Mindful eating and diabetes: Zen and the art of eating
Mindful eating and diabetes: Zen and the art of eating
Mastering an art, D. T. Suzuki wrote in Zen in the Art of Archery, takes more than technical knowledge. The art becomes an “artless art”.
The ideas of mindfulness, simplicity, removing obstacles, flowing like water, and absorbing what is useful while disregarding what is not all have connections to Zen philosophy. It was these ideas that helped inspire [Deconstructing Diabetes](link to About page). The concept was simple: simplifying nutrition advice for people with diabetes.
Nutrition can become complicated. There are different diets, food rules, recommendations and endless opinions about what we should or shouldn’t eat. But knowing what to eat is only part of the picture. How we eat, the habits we’ve developed and the attention we give to food can be just as important. This is where mindfulness comes in.
What is mindful eating?
Mindfulness involves giving our attention to what we’re doing in the present moment. When applied to eating, this might mean noticing the appearance, smell, taste and texture of food, along with our appetite, satisfaction and the circumstances in which we’re eating.
It can also mean recognising why we’re eating. Are we hungry? Is it a usual meal time? Are we bored, distracted, stressed or simply eating because food is available?
What a square of chocolate taught me about mindful eating
I was running an activity on mindfulness as part of a bariatric group, and each person had a square of chocolate on a plate in front of them. One member of the group said she usually ate a whole block of chocolate in one sitting. Half expecting the activity to end in disaster, I was surprised when she didn’t even finish the single square in front of her.
Why? She described it as the best piece of chocolate she’d ever eaten. (And yes, I had provided quality chocolate for the activity.)
During the exercise, we had paid attention to everything about the experience. The clean table we were sitting at. The sight of the chocolate. The sound as it broke between the fingers. The smell before placing it in the mouth. Then the mouthfeel, texture, flavours, saliva production and pleasure of that first bite. For her, the experience of eating that small amount of chocolate was enough. She told us she’d never eaten chocolate that way before.
I often think about this because it shows how easily we can eat without paying much attention to the food itself. Of course, mindful eating doesn’t mean that one square of chocolate will always be satisfying, or that we should necessarily eat less. But paying attention can help us better recognise enjoyment, appetite and satisfaction.
Eating doesn’t start with eating
Mindfulness doesn’t have to begin with food on the plate. I’ve found that doing a cooking class in a foreign country can teach much more than kitchen skills. There’s an appreciation for the selection and quality of ingredients, the recipe itself and often the history behind it. Perhaps the recipe was taught by a grandmother, who learnt it from her grandmother. Preparing a meal can become a ritual, a source of respect and pride, and an important part of enjoying food.
We can bring some of that attention into our everyday eating. Choosing ingredients, preparing a meal, setting the table and sitting down to enjoy what we’ve made can all contribute. Even when time is limited, taking a moment to appreciate the meal can make a difference.
The opposite of mindfulness is mindlessness
What does mindless eating look like? It might be eating while watching television, browsing the internet, working at your desk, walking down the street or driving. Sometimes we’re so distracted that we barely notice what we’ve eaten, how quickly we’ve eaten it or whether we’ve enjoyed it. We might finish a meal and find ourselves looking for something else to eat, without having paid much attention to the first.
I sometimes suggest to clients that they try making eating a mutually exclusive activity (with the exception, of course, of enjoying a meal in the company of friends and family!). That doesn’t mean every meal needs to be eaten in silence or without distractions. Just experiment with giving your food a little more attention.
Simple ways to eat more mindfully
Sit down to eat rather than eating on the run
Put your phone aside for part of a meal
Notice the flavours and textures of the food
Slow down occasionally and allow time to enjoy what you’re eating
Check in with your appetite and satisfaction during a meal
You may be surprised by what you notice.
Mindful eating and diabetes: awareness creates choice
When working with people who have diabetes, I often encourage them to reflect on their usual eating patterns. What foods are they choosing? How much? When? And what influences those decisions? For some people, the challenge is regularly eating while distracted. For others, it’s skipping meals, grazing through the afternoon or eating beyond comfortable fullness. Noticing these patterns shows where a change might help.
We can also learn from blood glucose monitoring. Noticing how different meals, portions, eating patterns and activities influence your glucose levels gives you useful information for future decisions. Mindfulness itself isn’t a treatment for high glucose levels, but greater awareness of our eating can help us identify opportunities for change. And sometimes, small changes to how we eat are just as useful as changes to what we eat.
If you take a GLP-1 medication, slowing down can help you notice fullness earlier, which is useful when your appetite is changing. See my GLP-1 nutrition support page for more.
If eating ever feels out of control or tied to distress, it’s worth talking to your doctor or a psychologist. Mindful eating can sit alongside that support, but it doesn’t replace it.
Focus on the process
I’ve written before about reinforcing useful behaviours rather than focusing only on outcomes such as weight or glucose levels (see How to build healthy habits that last with Type 2 diabetes). Of course, those outcomes matter, but it’s the everyday decisions and behaviours that influence them.
We can’t expect every meal to be eaten mindfully, and there will be times when we’re busy, distracted or eating on the run. But making time now and then to slow down and pay attention helps us understand our habits. And with greater awareness comes the opportunity to make different choices.
Would you like to better understand your eating habits and how they affect your diabetes? You can book an online consultation, or start with my free Type 2 Diabetes Guide.
Updated October 2026.