Take “control” of your food with Mindful Eating
Filed Under: Mindful Eating
10 October 2024 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
Is this story familiar to you?
You start each day with the best intentions, determined to “be good” and stick to the rules.
By evening, you find yourself staring at an empty bag of chips, overwhelmed with guilt and frustration.
You promise yourself tomorrow will be different, but the cycle repeats, and food feels like an endless battle you can’t seem to win.
The back-and-forth between restriction and overeating leaves you feeling desperate.
You are disconnected from your body’s true needs.
Sadly, for those of us with a history of eating challenges, this exhausting tug-of-war is something many of us have experienced throughout our lives.
But did you know there’s another way to approach food and eating, without dieting and restriction?
Mindful Eating offers a gentle and liberating alternative, inviting you to stop fighting food and reconnect with your body’s innate wisdom.
Instead of rules and restrictions, we learn to tune in, listen, and develop trust in ourselves again.
Picture savouring your favourite foods without guilt, enjoying chocolate without shame and eating in a way that honours your hunger and respects your fullness.
Imagine shifting from chaos to calm, from punishment to pleasure – where food is not your friend, nor your enemy and every bite is an opportunity to nourish yourself in body, mind, and soul.
When I was in the depths of my struggle with food this sounded impossible. Here are 7 amazing benefits of practising mindful eating which lead to taking back your power over food…
1. Stop the food noise.
Ever find yourself envious of people who can leave half a slice of cake on their plate? They aren’t these mythical creatures — they simply haven’t judged food as bad or wrong. When we judge food it creates a preoccupation with food. Food rules fuel obsession and cravings. By allowing yourself to enjoy all foods without judgement, you break the cycle of guilt. Mindful Eating helps you make peace with food, by eating with awareness and permission, so it no longer feels “charged”.
2. You let go of perfection with food.
The mindset of perfectionism with food can lead to cycles of restriction, bingeing, and guilt. Mindful Eating is about the “middle way,” where there are no “good” or “bad” foods. There are neutral choices that best serve your body and mind in the moment. This approach allows you to enjoy food without swinging between extremes, helping you cultivate a healthier, more sustainable relationship with eating so that cake and kale can peacefully coexist.
3. You rebuild trust in your body and yourself.
Many of us have lost touch with our body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. Mindful Eating reconnects you with your body’s innate wisdom, guiding you to eat when hungry and stop when you’ve had enough and that can be anywhere between satisfied or full. Over time, you’ll learn to differentiate between physical hunger, emotional hunger and cravings, rebuilding a sense of trust with your body and yourself.
4. You can cope with difficult emotions without always relying food.
Emotional eating is one of many ways we cope with difficult emotions. Whether it’s anxiety, stress, boredom, or loneliness, food can provide comfort.
Sadly the comfort is short-lived. The key is not to eliminate emotional eating but to bring awareness and choice into the process. Mindful Eating encourages you to acknowledge your emotions and to respond with self-care, exploring other ways of coping in addition to eating. This shift helps you develop healthier coping mechanisms, with or without food.
5. You can change with kindness, rather than criticism.
One of the most powerful truths is that you cannot change behaviours and patterns through beating yourself up. True transformation doesn’t come from restriction, punishment or control—this may sound counterintuitive but it comes from patience, acceptance and kindness toward yourself. The journey is rarely a straight line; it’s more like a dance, with steps forward, back, and sideways. As long as you keep moving, embracing every twist and turn, experiencing lasting change in your relationship with food is possible.
6. You enjoy more freedom and pleasure.
By eating mindfully, you learn to be fully present when eating, savouring each bite, appreciating the flavours, and noticing your body’s response. This is difficult to do for every bite and every meal but if you can have moments of awareness you will be less likely to eat on auto-pilot. This practice fosters a sense of freedom, helping you relax around food and experience eating as one of life’s simple pleasures.
7. You connect your mind, body and heart.
Mindful Eating encourages a deep connection between your mind, body, and heart. It’s not just about feeding your body—it’s about nourishing your whole self. As you become more aware of your body’s signals, you also tune into the thoughts and emotions that could drive your eating patterns. This awareness empowers you to make conscious choices, respond to triggers with compassion, and ultimately free yourself from reactive eating habits.
Imagine what it would feel like to go to bed without mentally auditing everything you ate that day. Or waking up without promising to “be good”. By letting go of food obsession and diet culture, you free up mental space for more meaningful, creative, and joyful pursuits. Your life’s purpose is not to be a perfect eater nor to lose weight —it’s to live fully, authentically, and with intention.
Wishing you well,
Xen
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“From our first meeting - two faces on Zoom across the world from each other, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that was a healing balm for a lifetime of food struggles and dieting. Without realizing how much damage I had done to myself by adhering, for decades, to restrictive food plans and rigid diet programs, Xen had a way of redirecting the harsh and negative self-talk and sending me forth each week with compassion, mindfulness and a new way of seeing myself in the here and now. Gone are the maybe somedays, and if-only, and when-I’m-smaller thinking. Now I am committed to the imperfect and rocky path to listening to my body, accepting my perfect imperfections, and rejecting diet mentality. Those negative voices will revisit me from time to time, I know, but Xen has offered valuable tools for meeting each day as a fresh start - another choice, another chance. Her devotion to this work and her belief in her clients is a remarkable gift; I am so fortunate to have found her. It is never too late to let go of the drama and embrace joy, ease and self-acceptance.”
“I felt hopeless and helpless in my daily struggle with mindless eating for many years. Then I found Xen which is exactly what I needed! My decision to work with her helped me to finally repair my relationship with food. It's changing my life for the better, one day at a time. Now I have control over the food, instead of it having control over me, which is the way it should be. I highly recommend Xen to anyone who has a desire to overcome similar food struggles. Xen, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
“I reached out to Xenia because 2021 started on a tumultuous note for me. Between deaths, businesses suffering, hospitalizations, and job losses in our personal circle, I felt depleted and found myself being available for everyone but myself. Then I was hit with an unexpected health diagnosis, which was the last straw as it meant giving up “healthy foods” and workouts that I leaned on for my well-being and stability. Despite working in wellness (Yes, coaches and healers are vulnerable too!), I found myself reaching out to desserts for comfort. I like to live a life of permissions (not labels or deprivation leading to bingeing), so I wanted to work with someone who approached healing from a place of mindful compassion. I didn’t want to be my own client. Xenia was great in reminding me to be kind to myself. Working with her, brought me peace and helped shift my mindset. I love how desserts and I look at each other now.”
“Working with Xenia was amazing. She armed me with a bunch of tools to help me through difficult times. Xenia is the kind of person who really cares for helping you in the long run. Her work will forever have an impact in my life.”
“Working with Xen was a game changer for me. After working together for a few months my relationship with food radically changed. I no longer felt like a failure. I now have the tools to nourish my body with foods that feel good in my body. I don’t feel guilty about eating cake or chocolate, I also don’t overeat cake and chocolate. I no longer feel the need to exercise to compensate for my eating. I feel much more free around eating and I am more accepting of my body. Xen has a nonjudgmental and compassionate approach to coaching and really supports you in the process.”
“Working with Xen has been very empowering. Her approach is so refreshing from the usual. I have learned that I am in charge and that I get to choose what I put in my body and how to move my body in a way that I like! I get to make my own choices. It’s so liberating. Once you get a taste of freedom with food, there is no turning back to old ways! Thanks Xen for guiding me along the way to freedom.”
“This is the answer for those of you that struggle with food and all that surrounds it. Xenia said that I could make peace with food and it seemed at the time like an impossible dream. Turns out it isn’t. I recommend Xen and the mindful eating / intuitive eating approach unreservedly. If you have any questions about my experience, please get in touch. Thank you Xen. My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”
“Xenia was a walking, living, breathing example of what can be done. I laughed and cried my way through a short course in this fascinating and invigorating programme with her, and have gained a designer tote full of coping skills that go way beyond containing kilogrammes. I feel infinitely lighter. I am doing this for me and, yes, you can do this for you too! And believe me, I’m cynical!”
“I don’t obsess about food like I used to. I am thinking differently about food and feeling so much more relaxed around all types of food. It’s wonderful to have pleasure and satisfaction from eating.”
“I learned a new way of thinking about food. I have learned that food is not the enemy and that it can actually be enjoyed with no guilt.”
