In the world of food, what we eat is a huge topic of conversation. This is healthy, that is unhealthy, don’t eat that, eat this – there is a lot of information out there and among that information, there is also a lot of contradictory information. However, when it comes to mindful eating, there are many more components than just what we are eating, the who, where, when, how, and why are just as important, if not more. So here are some important things to consider in how to practice mindful eating.

What is Mindful Eating?

To some, mindful eating might imply the need to meditate before every meal, but that is certainly not the case. Mindful eating is about listening to our body’s hunger cues and it is a technique that can help you regain control over your eating habits. Eating with mindfulness is about building dietary habits that help you create a healthy relationship with food, feel satisfied with your food choices, appreciate the food you consume, and understand how your body feels when you eat. In the modern world, food is available anywhere at any time, so saying we have become a culture of mindless eaters is an understatement.

If you have ever eaten lunch at your desk, inhaled a bowl of popcorn while watching a movie, gone to take a sip of your coffee and realized the cup was empty, or eaten food not knowing how it was grown or where it came from, you have experienced mindless eating. Practicing mindful eating is about more than just taking a few deep breaths before digging into your dinner, it’s about paying attention to the 5 Ws of the experience.

The 5 Ws of Mindful Eating

What: What we are eating is the most popular piece of the puzzle, and this particular W gets a lot of press. Not only does what we eat determine how healthy are choices are but what we chose to eat will impact how much care or attention we pay to the food we are eating. Consider eating a muffin you bought in your local grocery store, or your favorite childhood muffin your mother bakes fresh for you from scratch. The attention and joy you get out of eating your mom’s homemade baked goods will most certainly be greater than any convenience snack you can pick up in a store.

When: Paying attention to when we eat is about a lot more than just looking at the clock. Too often, people eat just because it is “meal time” and not because they are actually hungry or experiencing a hunger cue. If you are eating every 2 hours because that’s what you read in the latest fitness magazine, ask yourself, is that really necessary for me? When we eat is often triggered by our external environment. If you walk into the office and there is a bag of candy in the communal area, are you eating the candy because it just happens to be in front of you, or because you actually wanted it? Being mindful of how your external environment impacts your food choices will help you learn how to practice mindful eating.

Why: For many, food is attached to specific activities, events, and celebrations,  and so often we are simply eating based on rituals or habits. Do you eat every afternoon at work because you are actually hungry or because you are bored of sitting at your desk? Do you eat because you are tired? Sad? Nervous? Celebrating? Or because you are actually hungry? Eating popcorn at the movies is an incredibly common ritual, but are you eating popcorn because you are actually hungry or because it is just there and that is what you are “supposed” to do when you go to the movies. Considering the why behind eating takes a little bit of digging in, but if you are able to identify the cause, you can influence the outcome.

Where: Life is hectic, and unfortunately eating often takes the backseat on our list of priorities. We have become accustomed to eating on the go or even eating while we are doing other activities. Whether it is grabbing a bite to eat as we run out the door, eating at our desks, or eating while watching TV, these are all forms of distraction that stop us from practicing mindful eating. What many don’t realize is that our digestive system is triggered by our brains, so if we are not mindful the moment we are eating, digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients will not occur optimally even if we are eating incredibly nutritious food.

Who: The who does not refer to the person who is eating, but rather to who they are eating with. Eating alone or eating with a group of people can completely alter our eating habits. Eating with others can be a joyful experience filled with fun, love, and laughter, and can make a good meal great. The people you eat with can impact your eating habits in both a positive and negative way, so it is important to be mindful of what occurs when you eat with others. Eating with fast eaters can cause you to eat faster, while slow eaters might lead you to put your fork down more often. Eating with people who make healthy choices might cause you to make a better meal choice, while people less prone to eating well might lead you to indulge a little more. Being mindful of how those around you impact your eating patterns will help you make better food choices.

An Example of Mindful Eating

Considering the 5 Ws of eating is a simple way to be more mindful of the food you are consuming, but how often do you actually do this? As an example, consider the last time you ate a handful of almonds, and ask yourself these simple questions:

• What did those almonds smell like?
• What did those almonds feel like in your hand?
• Where were those almonds from?
• How are almonds grown?
• Who harvested those almonds?
• How did they get to store shelves?
• How many people worked to get those almonds to you?
• When did you eat them?
• Where did you eat them?
• Who did you eat them with?
• Why did you eat them?
• How did you eat them?

Every food you eat has a story behind it, and the more pieces of the story you know, the more mindful it will help you be. Eating is a full sensory experience beyond taste; seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching all play into our experience and how we practice mindful eating.

How to Practice Mindful Eating

So how do we reconnect with our food and learn how to practice mindful eating? Here are some tips to help get you started.

1. Prepare your own food.

Mindful eating begins way before food enters your mouth. Eating is a sensory experience that involves all our senses and our brain. Our brain helps to initiate our digestive process and heightens our senses so we can experience the food we eat. The act of cooking helps us to engage our brain and stimulate our digestive process so our body is ready to accept our, and this is a process that is not stimulated by microwaving something we buy. Taking the time to cook and prepare your own food forces you to be more mindful of the time and effort that goes into making a meal. There is no need to be the next top chef, just a few simple kitchen skills can go a very long way in learning to practice mindful eating.

2. Chew your food and eat slowly.

Preparing your food is one thing, but if you inhale your meal in less than 5 minutes you are missing the mark. Eating quickly does not allow us to thoroughly experience mindful eating, and it also does not stimulate our body’s natural digestive process. By mechanically chewing your food you are preparing your gut for the digestive process and will ensure that your food is better absorbed and assimilated. Plus, taking our time allows our body to register once we are full so it helps to eliminate overeating.

3. Sit Down

Whether you are walking down the street, driving in your car, or standing in the kitchen, eating while you are on the go does not allow for your mind or body to register the food you have consumed. When eating, your body must transfer energy to your digestive tract in order for the process to occur, however, when eating on the go you are not allowing for this transfer of energy to happen optimally. Eating on the go keeps your body in ‘fight or flight’ mode when it should really be focusing on ‘rest and digest’ mode. Sitting down to eat a meal will bring more mindfulness to the entire process and help to ensure you are eating slower and chewing more as well.

4. Remove digital distractions.

Digital devices are a major distraction to mindful eating. Although eating at your desk, in front of your TV, or while looking at your phone might seem like an efficient use of time, they are a huge hindrance to mindful eating and your digestion. Simply taking the 10-15 minutes needed to sit down and eat your meal without a screen will help make the experience more mindful. Eating with others and sharing food with others is also a great way to bring more mindfulness to the process.

5. Shop locally.

Eat the kind of food you know the story behind. It is easy to eat mindlessly when you pick a product from the grocery store shelf because you simply know nothing about it. Buying something as simple as a banana might seem so innocent, however, when you recognize the hard work, labor, and the entire network and community that worked to get it to you, it forces you to change your outlook. Getting to know a local farmer, butcher, fishmonger, or cheesemonger and learning how your food got from the farm to your fork will force you to eat more mindfully. It is easy to throw away food if there is no understanding or appreciation of the hard work it takes to get from farm to table. Understanding even a little of the story behind the food that you eat will bring a whole new level of mindfulness to your eating habits.

6. Distinguish hunger from cravings.

Understanding your reason for eating will help you to be more mindful of the food you eat. Are you actually hungry, or are you bored, tired, or angry? Are you hungry or are you simply having a craving? If you are able to take a moment and ask yourself this simple question you will be able to determine if you actually need to eat or not. The more in tune you are with your body the more easily you will be able to identify your hunger cues and improve your practice of mindful eating.

The Bottom Line

Remember that mindful eating is a practice that you will forever be working on, however working to implement some of these simple strategies will help you learn how to practice mindful eating.

Hangry is the (unofficial) technical term for being so hungry that you are angry. In fact, most of us have experienced it, perhaps we just didn’t realize what it was called. It is that moment in time when you become cranky, moody, irritable, or when you are about to have a massive meltdown that can only be avoided by eating something ASAP. Fortunately, a little understanding goes a long way, so let’s talk about how to avoid getting hangry.

Back in the day, I used to be the queen of hangry. It would literally happen to me on a daily basis; between my meals or before I made it to my next meal, I would get so irritated that it would literally put me in a bad mood. My friend jokes that she used to have to pack granola bars in her purse in order to make it through an afternoon with me to ensure I didn’t have a meltdown. Thankfully, she is kidding (to a certain extent), however until I realized what was actually occurring I didn’t know how to solve it.

What does hangry mean?

All jokes aside, getting hangry is a real thing, it’s just that the name is a little silly. What getting hangry actually refers to is unbalanced blood sugar, specifically the moment when your blood sugar has dropped so low that you become angry and irritable. Glucose is a form of sugar and it is the body’s main source of energy. Glucose is acquired in the diet by eating sources of carbohydrates, which give the body energy to do its functions. Not only does it give us the energy to do physical tasks, but it gives us the energy to do mental tasks as well. There are many different types of carbohydrates, all of which contain varying concentrations of glucose (or sugar), however, in the end, they all play a similar role in providing a source of energy. In order for the body to function optimally, a certain amount of glucose is required in the bloodstream (AKA blood sugar) in order to keep up upbeat and active. Every time we eat a meal with carbohydrates we provide the body with a certain amount of glucose (energy) to keep us going. After our meal, as time passes, the amount of glucose present in the bloodstream begins to drop as we use up our energy. The brain, unlike other organs, is heavily dependent on glucose to do its job; if you have ever missed a meal before you many have noticed that it can be hard to concentrate on simple tasks or pay attention. So being hangry, is actually the brain’s reaction to the moment when blood sugar has dropped low enough that it begins to panic a little and causes you to be hungry and angry as it searches for it next source of fuel.

Why Do People Get Hangry?

One might think that the simple solution to avoiding that hangry state is to simply add more glucose to the diet, right? Wrong. In fact, that is actually the last thing you want to do. Allow me to explain.

When food is consumed, carbohydrates break down into simple sugars (glucose) as food is digested. As this glucose is digested, blood sugar levels begin to rise as glucose enters the bloodstream. The more concentrated in glucose foods are (think candy vs. oatmeal), the more quickly they will spike blood sugar levels and in turn trigger insulin. Insulin is responsible for managing the amount of glucose present in the bloodstream, so as blood sugar rises it will work to remove excess glucose from the bloodstream and send it to organs, and tissues and store any excess as body fat. The body can only handle so much glucose at one time, so once our organs and tissues are topped up with glucose for energy, our body will store any excess glucose as fat. The issue with this process is that once all of this glucose is stored in your cell, your blood sugar will then drop too low again and send you into hangry mode.

Think of it as a rollercoaster effect. If you eat donut or drink a soft drink, you are sending a large amount of glucose into your bloodstream at one time, and way more than your body can use at once. Doing so will greatly spike your blood sugar levels, sending insulin into overdrive, working to store all of this excess glucose, until it has removed the excess from the bloodstream until blood sugar is at an ultra-low level. It is at this point that you end up craving more sugar to help increase your blood glucose levels so you have energy again. It’s a vicious cycle. The key to balancing blood sugar is supplying just the right amount for our bloodstream to use at one time.

What’s the problem with being hangry?

Unbalanced blood sugar is less than ideal for supporting energy levels and cravings, but it can also affect a lot of other negative effects on the body and its systems. This vicious cycle of dips and spikes in blood sugar triggers a cascade of stress responses in the body. Why? Because low blood sugar implies a lack of energy source for the body and brain, which causes stress on the body and the body will try and respond to solve it because your body is designed to help protect you. When blood-glucose levels drop to a certain threshold, the brain sends instructions to several organs in the body to release hormones that increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream; primarily, the body signals adrenaline and cortisol which are stress hormones used in difficult situations. The issue is that your body is not actually in a real stress mode (i.e. – you’re not being chased by a tiger), you just can’t seem to put down your iced vanilla latte or you love your starchy carbs just a little too much. You are essentially continuously putting your body into a fight or flight response mode with a fake scare and this is incredibly taxing to your adrenal and hormonal health.

How to Avoid Getting Hangry

Fortunately getting hangry can be alleviated, you just need to know what to look for. So here are some simple and important tips to consider on how to avoid getting hangry.

1. Add Protein and Fat to Every Meal

Eating a 100% carbohydrate-based meal will put you on the express train to Hangryville. Adding a source of protein and fat to your meals is a good way to help balance your blood sugar by slowing the spike of glucose to the bloodstream; dietary fat helps to slow down the digestive process, and protein is the most satiating nutrient and will help keep you fuller longer. A simple breakfast of a bagel or cereal is not a well macronutrient balanced meal as it is completely carbohydrate-based, will spike your blood sugar, and will leave you hangry before noon. In fact, for most people even a bowl of oatmeal, albeit might be healthy, it is not well macronutrient balanced and will have you reaching for a snack by mid-morning. Alternatively, opt for a more satiating and balanced meal with protein and fats, like a breakfast of scrambled eggs with veggies and avocado to keep you going until lunch and even all afternoon.

2. Avoid Sweetened Drinks

Because liquids require next to no digestion, drinking a sweetened or sugary beverage is like sending glucose directly into your bloodstream and will quickly spike your blood sugar. Avoiding sodas and energy drinks might seem obvious, but this also includes items like fruit juices, fruit smoothies, vitamin waters and flavoured coffees. These drinks often have as much sugar as a standard chocolate bar, so your morning orange juice and vanilla latte might be causing your afternoon hangry moment and cookie craving.

Fiber-rich foods are forms of complex carbohydrates that take longer to be digested and absorbed by the bloodstream, therefore they do not spike your blood sugar and help keep you feeling fuller longer. Vegetables are the primary source of fibrous food and adding more to all of your meals and snacks will be beneficial. Beans, lentils and grains are also good sources of fibre, however, they should always be paired with a source of protein and fat as they do contain a lot of starch with can impact blood sugar. Fruit also contains some fibre, however, it should always be eaten in its whole format as dried fruits and fruit juices are incredibly concentrated forms of sugar that can spike blood sugar levels quickly.

4. Don’t Overdo the Refined Carbs

Going overboard on starches, even all-natural ones like grains, beans and lentils, for some individuals can just be too much glucose for their bloodstream to handle. Although these forms of carbohydrates are in fact whole foods rich in fibre, they do contain high levels of starch which will eventually turn into glucose in the body. In excess, they can lead to spikes and dips in blood sugar, so for some people, oatmeal for breakfast, lentils at lunch and rice noodles for dinner is just far too much. Additionally, although foods made of flours are technically made of complex carbohydrates, they act much more like simple carbohydrates in the body and can cause spikes in blood sugar. Items like crackers, cookies, and granola bars (not to mention donuts and pastries) are less than ideal choices because they are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream causing spikes in blood glucose. Whole grains like rice, oats and quinoa are always best eaten in their whole format, and not in food products made out of them.

5. Eat Regularly, Not Often

The cautionary tale of eating multiple small meals per day is fuel for the hangry fire. With stable blood sugar, you should easily be able to go 4-5 hours between meals without experiencing dips and spikes in energy or experiencing hanger. Eating three well-balanced meals of protein, fat and carbohydrates per day should help to ensure blood sugar is balanced. Avoid skipping meals and only eat snacks if you are truly hungry! Adding unnecessary snacks, especially sweet ones, will merely add more spikes to the blood sugar roller coaster and keep you in the hangry zone.