Mindless eating—it’s almost a national pastime in the United States. Eating fast. Eating on the run. Eating in front of the TV or at your desk. Eating alone.

As far as I know, the American expression “grab-and-go” does not translate into any other language!

It’s time to slow down and eat the Mediterranean way: mindfully, with care, and with joy.

Try these tips:

Mindless eating—it’s almost a national pastime in the United States. Eating fast. Eating on the run. Eating in front of the TV or at your desk. Eating alone.

As far as I know, the American expression “grab-and-go” does not translate into any other language!

It’s time to slow down and eat the Mediterranean way: mindfully, with care, and with joy.

Try these tips:

Put your food on a plate and dedicate a place to sit and eat it (not in front of the television, not in the car, not in front of the computer, and not at your desk).

Better yet, as often as you can, sit with a loved one you want to spend time with or with a wider circle of friends and family. Look at your food and your surroundings before you start your meal, and allow yourself to get ready to enjoy your food.

Before you take your first bite, stop and ask yourself this question: 

“Are you hungry?” Are you about to eat because you need fuel, or because you are upset, bored, or stressed out? Those reasons don’t mean you shouldn’t eat, but be very clear “why” you are eating, or you risk uncontrolled eating (especially if you're stressed), and subsequently, regret.

“Are you hungry?” Are you about to eat because you need fuel, or because you are upset, bored, or stressed out?

Those reasons don’t mean you shouldn’t eat, but be very clear “why” you are eating, or you risk uncontrolled eating (especially if you're stressed), and subsequently, regret.

Before your first bite, look at the presentation of your food. Is your plate colorful, and do the portions match your appetite?

As you slip your first bite across your lips, how does the food taste?

Can you smell the food as you eat it?

What is the texture like in your mouth? 

Switch from one item on your plate to another, and appreciate the difference between each bite. It is hoped that first bite tastes delicious, but if not, before taking a second bite, ask yourself, how much more of this meal do you want to eat and why? And if something doesn’t taste great, don’t eat it. 

You don’t have to clean your plate. (Despite what your parents may have told you about the starving children of the world, no one will perish if you don’t finish everything in front of you.) If you are eating with others, talk about the food you are enjoying—how it looks, how it smells, and how it tastes.

One of the joys of eating with my French in-laws is that we always end up talking about what we are eating and drinking—which inevitably makes us appreciate our meal and our time together even more. Probably the biggest challenge of mindful eating in our rushed world is that it calls for slowing down, not always easy given our jam-packed days.

But it’s so worth the extra time you will take to make your own food and set a place at the table for yourself (and, I hope, for others). If you practice mindful eating, very likely you will eat less, enjoy your food more, and make better choices.

One of the joys of eating with my friends and family is that we always end up talking about what we are eating and drinking—which inevitably makes us appreciate our meal and our time together even more.

Probably the biggest challenge of mindful eating in our rushed world is that it calls for slowing down, not always easy given our jam-packed days.

But it’s so worth the extra time you will take to make your own food and set a place at the table for yourself (and, I hope, for others). If you practice mindful eating, very likely you will eat less, enjoy your food more, and make better choices.

For better blood sugar control, and especially if you are trying to lose weight, do as they do in the Mediterranean: Have a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner. 

People in one study using a Mediterranean diet for weight loss lost more weight having 70 percent of their calories for breakfast, morning snack, and lunch, with only 30 percent of their calories for afternoon snack and dinner, compared to another group in the study who ate the exact same food, but with 55 percent of their calories in the morning and at lunch, and 45 percent in the late afternoon and evening. 

Over a twelve-week period, those eating more calories earlier in the day lost 18 pounds, compared to the bigger dinner group, who lost 13 pounds over the same twelve weeks.

This suggests there is weight-loss benefit from eating a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner, which is often how food is consumed in Mediterranean countries.

Those eating more earlier in the day also showed greater improvements in insulin sensitivity. This supports prior studies showing that eating late at night, right before going to bed, decreases insulin sensitivity and promotes weight gain.

Even if you’re not trying to lose weight and you’re seeking to maintain your weight, it’s clearly better for insulin sensitivity if you shift most of your calories to the first half of your day, rather than overdo it in the evenings.

The worst thing to do is to eat within 60 to 90 minutes of going to bed.

Mediterranean people generally don’t snack alone—if they snack at all—and when they do eat between meals, they do it very differently from how we often do it here. 

The idea of a person, all alone, eating ice cream out of the carton while standing at the kitchen sink, or eating a bag of potato chips in front of the TV, is a largely foreign concept in the Mediterranean. Indeed, eating alone isn’t done by choice and snacking alone is unheard of. 

Americans, on average, get 25 to 30 percent of their calories from snacking over the course of a day, which is nearly 600 extra calories, often from nutrient-deficient food. Southern Europeans in general don’t snack, and my estimate is that at most snacking accounts for 10 percent of their calories.

Ironically, years ago when my relatives from Europe visited us in the United States, they lost weight—but not by choice. 

That’s because we offered healthy snacks such as hummus and sliced veggies, nuts, fruit, and yogurt while we were moving about and on the go, adding some calories in between moderately light lunches and dinners—meals that were smaller than what they were used to. (Back then my family snacked and ate low-fat meals, as we hadn’t fully adopted a varied Mediterranean approach in our own home.)

But they wouldn’t snack on the go! They considered it taboo. Over the course of their visit they would take in fewer calories. The result was that they flew back home minus a few pounds. 

For some Mediterranean Method snack ideas, consider the appetizers and dips, and make sure to keep staples like olives, nuts, and your favorite crunchy fresh vegetables on hand.

Remember, it’s too easy to tack on an extra 600 to 900-plus calories a day through snacking on nutrient-deficient foods. Snack mindfully.

You’ve gotten the message that exercise and daily activity are as important as choosing the right foods when following the Mediterranean Diet.

There are many ways to get active, and many structured exercise routines you can choose from. Pick something you enjoy, that fits your lifestyle, and that you’ll stick with. 

Add stress management to the mix, as well. You can eat the right foods and add the right mix of cardio and strength-training exercise, but if you ignore stress management, you won’t get the benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Try meditation, yoga, or other mindfulness practices.

Sufficient sleep is also important for lowering your risk of chronic disease and optimizing the power of eating a Mediterranean diet.

Most adults need 7–9 hours of sleep per night—but many people try to get by on 6 hours, and it’s not healthy, nor enough for optimal mental performance. 

If you’re having serious trouble with sleep issues, see your physician.

Here are a few quick tips if you are having having some routine sleep challenges:

Watch what you’re drinking. Avoid drinking more than 2–3 servings of caffeine per day, and eliminate caffeine later in the day (especially if you’re caffeine sensitive).

Limit alcohol. Consuming more than a glass or two of any alcohol, including red wine, can cause a startle reflex, causing you to wake at around 2 a.m. In addition to keeping your intake moderate, avoid it within two hours before you go to bed.