Gentle Daily Practice for Mindful Eating & Release
Posted by Nathalie Le Riche on
These mindful eating ritual blends home and restaurant practices to help reconnect with your body, release old conditioning, and enjoy food with balance.
🌞 Morning Grounding (5 minutes)
Sit quietly with a hand on your belly.
Say: “Today I honour my body’s signals. Food is abundant, I am safe.”
Take 3 slow breaths, imagining nourishment flowing in and tension flowing out.
🍽️ Pre-Meal Ritual (Home)
Pause before eating: Take one deep breath and notice hunger level (scale 1–10).
Set intention: Whisper: “I choose pleasure and balance.”
Serve smaller portions: Start with less than you think you need.
🥗 During the Meal (Home)
First three bites practice: Eat slowly, noticing texture and flavour.
Fork down pause: Put your fork down between bites.
Check-in halfway: Ask: “Am I satisfied or still hungry?”
Practice leaving food: Symbolically break the “must finish” rule.
🍴 Restaurant Ritual
Prepare before you go: Bring a container or zip bag.
Set intention: “I will enjoy this meal slowly, and I don’t need to finish it all here.”
Instant portioning: When the meal arrives, divide it in half. Place one half directly into your container or zip bag for later.
Savour slowly: Use mindful eating—first three bites with attention, fork down between bites.
Check-in halfway: Ask: “Am I satisfied?” If yes, pause. You’ve already saved food.
Gratitude moment: Appreciate that you enjoyed the restaurant experience and created another meal for later.
🌸 After the Meal
Gratitude reflection: Write one line in a journal: “I feel [emotion] after eating [food].”
Body scan: Notice if you feel light, heavy, bloated, or energized.
🌙 Evening Release
Write down one old belief (e.g., “I must finish everything”) and reframe it: “I can stop when I’m full. Food will always be available.”
End with a calming ritual: gentle stretch, sketching, or a walk.
📝 Journaling Prompts
“What emotion was I seeking when I kept eating past fullness?”
“How did my body feel before and after this meal?”
“What non-food joy can I give myself today?”
🌞 Weekly Reflection
Review your journal at week’s end.
Notice patterns between foods, moods, and fullness.
Celebrate small wins (like leaving food or savouring slowly).
Choose one new non-food reward to try next week.
This practice is about retraining your relationship with food through compassion and awareness, not restriction. Over time, it helps dissolve old scarcity conditioning and replaces it with trust in your body’s signals.
Enjoy your festive season's whilst being kind to self.