We live in a food culture, constantly surrounded by birthdays, dinners, holidays, and other social gatherings that revolve largely around an elaborate and plentiful array of culinary items. You may have heard of the term mindful eating at some point, but what is it?

The concept of mind-body medicine can be defined as the idea that our thoughts and emotions directly influence the physiologic processes in our bodies, including digestion and metabolism of food. Do you eat more or less when you get stressed out or lonely? Mindful eating is an important part of the mind-body medicine connection, and involves paying attention to our intuitive eating abilities and honoring our hunger and fullness cues.

We often eat out of reasons other than pure physiological drive for nourishment. Tuning into the needs of our body cannot only lead to long term health benefits, but a healthy relationship with food. Follow these five principles for mindful eating:

1. Honor your hunger and fullness cues. In other words, eat when you’re hungry and stop eating when you’re full. Don’t eat lunch just because it’s “lunch break” if you’re not even hungry because you ate breakfast two hours ago — try going for a walk instead. On the flip side, if you’re “stuffed” after a delicious meal, resist the temptation to go for seconds. Your waistline will thank you!

2. Shun the clean plate club idea. Children are born with the innate ability to self-regulate their eating; however, society quickly teaches this out of us by making us feel obligated to eat everything on our plate, which is likely a portion size that’s too large to begin with. Dish up only what you can eat. If you have young ones at home, banish the “no dessert until you clean your plate” speech and don’t be afraid to let your children serve themselves — they know how much they can eat. When you’re out to dinner, eat just half the portion and take the rest to go, or try splitting an entrée with someone.

3. Enjoy your food. This one may seem like a no brainer, but too often we find ourselves shoveling food into our mouths without thinking about how it actually tastes. Keep your senses sharp and your taste buds happy by taking the time to actually taste what you’re eating. Enjoy small portions of flavorful food, focusing on savoring each bite and indulging in new flavors and textures for a more meaningful dining experience. Plus, eating slowly fills you up faster!

4. Take time at meals. Sit down at the dinner table to eat, not in front of the screen. Engage in laughter and conversation with family and friends. There’s a lot to be said for gathering around a table with those who are close to us. Take at least 30 minutes for your meal — not five.

5. Find a substitute for mindless munching. We’ve all been guilty of this before, whether it’s getting bottomless popcorn at the movie theatre or searching the cupboards when we’re bored, lonely or stressed. Find something else to occupy your time other than your appetite. Read a book, listen to music, go for a walk, or play with a pet.

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Natalie Colla, RDN, LDN, B.S., is a Registered Dietitian with Panhandle Health District and a graduate of the University of Idaho Dietetics Program.