SPT-Fall2014

Eating Mindfully: How to End
Mindless Eating and Enjoy a
Balanced Relationship with Food.
Written by Susan Albers, PsyD
Reviewed by: Mona Zohny
In Buddhism, mindfulness is one of
the factors of enlightenment.
Recently, positive psychologists have
begun to explore this concept in the
context of physical and mental
health. Albers’s second edition of
Eating Mindfully is structured the
same as the first and builds on
information previously provided.
The book’s purpose, however, goes
beyond helping people with eating
disorders—it contains dozens of tips
to address mindless eating habits by
increasing mindful thinking and
mindful behaviors.
Mindfulness is described as being
present and aware from moment to
moment. Eating mindfully involves
being aware of the taste and texture
of food, the physical process of
eating, the physical sensations of
hunger and fullness, and the emotions
involved. The book starts off by
answering common questions about
mindful eating. Albers also provides
a summary of the five types of
mindless eaters: the occasional
mindless eater (new to the second
edition), the chronic mindless dieter,
the mindless overeater, and the
mindless chaotic eater. She provides
a list of attributes for each category
that allows readers to figure out what
type of mindless eater they are.
Albers believes that everyone is
guilty of mindless eating at some
point, and she emphasizes that
progress is more significant than
perfection. It is more important to
control the present moment than it is
to focus on the past or future. In a
time when many people have busy,
fast-paced lives, often eating meals
while they work, this book reminds
us of the importance of slowing down
and using our senses to actually enjoy
meals.
The rest of the book is divided into
five parts. The first part is about the
mindfulness of the mind. This
involves being present and aware of
all five senses when one eats. Albers
points out that doing so will allow
one to feel more pleasure while
eating and be able to stay in control.
She also discusses the idea of letting
go of food restrictions and
categorizing foods as being good or
bad.
The second part is about the
mindfulness of the body. This means
paying attention to the signs of
hunger in order to distinguish
between emotional and physical
hunger. It also involves paying
attention to one’s physical motions
while eating. The author explores self
-acceptance of one’s past, present,
and future bodies. Albers
recommends meditation and
breathing exercises to train oneself to
remain in the moment. She also
explores the idea of fine tuning one’s
taste buds.
The third part discusses the
mindfulness of the feelings. This
involves figuring out the emotional
triggers that cause mindless eating as
well as dealing with negative feelings
regarding one’s weight. It also
encourages readers to think about
how relationships can affect their
eating habits and even provides tips
on how to eat mindfully around
others, especially during the holidays.
The fourth part is about the
mindfulness of the thoughts. Albers
discusses the dangers of “mindless
thinking” that includes
overgeneralizing an outcome,
overstating things or ignoring
significant information (p. 202). She
recommends planning meals in order
to avoid emotional eating. Albers
also explores the idea of the “inner
food critic” and how to silence the
voice that shouts judgmental remarks
at you about your food choices (p.
219).
The fifth part is new to this edition
and serves as a review. It consists of
a detailed checklist with all of the
tips for mindful eating that Albers
covers throughout the book. The
author also provides several different
scenarios emotional eaters can find
themselves in and ways to handle the
situation mindfully.
Every chapter of this book
provides readers with exercises called
skill builders that keep them engaged.
Some of these skill builders require
the reader to keep a food diary.
Others simply require a mental task.
Albers recommends reading the
whole book before starting these
exercises. She provides many
different types of skill builders so
there is something for everybody.
Eating Mindfully: How to End
Mindless Eating and Enjoy a
Balanced Relationship with Food is
a comprehensive and engaging guide
to eating mindfully. It can be used by
almost anyone who wants to learn
how to be more present and aware in
their eating habits and daily lives in
general. This book focuses on the
readers and their experiences, while
Albers also provides relatable
examples from her own clients. The
skill builders provided allow the
reader to apply the concepts
discussed to their lives.
Somatic Psychotherapy Today | Fall 2014 | Volume 4 Number 2 | page 85