If you are on any social media platform, then you will notice there is a challenge for everything under the sun geared towards making you a better “you” that includes nutrition, exercising, thankfulness, and the list goes on and on. Just like you, I’m guilty of signing up for challenges that I feel can make a positive impact on my life with the hope of making some lifestyle changes.

My current challenge is the 21-day mindful eating challenge. Two things about this challenge caught my eye. One “mindfulness” a term that immediately makes me think that some stress relief and awareness techniques are involved. Second, “eating,” if you are following my nutrition journey, then you know that I struggle with food choices due to my vegetarian, pescetarian (I only eat salmon if I eat seafood) lifestyle. So, this is a challenge I can’t refuse.

Precisely what is mindful eating? The Healthline challenge defines mindful eating as “eating that stresses the importance of focusing on the present moment and being aware of your senses while consuming food.” Although my 21 days haven’t ended, there are three techniques that I would like to share.

Are You Hungry?

When my oldest son was little and wanted to eat, I would ask him, “do you have the hungry feeling?” The hungry feeling is when your stomach muscles contract and sends a signal to your brain that it’s time to eat. If you’re not experiencing this feeling, then you are just feeding your appetite, which is the desire to eat. Asking yourself the question “Am I hungry?” helps you to focus on the intention of eating, which is nourishment. So, if your answer is “yes” than eat if your answer is “no,” then maybe you are thirsty and should get a drink of water or a cup of tea until you have the hungry feeling.

What Emotions Are You Feeling?

Some years ago, when I began to refocus my thoughts about eating, I adopted a phrase that has become my food mantra, “Food is for nourishment; not for comfort or reward.” Society has developed an epidemic of out-of-balanced eating due to stress, fear, sadness, and other negative feelings. In addition to negative emotions, people have become fearful about eating.

Noticing your emotions while eating will help you to understand the types of emotions that surround your relationship with food. This technique requires you to journal and consider the following questions: 1. What emotions are surfacing during the meal; 2. Are you eating due to sadness, stress, or anxiety; and 3. What do you think are causing these emotions? These are simple, but challenging questions that can help you to regain a healthy relationship with food, because eating should be a pleasurable activity.

Remove Distractions

During this challenge, I realized that most of the techniques had been taught to me by my grandparents. When I was growing up during the summer, I would spend time in my hometown Greenville, Texas, with my grandparents. When it was time to eat, my sisiter and I would be called to the kitchen table free from distractions, no TV or cell phones (which didn’t exist) at the table, only food, family, and fellowship. In today’s society, you may not feel that these distractions are harmless. Still, they may cause you to overeat, consuming more calories than you would because, during the meal, these distractions are causing you to forget about asking yourself, “Am I still hungry?”

I have not completed the mindful challenge, and I am continuing to learn new things each day about my relationship with food. With the upcoming holidays and all the positive and negative events that may lead to an out -of -balanced relationship with food; I felt this would be a great time to learn to be present and peaceful during meals.

Remember, mindful eating is not about restrictions but about focusing on the present moment as well as an adventure for the senses.

Next stop, RnR Cancun Half Marathon.