"Mindful" Eating for Weight Loss

Those who eat out at restaurants (or order takeout) often are more likely to gain weight. Why? Studies have shown that we tend to eat more fat and calories when eating restaurant food than we do at home. So what do we do – never eat out again?

A small study at the University of Texas at Austin employed a meditative technique known as "mindfulness" to determine if being more aware of what we eat can help us consume fewer calories when dining out. Participants included 35 middle-aged women of all body types who dined out at least three times weekly.

Those in the "mindfulness" group were taught ways to reduce overeating and how to make better food choices at restaurants. They also participated in mindful eating exercises, in which they focused on the feelings of fullness as they ate.

Six weeks later, all the women in both groups were eating out as much as they did before, but those in the "mindfulness" group had lost nearly four pounds on average, and were consuming about 300 fewer calories than they were previously. The control group saw no change in eating habits or weight.

Proponents of the system say that it teaches us to savor our food, so that we are eating less, but enjoying it more. Now, that doesn't sound like deprivation, does it?