Using Meditation to Stop Binge Eating
Meditation has long been known as a powerful and effective way to reduce stress. It is now being studied as an intervention for weight gain, obesity and binge eating disorder.
Researchers Jean Kristeller, Ph.D. from Indiana State University and Ruth Quillian-Wolever, Ph.D. from the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine are studying a form of meditation adapted from the Buddhist tradition of Vipassana, which means "to see things as they really are".
The relaxation effects of meditation can help with how food is used emotionally, but even more importantly, it may help
us to incorporate nonjudgmental awareness into eating behavior.
Just think if you could always see food just as it is, nothing more.
Just think if you could always be nonjudgmental about all of your eating behavior. That is how naturally thin people feel and act - if they overeat on occasion, it is no big deal.
Research shows that people with eating problems are generally less aware of the normal hunger and fullness cues that our bodies are giving us, making it harder to self- regulate.
These problems may be due to overdieting and to overusing food to meet emotional needs.
Kristeller and Quillian-Wolever have developed mindfulness exercises to help people increase awareness of their own hunger and fullness cues.
These exercises help people keep their minds focused on the current moment of eating and nothing else.
Research participants are finding these techniques to be very powerful, often noticing changes within a few days of
using them.
Those who used this approach were able to reduce the number of binging episodes as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression, AND increase self-acceptance
and self-control around food.
Now you don't have to be a research subject to benefit from these findings. Simply incorporate mindful eating into
your daily routine.
Stop shouting at yourself and pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues.
I don't mean to imply that this is always easy, but a regular practice of meditation will make these skills a whole lot easier.
The effects of meditation are cumulative, so do as much as you can. Even if you can only meditate 20 minutes per day, you will reap the health benefits.
Carol Solomon, Ph.D.
[Edited on 14/2/04 by nido]
