Slow, Mindful, Intuitive & Eatiful Eating - What’s the difference?

Slow eating, mindful eating, conscious eating, intuitive eating, or as we call it, Eatiful eating, is something anyone can do, although having a supportive guide like Eatiful will help you do it with ease. In fact, many of our early users are not only losing weight, but are enjoying eating more with the Eatiful method.

But what is Eatiful eating? What is mindful eating, or intuitive, or conscious eating for that matter? And does it matter?  Well, Eatiful blends the best of mindful, intuitive and slow eating into a simple method that anyone can practice. We take a look at these terms and their origins and help demystify a few of these terms so you can get to know your eating terminology a bit better. Here goes…

What is mindful eating?

Mindful eating is generally known as a practice that involves paying attention to the act of eating and being fully present in the moment while eating. It encourages people to be conscious of their thoughts, sensations, and signals of hunger and fullness from their body.  Mindful eating helps you enjoy food more.

Some people believe mindful eating also encompasses other things like gratitude - being grateful to someone or something for the food you’re eating. If you like that idea, why not?

Some people also include spirituality in mindful eating. Indeed some say mindful eating has its roots in Buddhism. Well spirituality is one thing, and eating, well eating is another thing. It is of course possible to really appreciate what you eat, to notice where it came from, how it was prepared, how it tastes, how it feels, how it makes you feel, its impact o the environment and on other people, and so on. It is also possible and perhaps enjoyable to feel grateful for food and how it nourishes us. But you do not need to have spirituality or religious belief to eat well.

Occasionally, and confusingly, some people even lump vegetarianism or veganism in with mindful eating and suggest that to eat mindfully, you shouldn’t eat meat, (and dairy). We think that eating is about the eating whereas vegetarianism and veganism are simply dietary preferences and the two shouldn’t be confused.

What is conscious eating?

If mindful eating can be confused a little, then conscious eating is simpler. Conscious eating is just that really, the act of being conscious or present in the moment. We see it as a subset of mindful eating. It’s the being present bit.

What is intuitive eating?

If mindful eating is all about the eating part and focusing on food, then intuitive eating turns the focus onto the body. Intuitive eating is generally understood to be about being guided by your body when it comes to food. It involves really listening to your hunger and fullness cues and being guided as to what and when to eat. Intuitive eating also rejects diet culture and promotes body acceptance. Intuitive eating helps you learn to stop eating when full. Intuitive eating was first coined as a term by authors interested in rejecting diet culture and the very idea that people should be losing weight. As such, while we agree with many of its principles, Eatiful is very different, simply because we know that eating by being guided by your body can indeed help you to lose unwanted weight (if that’s your desire).

What is slow eating?

Slow eating is simply the act of eating slowly. Some people naturally eat slowly, others can learn how to do it, and mostly find they enjoy eating much more when they learn to slow down. 

What is Eatiful eating?

Eatiful blends slow eating with aspects of intuitive eating and aspects of mindful eating, plus self-reflection, journalling, self-love and manifestation theory. It is designed to make you feel good, to be easy to do, and to help enjoy food more as you lose weight naturally and sustainably without a diet.

Eatiful eating principles

• Focus on yourself and your food

• Remove distractions

• Give yourself time

• Eat slowly

• Enjoy every mouthful

• Really enjoy your food

• Notice how food makes you feel emotionally

• Notice how food makes your body feel at the time of eating and later

• Slow your eating as you progress through your meal so you can stop at or before the point of fullness

• Continue to think about how food makes you feel so you can make informed decisions in the future.

And importantly, Eatiful is designed to unashamedly help you to lose weight while feeling good about your body.