7 Kinds of Hunger

Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash

How to focus all your attention on the act of eating mindfully

This way of eating mindfully favors listening to the messages of your body, based on your senses (sight, smell, taste), as well as on the sensations felt in your stomach and the hunger of your cells, mind, and body.

The exercise in tasting requires practice, of course, but it slows down the rhythm of food intake, encourages satiation, and renews your relationship to food, and listening to your body’s messages.

I invite you to choose one food and taste it using your seven kinds of hunger to eat mindfully. Prepare your eyes, nose, mouth, stomach, cells, mind, and heart!

1. Hunger of the eyes

Take the time to look at your food, its color, shape, and texture. Try to identify what appeals to your eyes about the food. How much hunger does the perception of this food with your eyes provoke?

2. Hunger of the nose

Smell your food once. Wait a little while. Then do it again. Try to identify what the smell evokes in your body. How much hunger does the perception of this food with your nose provoke?

3. Hunger of the mouth

Place the food in your mouth but do not chew it. Move the food around in your mouth with your tongue. Chew it once. Does your mouth feel like repeating the experience? How much hunger does your mouth feel?

4. Hunger of the stomach

Slowly chew the food, observing the changes in texture and taste occurring in your mouth. Swallow the food. Is your stomach satisfied? How much more does your stomach want the food?

5. Hunger of the cells

Become aware of how the food is absorbed by your body’s cells. Imagine it! Observe if there are sensations that tell you that the food is actually being absorbed by your body. How are the cells in your body taking in the food?

6. Hunger of the mind

Listen to what your mind is saying about your food. This inner speech often begins with “you should” or “you shouldn’t” depending on what is feeding your mind’s hunger. How much does your mind want you to eat more of this food?

7. Hunger of the heart

Take a moment to consider your food with kindness. Try to identify how your heart feels. How much comfort does it give you? Does your heart wish you eat more of it?

“Every moment nature is serving fresh dishes with items of happiness. It is our choice to recognize and taste it.”

— Amit Ray

This tasting exercise takes practice. That’s why I invite you to repeat it with other familiar and unfamiliar foods. Take the time to evaluate the seven kinds of hunger separately. The pleasure is in the quality of the food, not the quantity.

Over time, you will develop a skill and confidence that will renew and balance your relationship with food. You will be able to nourish your body, mind, and heart so that you can eat mindfully.

P.S. If others are watching, tell them you are practicing mindful eating!