who loves to lift and explore and break all the ways diet culture has tried to box us in. She loves to ask, “How could your life be different if you unlearned your all-or-nothing food rules?”, which is something we whole-heartedly agree with and support. Check out her work and learn more here.
Mindful Eating Journal: An Interactive Tool for Finding Peace with Food
At Way, we believe that diets don’t work, and that true health and happiness come from mindful eating and finding peace with food. That’s why we’ve created an interactive mindful eating journal, designed to help people explore their relationship with food, and discover what it means to them to have a healthy and happy relationship with food.
A mindful eating journal is not a diet plan. It’s not a meal plan, or a calorie counting app. Instead, it’s a tool for self-exploration, designed to help people connect with their bodies, their emotions, and their values, in order to develop a more mindful and intuitive approach to eating.
The journal is built on a foundation of intuitive eating principles, which are based on the idea that our bodies know what they need, and that we should listen to our body’s cues in order to make food choices that are nourishing and satisfying. We also draw on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) to help people identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts and beliefs about food and their bodies.
The magic wand question is at the heart of the mindful eating journal. This question asks, “If you could wave a magic wand and have exactly the relationship with food and your body that you want, what would that feel like, what would that look like, what would you notice in your surroundings, what would you be eating, and how would you feel about your body?” By asking this series of questions, we go beyond just being a “journal” and really help people tap into their deepest desires and values, to create a clear picture of finding peace in their relationships with food and their body. We call it the “Peace Point”.
Once Way members have identified their Peace Point, the app experience really functions like a mindful eating journal, providing a framework for exploring their relationship with food more deeply. We ask a series of questions within sessions in three Pathways – Body Feels, Emotional Eats, Mindful Shifts – designed to help people identify their hunger and fullness cues, explore their emotions around food, and challenge their negative self-talk.
For example, some of the questions we ask include:
- When do you feel hungry?
- How do you know when you’re hungry?
- When do you feel full?
- How do you know when you’re full?
- What emotions do you associate with food?
- When do you eat to soothe your emotions?
- What negative thoughts or beliefs do you have about your body?
- How do these thoughts impact your relationship with food?
As people answer these questions, they begin to gain a deeper understanding of their relationship with food, and start to develop a more mindful and intuitive approach to eating.
One of the unique features of Way and how it acts like a mindful eating journal, is that the app encourages you to reflect on your experiences with food throughout the day. We ask you to write down what you eat, how you feel before and after eating, and any thoughts or emotions that come up around food. By tracking your experiences in this way, you may start to notice patterns in your how you feel around food, some feelings or body sensations, maybe even memories from teenage years or younger, and by being aware of these you can make more intentional choices around food that align with your Peace Point and what food makes your body feel good.
The mindful eating journal is not a quick fix. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s a tool for self-exploration and it’s different for everyone because your response to a question or session will likely be unique to you, and different from many people. Way is designed to help you develop a more mindful and intuitive approach to eating. It’s a process, and it takes time and effort to see results.
However, we believe that the simplicity of having an interactive, mindful eating journal can be a powerful tool for anyone who is looking to find peace with food. By exploring their relationship with food in a non-judgmental and compassionate way, people can develop a deeper understanding of their own needs and values, and create a more fulfilling and satisfying relationship with food.
At Way, we’re committed to helping you find peace in their relationships with food and your body, guiding you through self-exploration in a safe and trust-oriented environment, so you can make real change that aligns with your values and the life you want.