Mindful Eating: Mindfulness-Based 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 into this aspect of our life. With greater awareness comes the ability to make wiser choices – ones 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 is six-week course is based on the science of mindfulness-based behaviour hange and the Eat Right Now Program (ERN), an evidence-based program that was found to reduce food-related cravings among participants by 40%. Learn more.

The ERN program was developed by Dr. Judson Brewer, an MD PhD addiction psychiatrist, New York Times Bestselling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” having combined, over 25 years of experience with mindfulness and scientific research. 

Some of the themes covered in this six-week program include:  

• What 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. 
• Recognizing (and map out) challenging behaviours around food, i.e., stress and emotional eating, bingeing, mindless eating, cravings.  
• Practices, tools and skills to work with these challenges, including among others, 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.  
• Finding our “bigger, better offer” — learning to shift out of the old habits and into new adaptive ones.
• A framework for “unpacking” behaviours.
• Lifelong skills!

The format of this six-week program weaves together, experiential exercises and practices, instruction, inquiry and dialogue for deepening understanding, practice application, and integrating habit change into your life.  

As part of this program, participants who wish to use the Eat Right Now app will receive it for free for use for up to 60 days.  The app is designed to go at your own pace and includes short daily lessons, guided meditations and exercises (10-15 minutes a day) and access to a global online community and a live weekly Zoom call with Dr. Brewer himself and other expert facilitators.  

This six-week program is designed to support and re-enforce the learnings in the ERN app as well as to provide an opportunity to dive deeper (through inquiry) into your experience around behaviours you want to change. It is both excellent for use with the app, as well as for those who may prefer not to use app-based learning (they too will learn the key concepts and practices.)

Upcoming Six-Week Program (Online)

Spring 2022
Tuesdays — 12:00-1:15 p.m. (EST) April 5 to May 10
Facilitator: Jennifer Innes (link) 

Cost: 249.00 + HST