Digital behavioral health company Lumme Health has launched a cutting-edge new app that walks users through the careful and deliberate process of mindful eating – a technique that helps individuals to gain control of their eating, avoid overeating and enjoy their food more.

Optimized for smartwatches with its innovative eating detection technology, the Mindful Eating app offers a gamified experience from similar apps, including counting bites, estimating calories and measuring eating pace.

Lumme’s first-of-its-kind, narrated app takes users on a guided journey through an eating experience, encouraging methodical eating habits that ultimately lead to greater awareness of food consumption. It acts as an innovative meal companion that talks users through slow, small bites, strategically timed over 20 minutes – the time it takes for the body and brain to register food intake. The eating sessions include a countdown that shows the time remaining for the meal, providing an assessment of the user’s progress every five minutes. The goal of the user is to consume a meal over 20 minutes, adjusting their bite-size and eating pace to stay in line with the app’s Pace Guide – a helpful tracker showing your bites versus where you should be. Narration is available to help with focus, with each minute thoughtfully explained. Audible alerts can also be activated to remind the user of exactly when to take the next bite.

“The act of eating provides a level of gratification and nourishment that should be celebrated,” said Lumme Health CEO Arun Mathur. “Unfortunately, most of us eat too quickly and miss this opportunity. Our Mindful Eating app teaches you not only how to enjoy your food, but in the process, how to exercise eating control – an invaluable skill for achieving better health.”

To help calculate caloric intake when used with a smartwatch, the Mindful Eating app considers several factors, including the type of meal being eaten, the bite count and the user’s profile details such as age, height and weight. Throughout the process, the app offers messages to encourage mindfulness, such as being aware of how you’re breathing, noticing your posture, the texture of your food, the smell and the sensation of fullness. It encourages users to sit at a quiet table, away from distractions and stressors.
“Similar to meditating, it’s not until you immerse yourself in the experience do you understand how beneficial it can be,” said Mathur. “As you approach the end of your first mindful eating session, you’ll start to understand its power. You’ll realize how satisfied you feel – even with less food. And each time you do it, you’re improving your relationship with food.”

The Mindful Eating app is a slice of the company’s broader behavior-based weight loss app and automated calorie calculator app debuting this Fall. The apps, which are compatible on Apple and Google smartwatches, eliminate the burden of food journaling by using a proven algorithm to calculate calories from the motions of the dominant hand. Lumme’s innovative technology learns a user’s eating behaviors, calculates risk of bad outcomes, and delivers predictive behavioral support to keep them on track with their health and weight loss goals.

For a limited time, the Mindful Eating app is free with an invitational access code, obtained directly through the app, available on the Google Play and App Store, or directly from the company website at www.lummehealth.com.