S.M.A.R.T. Mindful Eating Goals
Didn’t set your New Years’ or Birthdays’ Health resolutions yet? Don’t worry, I got you covered!
I am sure you have heard of or even used the SMART Goals’ acronym for your vision board or on your goals’ journal = S for Specific, M for Measurable, A for Attainable, R for relevant and T for time-based.
Although those make a lot of sense for any type of goals, this acronym has a different representation for the mindful eating principles; making SMART more relevant for those of you longing for and working towards a healthier relationship with your own body and with food 😉
Thus, SMART for mindful eating goals stands for:
S- Self Discovery and Self-Empowerment
Before you decide on any changes in your eating behaviors or food selections, you need to specify the reasons you are setting them. This will help you to recognize the core value of your goals and keep you focused on the outcome. Those reasons can be health, weight or well-being related.
Identify at least two reasons why you should make more mindful food and lifestyle choices. Those are a few examples:
Lower your LDL cholesterol or HbA1c
Gain muscle mass and/or lose fat
Have more energy or improve your quality of life
Manage symptoms of Reflux/IBS etc.
Heal from an eating disorder and/or distorted body image
M- Mindful of your reasons for including a food
A good habit to develop is to take a breath and pause before eating. Armed with nutrition knowledge and awareness, ask yourself if the food in front of you is helping you reach your goal(s) and how it would make you feel after you eat it.
The food might not be consistent with your goals (example: watching out on your sugar intake) but you have the full right to have it if you mindfully decide to. Enjoy it and move along with your day! As long as you are not having a piece of cake every day, your health will not be affected.
Consider your goals as part of a lifestyle adjustment and a mindset shift, instead of a “fad diet” that is unsustainable and that you will most probably ditch before the end of January! The key words to remember are consistency and moderation!
A- Awareness of why you are eating
Ask yourself: “Am I really hungry? Or am I bored? frustrated? tired? stressed? avoiding a task?”
—> If you are not really hungry, then you will start to notice the link between specific foods you are eating when you are feeling certain emotions. Then ask yourself:
How do you feel after you include these foods?
What were you doing prior to/when eating those foods?
What steps can you do differently that may lead to different behaviors?
For example, if you find that you are eating chips every night while watching a series, you could shift this habit to either:
Reading a book in your bed while sipping herbal tea OR
Enjoying some chips mindfully and without distractions (before watching your series) OR
Making sure your dinner is filling and balanced, etc.
How to practice awareness?
Write a list of alternative activities that you can do when you are feeling tired, bored etc.
Be in tune with your hunger you and fullness levels, using the hunger scale (Hunger 0=not hungry 10=ravenous)
Notice the pace at which you eat
Keep to a minimum the number of activities and distractions while you are eating
Be more present with the people around you when eating, but keep discussions light
Be mindful of your thoughts and the foods you are eating by enjoying and appreciating them
R- Realistic Goals
Set goals that are realistic, specific, timely, measurable, and attainable.
For example, if you decide on substituting white bread with whole grains bread. You will not know if you achieved this goal unless you set the frequency of this food intake (3 times a week for the coming month and daily for the one after).
If you also keep a record of your progress on a food and mood journal; you will be able to track your progress, gain confidence and have more accountability to yourself or your dietitian. You can also reward yourself with a non-food item or treat (clothes, book or massage etc.) and set another goal if you need to.
T- Track your intake
It is important to take the time to log your food, mood and activity in a journal. You can use a notebook, an excel sheet or a phone application. This way, you track your progress relatively to the goal that you set to yourself earlier on.
Make sure you add a column for each of the 5 Ws:
- WHAT did you eat?
- WHEN did you eat?
- WHERE did you eat?
- With WHO did you eat? and
- WHY did you eat?
You can also personalize it for your own goals and add: your activity while eating (standing, driving, reading) as well as your daily step count and workout, your gastro-intestinal symptoms, your glycemic levels etc.
Stéphanie