Mindful Eating: A Fresh Approach to Diabetes Management
by Evgenia Evans, MS, RDN, CDCES
Managing diabetes often involves making significant lifestyle and dietary adjustments, which can sometimes feel overwhelming or lead to feelings of deprivation. Research highlights that diabetes distress, experienced by 18–45% of individuals with diabetes, can negatively impact glycemic outcomes and medication adherence (Aikens, 2012; Nicolucci et al., 2013). Successful diabetes management, however, requires more than adherence to rules—it calls for a lifestyle change. For meaningful, lasting effects, individuals can find joy and purpose in their efforts, making new lifestyles not only healthy but also enjoyable (Fredrickson, 2004; Garland et al., 2010). Mindful eating offers a compassionate and sustainable pathway to achieving this balance
What Is Mindful Eating?
Mindful eating shifts the focus from what to eat to how to eat. It invites individuals to bring awareness, curiosity, and intention to their eating habits and bodily sensations. Rooted in mindfulness principles, this practice involves paying purposeful, nonjudgmental attention to the present moment during meals (Kabat-Zinn, 2009). By slowing down and tuning into internal cues like hunger and fullness, individuals can foster sustainable behavior changes that go beyond traditional diet approaches (Framson et al., 2009; Nelson, 2017).
Unlike restrictive diets that focus on counting calories or carbs, mindful eating emphasizes sensory awareness and emotional well-being. This approach helps individuals become more attuned to their body’s needs, promoting a more positive relationship with food.
Why Eat Mindfully?
A growing body of research supports mindful eating’s effectiveness in improving various aspects of health. It enhances the connection between the body and food, helping to interrupt automatic or emotional eating patterns (Forman et al., 2016). In addition, mindful eating has been shown to reduce binge eating behaviors (Kristeller & Hallett, 1999; Mercado et al., 2021).
For individuals with diabetes, mindful eating can lead to significant benefits. Studies have demonstrated improvements in A1C levels, weight management, and reductions in depressive symptoms. It has also been linked to enhanced self-efficacy and improved dietary patterns (Miller et al., 2012; 2014). By promoting awareness and fostering emotional resilience, mindful eating can support better glycemic management and help reduce diabetes-related distress.
What is Mindful Eating in Practice?
Mindful eating strategies fall into three broad categories:
- External Cues: Adjusting the eating environment to minimize distractions and encourage mindful choices.
- Internal Cues: Using tools like the hunger and satiety scale to help individuals distinguish between physical hunger and emotional cravings.
- Food-Focused Awareness: Fully engaging the senses to appreciate the texture, aroma, taste, and appearance of food.
One of the classic examples of sensory-focused eating that highlights the principles of mindfulness is the Raisin Exercise. Here is how it works:
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Hold a raisin and examine it as if seeing it for the first time. Notice its color, shape, and texture.
Bring it to your nose and take a deep breath. Observe its aroma. Does it make any sound when you squeeze it?
Place the raisin in your mouth, but do not chew immediately. Pay attention to how it feels on your tongue.
Begin to chew slowly, noticing the changes in texture and flavor.
Reflect on the Experience:
What did you notice that you typically overlook?
How does this compare to your usual eating habits?
What insights or feelings arose during the exercise?
Each step of this simple exercise is carefully designed to bring full awareness to the eating experience, making it accessible and adaptable across diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts (Kabat-Zinn, 2009).
One of the classic examples of sensory-focused eating that highlights the principles of mindfulness is the Raisin Exercise. Here are the step-by-step instructions:
- Hold a raisin and examine it as if seeing it for the first time. Notice its color, shape, and texture.
- Bring it to your nose and take a deep breath. Observe its aroma.
- Does it make any sound when you squeeze it?
- Place the raisin in your mouth, but do not chew immediately. Pay attention to how it feels on your tongue.
- Begin to chew slowly, noticing the changes in texture and flavor.
Reflect on the Experience:
- What did you notice that you typically overlook?
- How does this compare to your usual eating habits?
- What insights or feelings arose during the exercise?
Each step of this simple exercise is carefully designed to bring full awareness to the eating experience, making it accessible and adaptable across diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts (Kabat-Zinn, 2009).
A Sensory Eating Challenge
If you are looking for a fun way to explore mindful eating further, teach someone you know how to eat mindfully. Choose a simple food, such as a piece of fruit, a berry, nut, or a piece of chocolate, and guide them through the steps of sensory engagement. After the practice, reflect together on the experience, asking, what did you notice? How did it feel to eat this way?
This exercise often reveals that when we slow down and savor our food, we enjoy it more and may feel satisfied with smaller portions.
A Path to Empowerment
Mindful eating is more than a strategy; it is a mindset that transforms how we approach food, health, and self-care. For diabetes educators, integrating mindful eating can refresh and enhance their toolbox by creating a more compassionate, effective, and enjoyable path to better diabetes care.
Whether you are planning to use this practice professionally or personally, start small, explore the practice, and empower yourself and others to build a positive relationship with food, one mindful bite at a time.
by Evgenia Evans, MS, RDN, CDCES
References
Aikens, J. E. (2012). Prospective associations between emotional distress and poor outcomes in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 35(12), 2472–2478. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc12-0181
Forman, E. M., Shaw, J. A., Goldstein, S. P., Butryn, M. L., Martin, L. M., Meiran, N., Crosby, R. D., & Manasse, S. M. (2016). Mindful decision making and inhibitory control training as complementary means to decrease snack consumption. Appetite, 103, 176-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.04.014
Framson, C., Kristal, A. R., Schenk, J. M., Littman, A. J., Zeliadt, S., & Benitez, D. (2009). Development and validation of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(8), 1439–1444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.006
Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1367–1377. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1512
Garland, E. L., Fredrickson, B. L., Kring, A. M., Johnson, D. P., Meyer, P. S., & Penn, D. L. (2010). Upward spirals of positive emotions counter downward spirals of negativity: Insights from the broaden-and-build theory and affective neuroscience on the treatment of emotion dysfunctions and deficits in psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 849–864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.002
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2024, November 7). Mindful Eating. The Nutrition Source. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/mindful-eating/
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2009). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Random House Publishing Group.
Kristeller, J. L., & Hallett, C. B. (1999). An exploratory study of a meditation-based intervention for binge eating disorder. Journal of Health Psychology, 4(3), 357–363. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910539900400305
Kristeller, J. L., Wolever, R. Q., & Sheets, V. (2014). Mindfulness-based eating awareness training (MB-EAT) for binge eating: A randomized clinical trial. Mindfulness, 5(3), 282–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0179-1
Mercado, C., Marasigan, K., Cardona, J., & Ko, E. (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions for emotional eating and binge eating in adults: A meta-analysis. Appetite, 164, 105265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105265
Miller, C. K. (2017). Mindful eating with diabetes. Diabetes Spectrum, 30(2), 89–94. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds16-0040
Miller, C. K., Kristeller, J. L., Headings, A., Nagaraja, H., & Miser, W. F. (2012). Comparative effectiveness of a mindful eating intervention to a diabetes self-management intervention among adults with type 2 diabetes: A pilot study. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(11), 1835–1842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2012.07.036
Miller, C. K., Kristeller, J. L., Headings, A., & Nagaraja, H. (2014). Comparative effectiveness of a mindful eating intervention to a diabetes self-management intervention among adults with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial. Health Education & Behavior, 41(2), 145–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198113493092
Nicolucci, A., Kovacs Burns, K., Holt, R. I. G., Comaschi, M., Hermanns, N., Ishii, H., Kokoszka, A., Pouwer, F., Skovlund, S. E., Stuckey, H., Tarkun, I., Vallis, M., Wens, J., & Peyrot, M. (2013). Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs second study (DAWN2™): Cross-national benchmarking of diabetes-related psychosocial outcomes for people with diabetes. Diabetic Medicine, 30(7), 767–777. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.12245
Nelson, J. B. (2017). Mindful eating: The art of presence while you eat. Diabetes Spectrum, 30(3), 171–174. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds17-0015
Enroll in our upcoming webinar led by Evgenia Evans, MS, RDN, CDCES
Mindful Eating for Successful Diabetes Management
Join us live on June 11, 2025, at 11:30 am PST
This engaging and practical webinar, developed by Evgenia Evans, MS, RDN, CDCES, a positive psychology practitioner, is tailored explicitly for healthcare professionals including dietitians, diabetes care specialists, and providers.
Using evidence-based strategies, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the benefits of incorporating mindfulness into the eating experience, including enhanced glycemic management, improved emotional well-being, and healthier eating behaviors. The webinar includes an overview of mindfulness and mindful eating strategies, such as engaging all five senses, recognizing hunger cues, addressing cravings, and using practical tools to create supportive eating environments.
Participants will also learn how to adapt these approaches to diverse populations and the unique needs of individuals. Join us to deepen your expertise, participate in insightful discussions, and empower individuals to cultivate sustainable, positive relationships with food while achieving long-term health goals.
Course topics:
- Introduction to the concept and benefits of mindful eating for individuals with diabetes
- Overview of key strategies for mindful eating
- Practical tools for incorporating mindful eating into professional practice (of Diabetes Educators)
- Cultural and individual adaptations of the mindful eating approach
Instructor: Evgenia Evans, MS, RDN, CDCES
Evgeniya Evans, MAPP, RDN, LDN, CDCES, specializes in chronic disease prevention, diabetes management, and women’s health. Her unique approach integrates mindfulness-based nutrition and positive psychology, creating transformative impacts on her patients’ health and well-being.
Evgeniya’s academic journey reflects her dedication to lifelong learning and her holistic understanding of nutrition and health. She began with four years of Sociology studies at Omsk State University in Russia, followed by earning a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Illinois Chicago. She furthered her expertise with a master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. This diverse educational foundation allows her to address the socio-psychological factors that influence dietary behaviors and deliver a well-rounded approach to patient care.
At Cook County Health’s Diabetes Clinic within the Endocrinology Department, Evgeniya provides medically tailored nutrition therapy and culturally sensitive counseling. She works with individuals from various socio-economic backgrounds, guiding them through their unique health challenges with compassion and precision. Her dedication to creating personalized, sustainable dietary strategies highlights her commitment to promoting long-term health and vitality for her patients.
In addition to her clinical practice, Evgeniya is a passionate educator. She teaches several classes at her clinic, including Pillars of Diabetes Management with Lifestyle, Nutrition for Health and Vitality, and The Art of Mindful Eating. Her emphasis on education underscores her belief in the transformative power of fostering a healthy, enjoyable lifestyle supported by mindful eating and a positive mindset.
Evgeniya envisions a world where individuals are free from the struggles of dieting and food-related shame. She dreams of a future where no one feels deprecated by their appearance or food choices, and everyone enjoys the vitality and health to pursue their dreams. She is devoted to fostering vibrant, authentic lives where cooking, eating, and sharing meals with loved ones are sources of joy, love, and positive connection.
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