Mindful Eating & Veganism

May 2018, my first summer as a grad school student; my M.S. in Counseling Psychology has space for two free electives. Out of all of the options, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy really appealed to me. You’d have to live somewhere pretty remote to not have heard about mindfulness, which is currently pervading all wellness websites and ‘mind body and spirit’ sections of commercial bookstores everywhere. As we got in deep to the summer, one topic specifically resonated with me: Mindful Eating. I thought that it was a topic that would go well with VeggieJeva, yet I was still adapting to grad school + post-hurricane life + getting back to blogging, and to be honest, I need it to read more on the topic.

Almost one year later, Mindful Eating still resonates; and today, more than ever, is pertinent towards developing a healthy relationship with food. If this is something that resonates with you, please join me in my mission to live and eat more mindfully!

Well first we have to define the root of it, mindfulness: being completely aware of your actions, thoughts, and feelings, without judging. There are many definitions, yet this one is the one that has been thought to me, and that I fully agree with. This is a practice with roots in Buddhist meditation techniques, that focus on cultivating mindfulness, a state where you concentrate on being present and experiencing the moment. So how do we apply this to food?

When this is done during meals or snacks, you practice mindful eating. This means eating slowly, carefully looking at it, taking in the smell & texture, and becoming aware of every aspect of the origin of your food: growth, transportation & preparation. Even though there are many ways to practice mindful eating, the overall focus remains the same: to deeply experience food instead of over-analyzing choices, nutritious value.

• You become more in tune with your body as you learn to pay attention to its signals. You’re hungry? You eat. You’re craving pizza? Give it pizza.
• Healthier food choices become more attractive and it becomes easier to make lifestyle changes, like going vegan.
• Mindfulness while eating has shown to improve the function of our immune systems
• You can build a healthy relationship with food, by breaking bad habits and build new, healthy good ones

“Always strive to be mindful while eating. Mindfulness can be difficult to dopt, but there are countless benefits including reductions in emotional and disordered eating, weight loss, improved mood, and greater enjoyment of the foods you eat.” –Summer Tomato

When I googled “mindful eating”, very little entries suggested a vegan diet as the optimal mindful diet. Most of them just talked about being grateful for every bite you eat, chewing your food slowly and being mindful of the process of how the food got to your plate. They did promote eating lots of organic fruits, veggies, and whole foods; but it didn’t seem to cancel out animal products. For me, it seemed to say “just be mindful and chew slowly” in order to… “respect the animals”.

So, how do we transfer this to veganism? Remember the base of veganism: “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude (as far as possible) all forms of exploitation and cruelty towards animals, for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by definition, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals, and the environment.” Sounds pretty mindful to me!

As you can tell from that definition, a big chunk of veganism is about compassion towards animals and others. However, don’t forget to be compassionate toward yourself.

“Stop stressing; start living and eating mindfully”

• Eat real food in its most natural form. Avoid overly processed foods that are loaded with chemicals like preservatives, fake fats, added colorings, fake sweeteners, etc. However, don’t limit yourself.
• Remember “Perfection is the enemy of progress”, be compassionate towards yourself.
• Cancel out distractions, sit at a table, not in front of a tv or while using your phone. You don’t have to do this all the time, but make a habit of it a couple of times a week.
• Avoid falling into fad diets: keto, lemon detox, paleo, low-calorie, fat-free, low-carb, juicing, fastings, meal shake substitutes, teatoxes. All of these may sound/look amazing at first, but they have all proven to cause nutrient deficiency and restriction. These not only aid in the development of unhealthy eating habits, in some cases, but they also aid in the development of eating disorders.
• Create a healthy balance between macro (protein, fats, carbs) & micronutrients (vitamins, minerals).
• Devote a good amount of time towards cooking & preparing food.
• Make peace with the fact that you’re not gonna eat the best foods all the time, and that’s 100% OKAY. “Treat yo’ self” -Donna Meagle
• Whatever you do, and I can’t stress this enough, DON’T RESTRICT. Restrictive eating, in any lifestyle, is a one-way ticket to malnutrition; this is serious, and most people don’t realize this until they’re very sick.

• There’s a book that talks about the approach to healthful plant-based living. The Mindful Vegan by Lani Muelrath is for anyone who wants to be free of frustrating and baffling eating behaviors.
• In his latest book, Success Through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple, Russell Simmons talks about “mindful eating,” the relationship between veganism and meditation, and meditation’s power to not only cultivate compassion but also to grow gray matter in the brain.