The Mindfulness Diet begins with the premise that every body naturally contains the wisdom it needs to maintain its optimal health and weight. Unfortunately, in people who struggle with eating, this wisdom is typically hidden under layers of bodily stress and tension, mental activity and emotional reactivity.
Fortunately, mindfulness has the power to de-stress, heal, and balance body, heart, and mind, excavating our natural bodily wisdom and bringing it to life again, so that we can once again eat according to our body’s healthy needs.
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is awareness. More precisely, mindfulness means intentional cultivation of non-judgmental awareness of one’s present moment experience. But that’s a mouthful (so to speak), so “awareness” is just fine!
Mindful Eating
Mindful eating (an important aspect of The Mindfulness Diet) means being more intentionally aware of the sensations of eating and bodily signals associated with hunger, satiety (fullness), and the body’s other reactions to what and how much you eat.
But becoming more mindful of everything that influences your eating, such as your thoughts, emotions, and mental states, and even your media and shopping habits, brings even more powerful benefits. Why? Because mindfulness opens a space between urge and reaction. In that space you have more choice, and more choice means more freedom.
The Real Meaning of “Diet”
Sadly, the quick-fix diet industry has forgotten the original meaning of “diet.” The origin of the word “diet” is the ancient Greek word diaita, which meant “way of life.” So the “Mindfulness Diet” means being “aware (or mindful) as a way of life.”
Why do most diets fail? Because they are not intended as (or are unsuitable as) a “way of life.”
The Mindfulness Diet doesn’t prescribe certain foods or certain amounts of food. Nor does being “mindful as a way of life” require constant effort. Mindfulness is not about efforting, nor about being hyper-conscious of your diet. Mindfulness offers a completely different way of being with food than the typical self-conscious, guilt-inducing “I’d better watch what I eat.”
A Stand-Alone Mindful Eating Program, or Foundation for Another Program
Because The Mindfulness Diet does not involve food rules, recipes, or restrictions, it can be used as an adjunct to any other dietary program or personal way of eating. It can also used as an individual, stand-alone program that will gently bring you to a balanced, wiser, and healthier relationship to food.
What’s Next?
- Learn how mindfulness and mindful eating work.
- Explore the science behind The Mindfulness Diet.