{"id":17972,"date":"2025-08-12T18:17:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T18:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/mindful\/?page_id=17972"},"modified":"2026-01-27T17:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T17:37:12","slug":"mindful-eating","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/mindful\/mindful-eating\/","title":{"rendered":"Mindful Eating"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17972","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"lead_in":"","display_title":"","subtitle":"","call_to_action":"","hero_image_placement":"no_image","hero_media":"images","hero_pattern_option":"","hero_video":"","hero_image_landing":"","hero_image_landing_two":"","hero_image_landing_three":"","content_modules":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"","content":"

What is Mindful Eating?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\r\nMindful eating is a holistic experience that engages our body, heart, and mind in the entire process of choosing, preparing, and consuming food. It involves deliberately immersing ourselves in the sensory details of eating, such as the colors, textures, scents, tastes, and sounds of our food and drinks (JC Bays, 2017). By being fully present and appreciating the food we consume, we shift our perspective to see food as a source of enjoyment rather than negativity or shame.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf you are more of an experiential and visual learner,\u202f<\/span>watch this video<\/span><\/a>\u202fto learn more about mindful eating.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

Why Practice Mindful Eating?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\r\nResearch has shown that mindful eating can help cultivate increased awareness of hunger and fullness (Hutchinson and Wilson, 2012), higher body-esteem (Keyte et al., 2022) enhanced self-compassion (Shaw and Cassidy, 2021), better gut health (Cherpak, 2019), better focus, and less tendency to stress-eat by reducing negative emotions (Torske et al., 2024).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

Ways to Try Mindful Eating at Home<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\r\nOur 9-day Mindful Nourishment Challenge is currently being updated. In the meantime, explore some mindful eating tips below.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
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  1. Practice the PAUSE acronym before you eat<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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      1. The PAUSE acronym is coined by Dr. Susan Albers and it stands for:\u202f<\/span>P<\/span><\/b>resent,<\/span>\u202fA<\/span><\/b>wareness,\u202f<\/span>U<\/span><\/b>nderstand,\u202f<\/span>S<\/span><\/b>avor and\u202f<\/span>E<\/span><\/b>njoy.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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            1. Present: Stop multitasking. If you eat, just eat.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                  1. Awareness: Ask yourself, how physically hungry I am?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                        1. Understand: How are my feelings impacting my food choice?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                              1. Savor: Take a mindful bite, smell, taste, touch, listen!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                                    1. Enjoy: Are you really enjoying this bite?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
                                    2. Note that the above can all be done very quickly as you are busy and on-the-go! But small steps often make a huge difference.\u202f<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
                                    3. Turn off technology around you while you enjoy a meal\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
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                                      1. Many of us watch videos or shows, or text while we eat, but screen content can easily be a distraction to feeling what our body is feeling<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
                                      2. If you could in the next meal, make the food your TV. Watch the aroma, savor the taste, hear the sound in your mouth. And notice the difference, without judgment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
                                      3. Being more aware when you are hungry<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                                          1. Check out the\u202f<\/span>Hungry and Fullness Scale<\/span><\/a>\u202fto learn about how a body typically feels at different levels of hunger.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                                              1. Recognize the difference between Emotional and Physical Hunger: Emotional hunger often comes on suddenly and urgently, and usually one craves a specific food. Physical hunger is often more gradual, open to many options, and would stop when you are full.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
                                              2. Cultivate gratitude towards food that is being served to you from soil to table<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                                                  1. Take a moment to express gratitude for your food. Reflect on where it came from and the effort that went into getting it to your plate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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                                                      1. Develop a closer relationship with mother earth by trying forest bathing, geocaching, and earthing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-large"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"","content":"Mindful Eating Online Program<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Mindful University Project's Mindful Eating Challenge invites you to immerse yourself in daily mindfulness practices centered around your eating habits. Each day, you\u2019ll explore topics that encourage a more intentional approach to meals\u2014whether it\u2019s turning off distractions during lunch, becoming attuned to your hunger cues, remembering to PAUSE before eating, or cultivating gratitude for the food on your plate.\r\n\r\nThis challenge also provides a space for reflection on your past eating behaviors, offering the opportunity to transform your relationship with food. As you participate, you may find yourself looking forward to meals as moments to savor, deepening your connection with your body. Throughout the challenge, you\u2019ll uncover the links between emotions and eating patterns, fostering acceptance and kindness toward yourself.\r\n