4/5/2017
Mindful Eating as a Path to
Health and Well-Being
Lynn Rossy, Ph.D.
Art & Science of Health Promotion
March 30, 2017
Learning Objectives
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Describe the components and results of a
mindful eating program called Eat for Life
Identify the 6 components of the BASICS
of Mindful Eating
Describe three common difficulties that
arise when teaching mindful eating
Practice mindfulness & mindful eating
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Eat for Life Program
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A 10 week mindful eating program
Non-diet approach to weight management
Developed for a heterogeneous population at a
large workplace setting
A program for people wanting a different
relationship with food and their bodies
Taught in-person and online
Eat for Life Intervention
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BASICS of Mindful Eating
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Body Talk
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The Three Food Wisdoms
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Food Thoughts
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What are You Really (Really, Really) Hungry For?
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Eat for Life Intervention
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Supporting Satiety and Satisfaction
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Becoming Physically Active
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Becoming a Conscious Connoisseur
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Respecting and Appreciating Your Body
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Continuing on the Path (goals, supports,
resources)
Eat for Life Research
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Control group trial with women at the University of Missouri
(faculty and staff)
Scales:
 Intuitive Eating Scale
 Body Appreciation Scale
 Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire
 Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnoses
American Journal of Health Promotion
 Bush, Rossy, Schopp, & Mintz (2014)
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Eat for Life - Results
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Significant differences between groups on
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body appreciation
intuitive eating
mindfulness
The intervention group was 3.65 times more likely
to be asymptomatic for disordered eating than the
comparison group.
Mindfulness served as a partial mediator.
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(Bush, Rossy, Mintz, and Schopp, 2014)
Mindfulness and Eating
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Mindfulness-based interventions for obesityrelated eating behaviors: a literature review
Eighteen (86%) of the 20 reviewed studies
reported improvements in the targeted eating
behaviors.
Overall, the results of this first review on the topic
support the efficacy of MBIs for changing obesityrelated eating behaviors, specifically binge
eating, emotional eating and external eating,
and to a lesser degree, reductions in body
weight.
O’Reilly, et al., 2014
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“The average person…
looks without seeing,
listens without hearing,
touches without feeling,
eats without tasting,
moves without physical awareness,
inhales without awareness of odor or fragrances,
and talks without thinking”
~Leonardo da Vinci
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Mindfulness
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Paying attention in a particular way—
 on purpose (intention)
 in the present moment (attention)
 nonjudgmentally (attitude)
(Jon Kabat-Zinn, 1994)

Mindfulness is a skill
that can be learned
Mindful Pause
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BASICS
of
Mindful Eating
B = Breathe and Belly Check
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Hunger & Satisfaction Check
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Starved! I don’t care what or how much I eat.
Very hungry.
Hungry. I feel a physical sense of hunger.
Slightly hungry.
Comfortable. Not hungry or full
Satisfied with the meal.
Starting to get a feeling of fullness
A little too full, feeling uncomfortable
Way too full!!
Stuffed! I couldn’t eat another bite—uugh!!!
General Rule
Eat when you’re hungry
and
don’t eat when you’re not
hungry
~Lynn Rossy
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A = Assess your Food
S = Slow Down
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I = Investigate your hunger
throughout the meal
…particularly half way
through
C = Chew Your Food Thoroughly
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S = Savor Your Food
Mindful Eating Exercise
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Common difficulties
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Giving up the dieting mentality & tools
All-or-nothing thinking
Engaging in the mindfulness practice
Stopping when satisfied (instead of full)
Self-criticism and judgment
Observing the body with kindness
Unconscious habits and behaviors
Distractions
What it all comes down to...
Accepting where you are right now
 Loving yourself
 Loving your body
 Treating yourself with respect
 Savoring the world of food while
being conscious of your health and
the health of the planet
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I'm finally starting to notice the chemical/
artificial taste of some processed foods that
I haven't had in awhile.
Got stuck at work today without any lunch
and ate an "emergency" can
of soup I had at my desk.
Yuck! I couldn't finish it!
I notice that I always reach for food
that’s available at work when I’m stressed.
It’s usually food that’s not good for me.
I feel terrible by the end of the day.
When I stopped doing that
I feel so much better!
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I am finding it so amazing to feel like I’m
losing weight (not sure since I’m not
weighing) and yet I’m eating what I want.
I seriously think about what I
really want to eat, eat until I’m almost full
and then I’m happy about the
entire meal process.
So, I guess being mindful really works!
The Center for Mindful
Eating
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Non-profit international organization
Mission is to train professionals in the field of
mindful eating
Lots of good webinars, newsletters, and other
information for you to use in your businesses.
http://thecenterformindfuleating.org/
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Questions? Reflections?
Contact Information
Lynn Rossy, Ph.D.
[email protected]
www.LynnRossy.com
Facebook: Tasting Mindfulness
Twitter: @DrLynnRossy
Author: The Mindfulness-Based Eating
Solution (July 2016)
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