Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating Program North County San Diego | Centered Ground Therapy

Letting Go Of Judgment - Regaining Control - Breaking Through Barriers - Truly Nourishing Yourself - Finding Peace

Mindful eating applies the concepts of mindfulness to food and the process of eating. Through this practice, you foster an open, nonjudgmental stance towards food and eating, increasing compassion and letting go of guilt and shame. This approach offers a radical alternative to dieting and any meal plan that restricts intake in any way. By opening yourself up to the entire spectrum of eating and recreating your relationship with the process, you will learn to eat in a more balanced way that will help you leave behind unhealthy habits of overeating and undereating. You will uncover the many hungers that are driving your eating and develop ways to feed yourself so that you are satisfied.

Research suggests that mindful eating is especially helpful if you struggle with overeating. The approach has also helped those with more restrictive patterns. This is not a weight loss program, but can foster a healthier lifestyle that may ultimately lead to desired weight loss that would have health benefits.

At Centered Ground, you can learn mindful eating through individual and group sessions; both are supported by coaching. Coaching provides you the ability to call or text between sessions to get help applying skills when you need it the most - when you are faced with the urges and emotions that are linked to eating in a way that is not consistent with your long-term goals and values.

Individual Sessions

Individual sessions permit detailed examination of your patterns and associated difficulties, which can include negative body image, depression, anxiety, chronic feelings of emotional emptiness, mood swings, impulsive behavior in other areas, such as with alcohol and substances, self-harm, skin picking, suicidality, and relationship issues. This practice collaboratively identifies key targets for intervention and generates concrete solutions to address immediate and long-term needs.

The Group-Based Program

The structure of the group-based program is a weekly mindful eating group and weekly skills training class (2 options available, based on clinical fit) over 6-7 months. This curriculum will:

  • Help you begin to develop a new relationship with food.

  • Provide insight into what is maintaining your own patterns.

  • Offer solutions for changing your patterns, emphasizing:

    • mindfulness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance (skills training option 1) or radical openness (skills training option 2).

You will receive:

  • Materials to help you track your progress.

  • Materials to help you examine your patterns.

  • Resources to turn to for further learning and coping.

  • Access to phone coaching in between group sessions.

  • Assessment feedback on your unique patterns related to eating.

To join the group-based program, you will be asked to make a commitment to:

  • Complete screening and orientation.

  • Attend the group class sessions weekly.

  • Participate in all mindful eating exercises.

  • Be willing to examine your patterns and consider other solutions.

  • Complete self-monitoring and other assignments outside of sessions.

Cost:

  • Screening and orientation (usually a 90-minute intake, then a 60-minute individual session) at standard session rates.

  • $50/mindful eating group session.

  • Skills training option 1 (mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, 6 months): $75/1.5-hour group session.

  • Skills training option 2 (radical openness, 30 weeks): $85/2-hour class session.

  • $50/month food fee for food costs.