How to Start Mindful Eating in 3 Steps Today

Learn how to start mindful eating today with three simple steps. Discover how to listen to your body's true hunger, tune into leptin cues, and eat with purpose for a healthier relationship with food.

It can be overwhelming trying something new when all that has been noticed in the past was failure. While Diets are simple in application but difficult in practice, mindful eating is the opposite. it is simple to practice, but it can be complicated in application because it is not commonly taught.

These 3 tips are meant to be simple to practice, but it does take learning to find the right mindset behind it.

How to Start Mindful Eating Today: Eat with Purpose

Let’s take a moment to release the societal pressures and expectations around food and strip it down to its basic purpose. What is the real purpose of food? Energy. Food is essential for every living organism to sustain itself. It’s simple, not deep or philosophical—food is as necessary as the energy it provides.

Let’s look at the animal kingdom for a moment. I’m particularly drawn to predators like lions and wolves because, although they live in packs and prides, they are also free spirits. They hunt for what they need. Sure, they may graze occasionally, but they rule their ecosystems—just as we do in our own way.

Take a wolf, for example. It may look at other animals and see them as its next meal, but sometimes, it simply lets them be. Why? Maybe the wolf is full, maybe the prey is injured or unappetizing, or maybe the hunt just isn’t worth it. I don’t know exactly why a wolf might turn down food, but I believe their connection to their food is instinctive, deep in their DNA.

Just because food is available doesn’t mean we need to consume it right away.

How Do You View Food?

Food is meant to nourish and give us energy. If we consume more than we need, our body stores it. Is your body asking for energy? How do you know?

How to Start Mindful Eating: Listen for Your True Hunger

We live in a world that bombards us with food choices and times to eat, but mindful eating teaches us to eat when our body signals true hunger. True hunger isn’t influenced by advertising or cravings driven by catchy commercials. It’s the deep, physical sensation in our body—a hunger that stirs and demands attention.

After sipping water, if your hunger remains, that’s your body sending a message. In today’s modern world, it can be difficult to recognize true hunger amidst the constant stream of food ads and temptations. Food marketers are experts at making us want food, often foods that leave us feeling gross afterward.

It’s an uphill battle to hear our own hunger signals amidst all the noise.

How to Start Mindful Eating: Listen for Your Leptin Cues

Leptin is the hormone that signals when we’ve had enough to eat. It’s often hard to hear, especially when we’re fixated on how food tastes. But when we start to tune in, we can begin to notice a few things:

• The food doesn’t taste as good as it did with the first bite.

• The food no longer looks as appetizing as when it was first served.

• Our attention naturally shifts to our surroundings, and we start thinking about something other than food.

• We might even crave water instead of more food.

Learning to listen for leptin cues takes intentional practice, but when we do, we discover we don’t need to finish everything on our plate. You might be surprised at how little food your body actually needs to feel satisfied.

Conclusion: Ready for More Mindful Eating Tips?

Starting mindful eating is just the first step toward transforming your relationship with food. By listening to your body’s true hunger and tuning into your leptin cues, you’re already on the path to a more balanced and intentional way of eating.

If you found these tips helpful, I invite you to check out my next blog post, where we’ll dive deeper into practical ways to incorporate mindful eating into your daily routine. Whether you're at home, at work, or dining out, I’ve got tips to help you stay connected to your body’s needs.

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