Mindful eating when living with T1D

When you're living with t1d, the careful attention you need to pay to your food and beverage consumption can make it difficult to maintain a healthy relationship with food. Mindful eating, which can bring a fresh approach to daily meals and snacks, is one possible strategy for growing and maintaining a healthy relationship with food as a person with diabetes.

What is mindful eating?

Mindful eating is a purposeful approach to choosing what and how to eat as well as the experience of eating itself. When we focus our attention on the present moment, we can release ourselves from emotions like a judgment that can often accompany eating, especially for people living with t1d. Instead, we can emphasize the act of eating as it engages with our senses and nourishes our bodies instead of allowing it to be simply utilitarian or worse: a negative experience.

Mindful eating for people living with T1D

People living with t1d have busy lives like everyone else and also deal with the additional tasks and responsibilities for managing their condition. Whether you're accustomed to eating lunch at your desk, skipping meals altogether, or something in between, taking a moment to focus on what you're doing at mealtimes can truly make a difference in many aspects of your health.

Mindful eating is known to grow the awareness around the internal and external triggers having to do with eating. It can slow down what might otherwise be an automatic process of eating and allows you to listen to natural cues that indicate hunger and fullness. Research has shown that mindful eating can be helpful in improving disordered eating and dietary patterns as well as aid diabetes self-management education (DSME).

If you're interested in learning how mindful eating can improve your diabetes management, keep this information in mind:

• In a nutshell, mindful eating is about bringing more awareness and attention to the present moment without judgment in situations that involve food.
• More research is needed to determine exactly what measurable impact mindful eating can have on traditional diabetes benchmarks like A1C, but self-reported results by participants have included an impact on both physical and emotional aspects of health.
• It takes time to gain insight into one's own eating patterns, so don't be discouraged if you're having a hard time getting started.
• Consistency is key to seeing growth in your mindful eating journey, so give it time to feel a difference.

Staying aware of your relationship with food and T1D

People living with t1d are at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder or disordered eating than the rest of the population due to the daily attention to planning meals, portion sizes, and carbohydrate counting. This required attention to food intake may even mask the symptoms of eating disorders or disordered eating, which makes it important for clinicians to be knowledgeable about these potential challenges.

If you notice a strain in your relationship with food as a person with diabetes, reach out to your care team for help. You can also seek support from the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and diabetes-specific organizations like We Are Diabetes or Diabulimia Helpline for more information and assistance.

Incorporating mindfulness into your overall routine

Slowing down the pace of life and appreciating each moment around food without judgment can be a challenge. However, mindfulness with eating may benefit your diabetes regimen and help you work to meet your health goals. Beginning with the smallest of mindful moments can lead to recognizable improvements in your health and quality of life.

The mind-body connection is powerful, and there are many ways to tap into it beyond mindful eating. Explore how meditation can be part of your health and wellness routine.