Nutrition For Mental Health

MoodMatters Dietetics

Bringing you the latest information and the happenings in Nutritional Psychiatry

Hi Reader!

In today’s fast-paced world, many clients struggle with mindless eating—stress eating, eating while distracted, eating out of boredom, or simply rushing through meals.

As dietitians and healthcare professionals, one of the most impactful skills we can teach our clients is practicing mindful eating.

Mindful eating is more than just paying attention to food; it’s about being fully present in the eating experience, which can help reduce emotional eating, improve digestion, and even support mental well-being.

Here’s how you can start discussing this with your clients.

1. Explain the Connection Between Mindful Eating and Mental Health

Many clients may not realize that how they eat is just as important as what they eat.

Mindful eating can help them tune into hunger and fullness cues, reduce stress, and increase their overall enjoyment of food.

By slowing down and becoming more aware, clients may experience improved mood regulation and decreased emotional eating.

You can start the conversation by explaining how this practice can help break the cycle of stress-eating patterns often tied to emotional triggers.

Mindful eating encourages clients to pause and reflect before reaching for food, giving them space to assess whether they are truly hungry or eating for emotional reasons.

It is important to stress that mindful eating is not meant to shame a person for choosing to eat when stressed/anxious. It's about learning to understand why they make the choices they do, and recognize when there is a better coping mechanism.

Sometimes, emotional eating is the only thing that works to regulate emotions.

However, someone who practices mindful eating will be aware of this choice and better equipped to move on to the next step of emotional regulation.

Mindful eating teaches your clients that comfort food can't be the ONLY way they fix their hurt. Otherwise, they're not resolving the problem; they're hiding it away for later.

2. Introduce Simple Techniques for Mindful Eating

Here are some easy techniques you can recommend to your clients:

Pause Before Eating: Encourage clients to take a moment to breathe and assess their hunger before starting a meal. This helps create an awareness of physical hunger versus emotional cravings.
Engage the Senses: Ask clients to notice the colors, smells, textures, and flavors of their food. This can help them become more present and connected to the eating experience.
Eat Without Distractions: Suggest eating without screens, phones, or other distractions. This allows clients to fully engage in their meal and listen to their body’s satiety cues.
Chew Slowly and Thoroughly: Recommend chewing each bite thoroughly, allowing time for digestion to catch up and hunger signals to be processed. This can also aid digestion and prevent overeating.
Consider the Fullness/Hunger Scale: Discuss various points along the hunger scale and how that feels. Many people cannot recognize hunger early enough to avoid the hangry beast! There's lots of different ones out there, but here's an easy to share one.

3. Personalizing Mindful Eating for Each Client

Not every client will take to mindful eating the same way, so personalization is critical.

For clients who feel overwhelmed by the idea of slowing down, suggest starting with just one meal a day. They don’t need to practice mindful eating at every meal—beginning with small steps makes the process more manageable and sustainable.

For clients who struggle with emotional eating, guide them toward self-compassionate awareness.

Encourage them not to judge themselves if they find themselves eating out of stress or boredom but to notice the feeling and explore healthier ways to cope.

I often ask clients to keep a mental list of "energy in" and "energy out" stress management techniques. That way, when they need one, it's ready to go. If they see a therapist, this is a good way to integrate their coping mechanisms.

4. Mindful Eating in Practice

Mindful eating doesn’t have to be perfect or rigid. In fact, this is its most critical aspect. A person aiming for perfection is literally setting a goal to fail.

Reminding clients that the goal is not control but awareness is crucial. This practice fosters a healthier relationship with food, allowing clients to make more intentional food choices, often leading to greater satisfaction and less guilt around eating.

As healthcare providers, our role is to help clients shift their mindset from restriction and “dieting” to mindfulness and self-awareness, paving the way for long-term mental and physical well-being.

Conclusion

Mindful eating is a powerful tool that helps clients connect positively with their food and emotions. By teaching mindful eating techniques, we can offer our clients a path to better mental health, improved digestion, and a more enjoyable eating experience.

How do you approach mindful eating with your clients? I'd love to hear your thoughts and any additional techniques you’ve found effective!

Wishing you a peaceful, mindful week ahead,

Jennifer Hanes MS, RDN, LD