The Reasons Behind Why You Are Eating Mindlessly
What is mindless eating?
Mindless eating is something that most of us have done at some point, or at least been tempted to do. This doesn’t mean we’ve gone through extended periods of time where we’ve eaten much more than we could handle, but perhaps you’ve been at a party or sat at home with a take out meal after a break-up, and you’ve eaten and eaten without really thinking. This is mindless eating, and it involves eating foods without concentrating on what we’re eating or how much we’re eating.
Mindless eating doesn’t necessarily involve only eating junk food. People think about binge eating and mindless eating and believe it can only happen when you’ve got large quantities of chocolate, crisps, cakes, pizza and other high-carb and sugary foods. However, you can eat anything and not really think about it, and while healthy foods are better to binge on, it’s not necessarily good for you.
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What causes it?
There are many reasons why we might eat without considering how much we are actually consuming. When we are sad, eating can bring us comfort, particularly foods we really enjoy which is more often than not junk food. ‘Treating’ ourselves to a take out meal or pizza is commonplace, and when we’re stressed out many of us like to sit down with our favorite sweet treat to relax in front of the TV. Boredom is also a common cause of mindless eating, and when we eat as well as doing something else, like watching a movie or working at our desks, we’re more likely to eat more than we need.
Mindless eating vs. mindful eating
When it comes to eating it’s important to know how to distinguish mindless eating and mindful eating. And if you regularly eat mindlessly, finding the difference between the two might be a little more difficult. But there are clues you can look for to help tell the two apart.
The signs of mindless eating can be any or all of the following:
Eating on autopilot or while multitasking
Eating to fill a void like stress or depression
Eating junk or comfort food
Eating food as quickly as possible
The signs of mindful eating can be any or all of the following:
Focusing all of your attention on food and the experience of eating
Eating only to satisfy physical hunger
Eating nutritionally healthy meals and snacks
Eating slowly and savoring every bite
Mindful eating can also help you distinguish between emotional and physical hunger, which can increase your awareness of food-related triggers and gives you the freedom to choose your response to them.
Benefits of mindful eating
Being mindful of the food you eat can promote better digestion, keep you full with less food, and influence wiser choices about what you eat in the future. It can also help you free yourself from unhealthy habits around food and eating. In addition, mindful eating can also help with some of the following:
It can let you know when you’re turning to food for reasons other than hunger
It can give you a greater pleasure from the foods you’re eating
It can help you make healthier choices about the foods you eat and put into your body
It can make you feel fuller sooner, and you will eat less
It can let you eat in a healthier, more balanced way.
Mindful eating can help you to avoid overeating, make it easier to change your dietary habits for the better, and enjoy the improved well-being that comes with a healthier diet. It can also help with eating disorders as well.
What is causing you to engage in mindless eating?
We’re busy people, so we’re not always going to be 100 percent mindful every single time we’re eating, but the problem with mindless eating is that it can lead to several unwanted results. From binge eating episodes to feeling overly full, causing digestive issues, and even regret and guilt.
In the end, mindless eating never serves us well. However, better understanding exactly what leads you to eat mindlessly can help you better recognize when it’s happening and also take steps to prevent it.
You are eating for comfort
Food is delicious and enjoyable, and because of that, it’s meant to be enjoyed. However, what we don’t want to do is start to look to food as a means of comfort, or as a coping mechanism to help deal with other parts of our lives that are not enjoyable.
When someone is eating for comfort, they’re generally looking to food to remove a previous sensation, and replace it with joy. For example, if you’re feeling super stressed out after work and you can’t quite shake that anxious feeling once you get home, you might reach for your favorite chocolate cake because you know cake always tastes good and will help you forget the stress you were feeling.
This causes mindless eating.
You’re not eating the cake because you simply want to eat the cake, savor every bit and enjoy it for exactly what it is. Instead, you’re looking to the cake for comfort or for an escape. This can also happen as a result of almost any heightened emotion, from sadness to anger or even frustration.
Environmental cues are triggering it
Are there any particular places you go to that evoke a specific craving? One of the most common ones is the movie theater. When you get to the movies, do you immediately want a bag of popcorn? Maybe it’s your favorite candy?
Now simply wanting to enjoy a food item is nothing to be ashamed of because food is meant to be both nourishing and enjoyable. But the mindlessness comes into play here when you want the food item despite a lack of hunger. If you are totally full and simply eating as a result of an environmental cue, you aren’t able to listen to your hunger and satiety cues to guide how much you eat and when. You are simply eating to eat.
This often leads to an overconsumption of food which leaves you feeling super full, bloated, and possibly somewhat regretful after having eaten more than you had intended to. Another common example of environmental cues can often be found in social eating situations. In many of these situations, there is often food that’s put out on display for grazing, such as bowls of chips or a charcuterie board.
This could simply cause you to want certain foods that you normally wouldn’t say were the most satisfying to you. It can also lead you to overindulge because you’re grabbing something everytime you walk by or because it’s sitting right in front of you the whole night.
You are surrounding yourself with distractions
Distractions are another common cause of mindless eating. Everything from scrolling Instagram to watching television or working as you eat is a distraction from your experience with food. When you’re distracted eating, it’s more challenging to feel satisfied with what you’re eating because you’re not really paying attention to the taste and texture of the food.
Think about it; have you ever been curled up on the couch watching television with a big bowl of chips? Before you know it, you ate much more than you likely would have if you were sitting down at the table and paying attention to what you were eating.
Now, it’s important to know sometimes its totally okay to do that every now and then. Sometimes all we want is a good television night and to eat some chips while we watch. But, if this is part of your regular daily routine, that’s when you would want to work on replacing that habit.
Peer pressure is making you eat mindlessly
Everyone has that friend or family member that is always saying, “No you absolutely have to try this, it’s so good!”, “I know you said you don’t want any, but please just have some with me!”.
When you aren’t really hungry for food, or you don’t really enjoy the food item, but you eat it anyway, you are mindlessly eating. You are once again, eating to simply eat. You’re not thinking about how delicious the food tastes, how it makes you feel, or how it smells. Instead, you are eating because someone told you to.
You are bored
Now this one is very similar to eating for comfort, but it’s more habit-driven than anything else. Your habits allow you to function on autopilot when needed so you can complete daily tasks with ease. This is the great part about habits, but they also sometimes cause you to act without intention, or mindlessly, when you’re around food.
If when you were growing up you would always head over to the kitchen when you were done with your homework instead of playing or doing any specific, it’s because you were bored. You got into the habit of rummaging around the pantry and grabbing whatever was there. Now whenever you’re bored, your brain may immediately go to food because a habit was formed.
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Lifestyles that would benefit from mindful eating
While anyone can benefit from mindful eating, there are certain lifestyles that would greatly benefit from it more than others. Once you recognize that you fall within one of these lifestyles, you can begin your mindful eating journey and be one step closer to a healthy lifestyle. However if you don’t relate with one of these lifestyles, you might find that you could still benefit from eating mindfully.
Chronic stress
Those who have chronic stress, or who find everything they do or that happens to them stressful, would greatly benefit from mindful eating. Dealing with constant stress not only takes a toll on your body and mind, but it can also change your eating patterns too. This type of lifestyle might be familiar with mindless eating because when some are overly stress they often turn to food as a way to cope with the feeling.
External eaters
Those who are external eaters, or eat due to factors other than physical hunger, would greatly benefit from mindful eating. External eaters typically eat in response to environmental, food related cues, such as the sight or smell of food. This type of lifestyle might be all too familiar with mindless eating because the external food cues act as a distraction when they are going to eat.
No hunger cues
Those who have no hunger cues, or are not in tune to their hunger cues, would greatly benefit from mindful eating. When you don’t have hunger cues, not only is it extremely difficult to tell when you are actually hunger, but it also makes it difficult to recognize when you are full. This type of lifestyle might be familiar with mindless eating because they may continue to eat, even though they are full, and this could be due to their lack of hunger cues, distractions or both.
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Mindless eating is when you’re disconnected from experiencing your food and your body, making it difficult for you to enjoy what you’re eating and tune into your body to know when you’re satisfied and satiated. However, you can regain control and begin a mindful lifestyle. Remember that mindful eating takes practice and patience, and try to eat more slowly, chew thoroughly, remove distractions, and stop eating when you’re full.
Extra tips for mindful eating
Ask yourself why you’re eating, whether you’re truly hungry, and whether the food you chose is healthy.
Try taking a few deep breaths before eating a meal or snack to quietly contemplate what you’re about to put into your body.
Ask yourself how well the food you’re eating makes you feel after you’ve eaten it. How much better do you feel after eating? How much more energy and enthusiasm do you have after a meal or snack? Asking these questions can be extremely helpful.
