Mindfulness – theoretical introduction
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a state of awareness that arises when we direct our attention to the present moment in an open, non-judgmental, and accepting way (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020). The modern understanding of mindfulness originates from Buddhist traditions but has been adapted for use in psychology and medicine as a secular practice that supports mental health and behavioral change.
The term mindfulness was translated from the Pali word sati, which means awareness, recollection, or presence of mind (Rhys Davids, 1881, as cited in Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020). Although mindfulness is often confused with meditation, it is important to emphasize that not all meditation is mindfulness, and mindfulness does not always involve formal meditation practice (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020). Through observing one’s thoughts, emotions, and sensory experiences, mindfulness allows for a full experience of the present moment. Unlike meditation, which often requires stillness and inward focus, mindfulness can be practiced in everyday situations such as walking, working, or eating.
| Here are five practical rules that will help you to eat more mindfully and gain more pleasure from every meal (5S) (Albers, 2015): |
| 1️ SIT DOWN Avoid eating standing up, on the run or in the car. Sit down, put your food on the plate and focus on eating. Rule: „Eat only when sitting down” 2️ SLOWLY CHEW Try to eat using the other hand (left, when you are right-handed and vice versa) – this slows the tempo down. Nutritionist recommends that clients eat slowly: breakfast 15-20 minutes, lunch 30 minutes, dinner 20. Put down cutlery and do not keep it in your hand all the time. Deliberately eat more slowly than people around you. Rule: „Pace, don’t race” – slow down! 3️ SAVOR Use your senses: look, smell, taste. Switch of the TV, phone, and other distractors. Rule: „When you eat – just eat” 4️ SIMPLIFY Make healthy foods more accessible – for example, keep fruit in plain sight. Keep snacks and sweets out of sight. Rule: „In sight – in your head, hidden – forgotten” 5️ SMILE Before you reach for another bite – smile. Take a short break and ask yourself: „Am I full enough?” Rule: „Take a breath before reaching out for more” Practical tip: Print these 5 rules and put it on your fridge or save them in your phone. They will help you to stop and have your meal with more mindfulness – and that is a first step on the way to better relationship with food. |
Before you start – mindful eating is not a diet
Before you begin practicing mindful eating techniques, it’s important to understand one key thing: mindful eating is not another diet. It’s not about restrictions, sacrifices, or counting calories. Instead, it’s about learning to pause, observe, and make conscious choices – with care for your body and emotions. For many people, this represents a new way of thinking about food – one without pressure, guilt, or battling with oneself. The comparison below highlights the key differences between traditional “being on a diet” and mindful eating (Albers, 2015).
| Traditional diets | MindfulEating |
| ❌ Will power | ✅ Awareness and presence |
| ❌ Rules and restrictions | ✅ Listening to body signals |
| ❌ Focus on the looks and weight | ✅ Focus on health and well-being |
| ❌ Social pressure | ✅ Internal motivation and self-accceptance |
| ❌ Calorie counting | ✅ Intuitive and elastic nutrition |
| ❌ Feeling gulity | ✅ Compassion and lack of jugdement |
| ❌ Temporary solution | ✅ Long-term lifestyle change |
| ❌ Fighting with food | ✅ Feeling happy and having pleasure from eating with full attention |
Mindfulness and self-regulation models
Mindfulness can be understood as a process that engages several key psychological and neurobiological mechanisms. Two main types of mindfulness practice are distinguished:
- Open monitoring, OM – open observation of thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without fixating on a single point, and without judging or suppressing these experiences.
- Focused attention, FA – focusing on a single object (e.g., the breath) and returning to it whenever distractions arise.
Real-life example – mindfulness in eating
Let’s imagine a person who has a habit of eating in front of the TV. They turn on their favorite show and reach for snacks, even if they’re not particularly hungry. After a while, they realize they’ve eaten an entire bag of chips – even though they hadn’t planned to, and didn’t even enjoy the experience.
If they applied focused attention (FA), they could try to consciously focus on each bite of food – paying attention to its taste, texture, and smell. If they noticed their attention drifting toward the TV, they could deliberately bring it back to the sensory experience of eating and ask themselves: “Am I really hungry? Am I eating because I want to, or just out of habit?”
On the other hand, open monitoring (OM) would help them observe the thoughts and emotions that arise before reaching for a snack. They might notice that eating is a response to stress or boredom, rather than actual hunger. Observing these impulses without judgment could help them make a more mindful choice – such as drinking a glass of water, taking a few deep breaths, or choosing a healthier alternative.
This type of mindfulness training can support gradual changes in eating habits by increasing control over impulsive eating and enabling more conscious decision-making in line with the body’s actual needs (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020). It can therefore be said that mindfulness is not just a state of awareness, but also a tool that facilitates better self-regulation – through regular practice of directing attention to specific activities, such as eating, it becomes possible to gain greater control over learned or automatic behaviors and emotional reactions.
Mindfulness as a tool in altering behaviour and mental health
Research shows that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) effectively reduce harmful habits, support emotional regulation, and improve self-control (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020). Three key mechanisms can be identified through which mindfulness supports behaviour change, including changes in eating habits:
A) Enhancing cognitive control. Cognitive control refers to the ability to focus attention, manage sudden impulses, and ultimately make decisions that are beneficial for us in the long term (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020). Mindfulness improves cognitive control by strengthening executive functions – that is, skills that help guide everyday actions – such as:
Improved ability to concentrate – individuals who practice mindfulness are better able to focus on signals from the body, such as actual feelings of hunger and fullness.
- Improved ability to concentrate – individuals who practice mindfulness are better able to focus on signals from the body, such as actual feelings of hunger and fullness.
- Better impulse regulation – mindfulness training strengthens connections in the prefrontal cortex, making it easier to suppress impulsive reactions, such as reaching for unhealthy snacks in response to stress (Vago & Silbersweig, 2018).
Real-life example – mindfulness in eating
Let’s imagine a person walking past a bakery who suddenly smells the strong aroma of freshly baked goods. In the past, they would often impulsively enter the store and buy something sweet, even though they weren’t hungry. Thanks to improved cognitive control, instead of reacting automatically, they are able to notice the impulse, pause for a moment, and reflect: “Am I actually hungry, or is this just a fleeting craving triggered by the smell?” If they realize they aren’t hungry, they can refrain from acting on the impulse, change their course of action, and make a conscious decision to walk past the bakery.
B) Emotion regulation. Mindfulness facilitates emotion management by:
- Increased ability to accept emotions – instead of suppressing negative emotions (e.g., stress, sadness, anger), individuals who practice mindfulness learn to accept and observe them without judgment, which reduces the need to cope with these emotions through eating (Vago et al., 201
- Reduced emotional reactivity – mindfulness helps us respond to stress more calmly, as regular practice makes emotional outbursts less frequent and helps us maintain composure more easily. Individuals who practice mindfulness show reduced activity in the amygdala, which means they are less prone to impulsive reactions in stressful situations (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020).
Real-life example – mindfulness in eating
A person who has the habit of reaching for unhealthy snacks after a stressful day at work can, through mindfulness, learn to pause and pay attention to their emotions. Instead of eating automatically, they may notice and name what they’re feeling. This awareness allows them to choose other known methods of reducing emotional tension, such as: “I feel stressed and tense. Maybe instead of grabbing another candy bar like I usually do, I’ll take a few deep breaths or go for a walk.” In this way, they consciously regulate their emotions instead of giving in to impulsive eating.
C) Self-regulation and self-awareness (self-knowledge). Self-regulation refers to the ability to consciously monitor and adjust one’s behavior in alignment with long-term goals. Mindfulness supports this process by:
- Reduction of negative self-talk – mindfulness decreases the tendency toward negative self-judgment (e.g., “I overate again, I’m hopeless”), which can help break the vicious circle of emotional eating (Vago & Silbersweig, 2018).
- Better recognition of bodily signals – individuals who practice mindfulness are more aware of sensations of hunger and fullness, which helps them eat in alignment with the body’s actual needs (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020).
Real-life example – mindfulness in eating
A person who previously often engaged in late-night overeating begins to practice mindfulness. Instead of automatically reaching for food, they pause and tune in to the signals their body is sending, learning to distinguish hunger from other sensations. For example: “Am I really hungry? Or is this just a habit or boredom?” With greater self-awareness, they can make a more intentional decision – such as having a cup of tea or reading a book instead of eating out of boredom.
The model proposed by Schuman-Olivier et al. (2020) emphasizes that mindfulness supports behavior change through the integration of cognitive control, emotion regulation, self-awareness, and motivation. In this way, it helps break unhealthy eating habits and replace them with more conscious, health-promoting choices.
Mindfulness supports the change of eating habits by:
✅ Improved cognitive control – preventing impulsive eating by enhancing concentration and response inhibition.
✅ More effective emotion regulation – reducing the use of food as a way to cope with stress or negative emotions.
✅ Increased self-regulation and self-awareness – better recognition of hunger and fullness signals, and the ability to make more conscious decisions.
These mechanisms are crucial when working with individuals who struggle with emotional, compulsive, or uncontrolled eating. Regular mindfulness practice can help build healthier eating habits and increase a sense of control over one’s behavior.
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| Bibliography |
| Schuman-Olivier, Z., Trombka, M., Lovas, D. A., Brewer, J. A., Vago, D. R., Gawande, R., Dunne, J. P., Lazar, S. W., Loucks, E. B., & Fulwiler, C. (2020). Mindfulness and behavior change. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 28(6), 371–394. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000277 Vago, D. R., &Silbersweig, D. A. (2018). Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): A framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, 296. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00296 Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U. (2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(6), 537–559. Albers, S. (2015). 20 Mindful Eating Handouts to Help You End Overeating, Enjoy Food and Stop Feeling Guilt Now! EatingMindfully.com. |
