Mindful Eating & Behaviour Change

The “why, what and how” of eating is something that we can become more mindful of and, as a result, gain greater awareness and understanding of this aspect of our life. With greater awareness comes the ability to make wiser choices that bring us into greater alignment with how we want to live and be in relationship to eating and food. ⠀

This six-week program is not about weight loss (although that may happen). It’s about learning to understand how our brain and mind work and impact behaviour so that we can use this understanding to unwind highly conditioned (and often unhelpful) habits and automatic behaviours, as well as develop new adaptive ones.

This six-week course is based on the science of mindfulness-based behaviour change. The Eat Right Now Program (ERN), developed by Dr. Judson Brewer, MD, a Ph.D. addiction psychiatrist, is an evidence-based program that has been shown to reduce food-related cravings among participants by 40%. Learn more.

Some of the themes covered in this program include:

• What are mindfulness and mindful eating?
• The science of eating.
• Why diets fail, including why willpower, substitution and other strategies often fail.
• What the habit loop is, and the science behind how your brain forms habits?
• We are recognizing (and mapping out) challenging behaviours around food, i.e., stress and emotional eating, bingeing, mindless eating, and cravings.
• Practices, tools and skills to work with these challenges include mindfulness, curiosity, kindness, learning how to ride out cravings, hunger and satiety check-ins, mindful eating and healthy restraint.
• Understanding how thoughts (and emotions) can get in our way.
• How we trip ourselves up, as well as how to get back on track.
• We are finding our “bigger, better offer” — learning to shift from old habits into new adaptive ones.
• A framework for “unpacking” behaviours.
• Lifelong skills!

The program format weaves experiential exercises and practices, instruction, inquiry and dialogue to deepen understanding, practice application, and integrate habit change into your life.

As part of this program, participants who wish to use the Eat Right Now the app will receive a 10% discount. The app is designed to go at your own pace and includes short daily lessons, guided meditations and exercises (10-15 minutes a day.)

If you choose to use the app, this six-week program will support and re-enforce the ERN learnings and provide an opportunity to dive deeper (through inquiry) into your experience around behaviours you want to change. If you choose not to use the app, that’s ok too, but we recommend you do as you will get more out of this course.

Daily practice is essential to reinforce what you learn (the app can serve as your daily home practice.)

Upcoming Mindful Eating Behaviour Change Workshops

Winter 2023

Three-Hour Introduction to Mindful Eating 
Sunday, March 6, 2023
3:00 to 6:00 p.m. (online)

Cost: $150 HST

Register here

Six-week Behaviour Change: Mindful Eating 
Spring dates TBD

Please email us to add your name to the waitlist for the workshop you want to register for.