Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating

This leaflet has been developed for patients in the Specialist Weight Management Service.

How do you eat? 

• Do you find yourself not remembering what you ate at times? 
• Do you find that it only takes you about 5-10mins to finish your meal? 
• Do you taste what you are eating?  
• Are you often eating whilst distracted, like watching the TV? 

If you answered yes to these questions it is likely that you are eating mindlessly and eating too fast and may benefit from learning to eat mindfully.  

What is mindful eating 

Mindfulness is about being fully in the moment. Mindful eating is about being fully attentive and present when eating. It involves learning to slow down your eating, savouring your food and will help you to feel satisfied with less.  

How can mindful eating help you? 

• Mindfulness during eating helps us to stay present through the action of eating, making us aware of our behaviours 
• It can help us to understand what, and why we are eating 
• It can help us to respond to what our body needs e.g. hunger, thirst 
• It can help us to slow down our speed of eating 
• It can be useful to help us to ‘tune in’ to any automatic eating behaviours 
• It can help us engage our senses when eating and enjoy our food 

Some mindful eating principles 

• Remove all distractions – turn of TV, phone, tablet etc 
• Take small bites 
• Eat slowly and chew food well 
• Use your senses when chewing – notice colour, texture, scent, flavour of your food 
• Savour and enjoy what you are eating 
• Stop eating when you are full 

Why not set yourself a challenge of learning to eat mindfully for a week and note down the benefits. Start with a meal or a snack and increase the number of meals and snacks that are eaten mindfully.  

Useful links 

https://eatingmindfully.com/blog

https://www.mindful.org/6-ways-practice-mindful-eating

If your symptoms or condition worsens, or if you are concerned about anything, please call your GP, 111, or 999.

Patient Experience

We know that being admitted to hospital can be a difficult and unsettling time for you and your loved ones. If you have any questions or concerns, please do speak with a member of staff on the ward or in the relevant department who will do their best to answer your questions and reassure you. 

Feedback

Feedback is really important and useful to us – it can tell us where we are working well and where improvements can be made. There are lots of ways you can share your experience with us including completing our Friends and Family Test – cards are available and can be posted on all wards, departments and clinics at our hospitals. We value your comments and feedback and thank you for taking the time to share this with us.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

If you have any concerns or questions about your care, we advise you to talk with the nurse in charge or the department manager in the first instance as they are best placed to answer any questions or resolve concerns quickly. If the relevant member of staff is unable to help resolve your concern, you can contact the PALS Team. We offer informal help, advice or support about any aspect of hospital services & experiences.

Our PALS team will liaise with the various departments in our hospitals on your behalf, if you feel unable to do so, to resolve your problems and where appropriate refer to outside help.

If you are still unhappy you can contact the Complaints Department, who can investigate your concerns. You can make a complaint orally, electronically or in writing and we can advise and guide you through the complaints procedure.

How to contact PALS:

Telephone Patient Services: 0300 123 1732 or via email at: wah-tr.PALS@nhs.net

Opening times:

The PALS telephone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.00pm. Please be aware that you may need to leave a voicemail message, but we aim to return your call within one working day.

If you are unable to understand this leaflet, please communicate with a member of staff.  

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