Mindfulness means to purposely pay attention to your surroundings, your emotions, your thoughts, and how your body feels. It means being aware of these things without judging them as “good” or “bad.”

Mindful eating is a way to become more aware of your eating habits. It helps you pay attention to what you are eating, why you are eating, and how you feel before, during, and after eating.

You can use mindful eating practices even if you already follow another type of eating plan, such as one for diabetes or heart health. In fact, you may find that it's easier to stick with your healthy eating goals when you eat mindfully.

Mindful eating can help you notice how your food choices affect the way you feel physically and emotionally.

When you slow down and limit distractions while you eat, you can appreciate the flavors, textures, and colors of your food. This can help you feel more satisfied with your meals.

You may notice that it's easier to choose foods that support your health goals when you are mindful. You can reflect on how the choices you make will impact your health.

Mindfulness can also decrease emotional eating. Emotional eating happens when you use food to cope with feelings like boredom, stress, sadness, or anger. As you become more aware of how your feelings affect what and how much you eat, you can start to find other ways to deal with your emotions.

Practicing mindfulness may also help decrease overeating. You may notice that you feel satisfied with smaller portions when you take the time to savor each bite.

Mindful eating isn't a diet. But some people find that they do lose weight when they become more aware of their hunger and fullness as they practice mindful eating.

Here are some mindful eating tips to help you get started.

• Before you eat, take a moment to notice how you feel. Your thoughts and feelings can influence your eating choices.
  • Think about your emotions. Are you happy, sad, stressed, or angry?
  • If you aren’t hungry, this gives you an opportunity to choose a different way to manage the emotion you're feeling instead of eating.
  • If you are hungry, think about what foods will satisfy your hunger and nourish your body.
• When you eat, focus on the foods you are eating.
  • Limit distractions. Put away your phone, screens, and other distractions while you eat.
  • Take time to eat slowly. Chew each bite well and pause between bites. It may help to set your eating utensils down between bites.
  • Think about each bite. Savor the scents, flavor, texture, and temperature of the food. You may want to think about where the food was grown and who prepared it. Consider why you chose the foods you are eating.
  • As you eat, pay attention to your hunger and fullness signals. Pause and consider if you have had enough to satisfy your hunger.
  • Notice your thoughts about what you are eating. Think about how those thoughts may be affecting your eating habits.

Learning how to eat mindfully takes practice. At first, it might feel hard. Or you may wonder if you're doing it right. If you want more help with your eating habits, it can help to meet with a registered dietitian.