HES 2823 Introductory Nutrition Extra Credit Mindful Eating Name Ellie Snakenberg If you haven t done so already read all the instructions before beginning this activity Remember you can choose any meal for this mindful eating exercise It doesn t matter what you re eating but make sure you re in an environment where you can focus on the experience of your meal 1 How have you set up your environment for this mindful eating exercise For this mindful eating exercise I made sure that my environment was distraction free To do this I put my phone and any other electronics away I also did not turn on the TV I also ate alone I do enjoy eating with others However to fully experience a no distraction environment I decided to eat this meal completely alone and silent 2 How would you rank your hunger before the meal 1 is starving 10 is so full you feel sick Before the meal I would rate my hunger at a 5 I was hungry and ready to eat but I was not starving 3 Using your senses describe your meal How does it look smell taste feel or sound My food looks very appetizing The ingredients I see include noodles White rice chicken mushrooms tomatoes and teriyaki sauce There were about 4 different colors The noodles were yellowish the chicken and mushrooms were white the tomatoes were red and the teriyaki sauce was brown I got the food from the grocery store I had to cook the noodles mushrooms and chicken myself The teriyaki sauce was already prepared and the tomatoes were pre canned The food was warm so I could see and feel steam coming from it There was not a sound from my meal However when I was cooking it the microwave made a sound and the stove made a sound I used a fork to eat my food out of a bowl It smelt savory and it had a bit of a crunch from the ingredients mixed together It tasted very good I really tasted the teriyaki in the bowl The flavors did not change but as I ate the meal did go from hot to room temperature 4 When you have finished your meal how would you rank your hunger 1 is starving 10 is so full you feel sick HES 2823 Introductory Nutrition Extra Credit Mindful Eating Name Ellie Snakenberg When I finished my meal I would rank my hunger at an 8 I was not uncomfortably full or still hungry I had eaten just enough to feel satisfied full 5 Reflect on this experience What do you think about this practice of mindful eating Consider the following prompts How often do you eat without distractions Was the experience of eating during this exercise different than usual if so how Do you think that this practice is something that could be helpful to yourself or others What other thoughts do you have about mindful eating I enjoyed this practice Rarely do I eat without distractions so this experience allowed me to slow down and just enjoy my food Normally I watch a show while I am eating or I eat while talking to my roommates I find that when I watch a show I am less mindful about my meal I don t savor it as much and I don t recognize my hunger cues I feel as though I am more mindful with my friends but still not as mindful as when I ate in a distraction free environment I think occasionally it is good to practice mindful eating I don t think it is something that we have to do all the time because I think it is good to have company and to watch something you enjoy while you eat However this practice does have benefits such as allowing you to slow down and savor your food Ultimately I think mindful eating can be helpful and can help you make better choices I also think mindful eating can be unique to each individual and people can have different experiences with mindful eating