craig Spear

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If we all ate in a MINDFUL way at each meal and listened to our body's natural hunger cues, none of us would be overweight.

Chances are you couldn't tell me whether you overate or not at your last meal and that's a problem.

We're constantly distracted by our devices and we live fast paced lives.  How often you do sit down to a meal and eat with intention, presence and consciousness?

The good news is it's possible to tap into mindful eating and the benefits are MASSIVE!

I not only talk about the importance of Mindful Eating on today's episode, but I also cover:

1. The Benefits of Mindful Eating (based on a study done at Utah State university)
2. 12 Different Strategies for Incorporating Mindful Eating
3. 7 Questions to Ask Yourself at Your Next Meal to Boost Mindful Eating

If you want to lose weight and improve your health, mindful eating is one step that will have a tremendous impact.  Good luck!

Did you find this episode helpful insightful or motivating? If so, let's connect! You can find me on....

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Speaker 1:

How many times have you already in the past week? If you don't know the exact number, then you have to listen to this full episode. Welcome to man in the Arena. This podcast is for men over 40 who want to master their health and weight loss goals once and for all, with innovative strategies, practical tools and insightful interviews. My goal is to help you overcome your limiting beliefs and achieve your optimal health. It's time to look good, feel good and do better. What is going on, fellas? Welcome to man in the Arena. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Speaker 1:

I recently started using a continuous glucose monitor, and if you're not sure what that is, it's a medical device that's primarily made for diabetics to give them real-time data about their blood glucose levels. Now, I don't have diabetes, I don't have pre-diabetes, but it's great for guys like me as well, because it's really valuable to know what foods and other factors might impact the current level of my blood sugar, and, especially if you have a weight loss goal, cgms can be very helpful and very insightful. So I'm using this technology to not only gain insights about my own health and habits, but to also be better informed for my clients and guys like you who might want to use a CGM one day Now. The tech used to be such that if you had diabetes, you would have to prick your finger and get strass and blood, use a test strip to absorb the blood, then put that test strip into a reader. But now this device is basically the size of a quarter, it sits on the back of your arm, or sometimes you can insert it just in your lower abdomen, and basically it measures your blood continuously. Actually, it's not really measuring your blood per se, it's measuring the interstitial fluid in between different layers of skin. But anyway, this device is continuously measuring your blood glucose and then it sends this data, or this information, directly to an app on your phone, so you have your blood sugar, blood glucose levels real time at all times.

Speaker 1:

Now, if you live in Canada, there's a couple options. You can actually go and get this device from your pharmacist over the counter. You don't need a prescription, and there's two types, really. There's what's called a freestyle Libre 2, which is manufactured by Abbott, and that device lasts about 14 days and then you have to replace it, take it off, get a new one. The other one that you can look at is what's called a Dexcon G7. And this one lasts a little bit less time it's 10 days, but apparently it's a little bit more advanced. It's newer technology. So there is that Now. They both work pretty much the same way.

Speaker 1:

If you're in the US, these devices are available to you as well Same you manufacturer, same everything, but you need a prescription. And if you can't get a prescription, there's a couple of services Mainly these app-based services one called Levels Health and one's called Nutriscents. There's other ones as well that you can look up, but these companies have sort of relationships with the manufacturers of the CGMs and then they pair them with their apps, and the benefit of this is you get a lot more bells and whistles, you get a lot more data and insights, and a lot of these apps offer different counseling and whatnot. Okay, now, what's so powerful about these devices is you can see how certain foods spike your blood sugar. Right, that's one really important variable. The other thing is you can see how exercise impacts your blood sugar. You can see how the order of eating certain foods affects your blood sugar. And then there's other variables as well, like stress, certain environmental factors and whatnot. So it's great to kind of gather all this data and see what is impacting you. I'm going to do a future episode in much more depth on continuous glucose monitors and I'm going to do this episode in the future to speak a little bit more about my experience and then maybe that gives you some insight and perks your curiosity as well. So it's something I'm testing and I look forward to providing you with more insights as I go.

Speaker 1:

But with that, I want to segue into mindful eating. Now, of course, these CGMs, just by virtue, make you much more mindful of what you're eating, when you're eating, the impact that that's having and, with that being said, they're not necessarily going to improve your mindful eating right Now. Mindful eating refers to the practice of being present with your emotions, with your thoughts and your hunger cues as you eat. Most of us eat in a manner that is definitely not mindful. Okay, in fact, I believe that if we all eat mindfully, listening to our natural hunger cues, listening to our thoughts, listening to our emotions, no one would be overweight because we'd be able to stay in tune with our hunger and we would stop eating when our hunger was satiated.

Speaker 1:

So, with that, let me ask you how many times over the last week did you overeat exactly? So, in other words, I want you to know exactly how many times you overeat and make sure you know for certain, okay? Because whenever I ask this question, people are never able to answer with certainty the exact number of times that they overeat, and chances are they overate way more than they could accurately say. And I get it because we live in really fast-paced busy times. And then you add in other distractions. We have our phones, tv, computers and all of a sudden, when we are not using those devices I don't know if you've had this experience becomes very uncomfortable. To actually be present during a meal feels very unnatural. So sometimes that shows up. You go for dinner and you're amongst friends, family, and everyone puts their phones away. Now it feels really weird to actually be present and eat your meal Without being distracted, okay. Now, with that being said, what if I gave you $10,000 every time you were able to able to accurately identify when you were overeating? There's no doubt that you'd be much more mindful About when you were overeating. You'd be much more present. Okay, and if I said I'm gonna give you 20k every time you don't eat, you absolutely would use all the tools that you needed to be mindful whenever you are gonna overeat. So mindfulness is a really powerful tool and it's possible. It's possible for us to really tap into mindful eating.

Speaker 1:

In fact, they've done studies through a number of universities and most recently they did a study at Utah State University on mindful eating. And what they did is they had two groups. One group was a control group, where they didn't practice mindful eating, they just ate how they normally would. And another group, they taught them how to practice mindful eating and really be present as they were eating. And here's what they found. It's really fascinating.

Speaker 1:

Mindful eating improved Anyone who's doing the practice. They saw an improvement in their self-esteem Okay, number one huge improvement in their self-esteem. They saw improved digestion. So by slowing down and eating more mindfully, you actually chew your food longer, more thoroughly. You're not rushing as you chew, and this helps the body break down the food more efficiently, reducing bloating and digestive discomfort later on. So we see that with mindful eating. Another thing they saw was an enhanced enjoyment of the food. Okay, because now you're focusing on the flavors, the textures, and this just brings a lot more satisfaction and overall, much more pleasurable experience as you eat your food and, as you can imagine, with that, now you don't have to eat as much, okay, because you're you get so much more enjoyment in fewer bites.

Speaker 1:

Naturally, they saw better weight management with people who were eating more mindfully Because, like I said earlier, they became much more aware of their hunger and their fullness cues. And then, of course, this prevented over eating and, by virtue, had way better effect in terms of weight management. Okay, another thing they saw was reduced emotional eating. Right, because people were able to recognize their emotional triggers and, instead of leading to eating food to Be feel more comfortable, they were able to make much more conscious choices around food. Right, again, this is really important to connect with what their body was feeling. They had a much greater appreciation of food. So mindfulness and mindful eating encourages us to consider where the food is coming from, the effort it took to prepare the food, and then this, of course, leads to a greater appreciation for that. They saw improved eating habits, so being more mindful.

Speaker 1:

This Practice of mindful eating allows us to notice our habits and our patterns, especially the ones that don't serve our health, and then, of course, this becomes so empowering. It allows us to make much better choices in the long run. And then the last thing they notice really powerful is, they noticed, reduced stress, all right, people who eat more mindfully. It becomes almost this practice of meditation and, as we know, meditation is really great in reducing stress and increasing stress, and also great in reducing stress and anxiety, because we're present, we're not thinking about what's next and we're certainly not thinking about what just happened. We're in the moment and those past and future experiences aren't causing us any stress or worry. Now here's what's great about mindful eating it actually doesn't take a lot of effort or energy or change to integrate this into your day to day life.

Speaker 1:

Right, what I want to offer to you is some really simple strategies. Do not have to use all of these. Just start to use some of these and watch what happens. Watch what you watch, what you notice and the benefits that you get from developing a much more mindful eating practice. Okay, you guys know, if you've listened to this podcast before, if you've coached with me, you know I'm a big proponent of planning your meals. So that's number one. I've always taught that, and it's hard to be mindful when you don't know what you're going to be eating.

Speaker 1:

Okay, another thing you can do is you can ask and reflect. So, before you start eating. Ask yourself am I hungry, am I thirsty? What do I want to eat? Reflect on how you feel. Do I feel rushed, stressed, sad or bored? So this is something you can just do very simply as you sit down to eat. Quick little check in how am I feeling? Okay, another thing you can do is a very simple strategy is use smaller plates right. The less you see, the less likely you are to eat. So smaller plates allow us to control our portion size much more easily with not a lot of effort.

Speaker 1:

Okay, another thing you can do is don't clean your plate. So a lot of us, when we eat food, especially at a restaurant or takeout, we just polish off all of that food. Right, it's in front of us. We want to clear our plates and I don't know if this is because we don't want to offend the server or the kitchen staff or if because we were certainly, all of a sudden, you know paying for this meal and we're out, that we have to get all of the value from that food, and so, as part of this practice, start to leave food on the plate and eat according to when you're full. Okay.

Speaker 1:

Another thing is to eat certainly according to the hunger scale. Now, this is something I've taught a lot as well, and certainly I've done other podcasts episodes on. This is really tuning in in the moment to what are you feeling, what in terms of what is your physical hunger and we know that physical hunger is an emptiness in the stomach, it's a little bit of a grumble and then check in, use the hunger scale as you go through your meal, as you finish off your meal. Am I a plus one, a plus two, a plus three, a plus four, and we certainly don't want to go above plus four. So if there's food left on the table, you're on a plus four, that's it. That's the end of the meal. Okay, certainly, this makes more sense.

Speaker 1:

Another simple strategy is just slow down right. Chew more slowly, savor each bite, recognize the food that's going into your body, drink more slowly and I mean that just goes with any kind of meditative practice in terms of being present. Okay, connect with the people who are at your table. Put away distractions, computers, phones, any devices. Certainly, one of the best things you can do if you're raising a family is eat at a dinner table. Try not to eat in front of the TV, right, as much as that might be a fun thing to do. Maybe you schedule one night a week where you guys sit down and watch TV in front of the or, sorry, eat food in front of the TV, but not certainly every night.

Speaker 1:

Okay, now, with all this, I want to offer you a few questions as well. These are questions that I'll use with my clients. That I'll certainly use, and I've already talked about a couple of them, but some things you can ask yourself is, when you're planning your meals is where am I gonna be when I'm eating this meal? What am I going to be eating? Why am I going to be eating this? How much do I plan on eating? How will I know when I've had enough to eat? How does this food make me feel overall? And how do I want to feel after I finish my meal? That's probably one of the best questions you can ever ask yourself as you sit down to eat. After I'm finished this meal, how do I want to feel? Do I want to feel bloated? Do I want to feel overfed? Do I want to feel just nicely satiated? Do I want to feel like I've eaten in accordance with my weight loss or my health goals? And the more you do that from a place of mindfulness. That's what really builds self-esteem. That's what really builds confidence, because you're living in accordance with your goals and your values. So these are really great questions to ask yourself.

Speaker 1:

All right, all right, fellas, that's what I have for you today, on today's episode. This is something I truly believe in. I think it's a really great practice and if you're trying to improve your health, eat better, lose weight, just look better. It's not always about do I need to diet or do I need to eat less or do I need to eat certain nutrients. Of course, all of those things are important, but even just a simple mindfulness practice of slowing down, being present when you eat, can have such a huge impact on all of those things. Okay, all right, as you go forward, I encourage you to track how many times you have overeaten. Be aware of that. Be mindful of that, because it's gonna have a huge impact on your goals. With that, guys, have a great week. Keep showing up, keep doing this work so you can look better, feel better and be better. Now is the time to take action and change your life. Head on over to the spear methodcom and discover how I can help you get started on your path better health and weight loss.