Eating Healthfully

Many resources on campus can help you practice healthful and mindful eating, which means paying attention to what you eat and making smart choices. There is also support for disordered eating and body-image concerns.

Learning to eat well

• Nutrition and Fitness: Community Wellness at MIT Medical co-developed this course for physical education credit through the Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (DAPER). Topics include the components and benefits of a healthy diet and physical activity, as well as tips on achieving personal goals and boosting productivity.
• Community Wellness Group Health-Coaching Classes: Community Wellness at MIT Medical offers group health-coaching classes and workshops throughout the year. Group health coaching provides opportunities for education, reflection, and support for personalized goal-setting. For more information and/or to register, visit our Classes & Programs.
• Mindful Eating Video: This recording is an introduction to mindful eating and the ways this approach can help alleviate stress around food and increase self-trust and satisfaction at meals. It reviews practical mindful eating techniques, includes a brief, guided mindful eating practice, and provides resources to support mindful eating. 
• Food and Financial Resources for Students: MIT DoingWell has resources for students who have limited funds for meals, don’t have enough time to buy or cook food, or need information about where to get meals.

Resources for eating and body-image concerns

• The Eating Concerns team at MIT Medical is a resource for MIT students who are struggling with issues related to food, weight, and body image.
• MyLife Services provides free, confidential services for life concerns to faculty, staff, post-docs, and their household members. Services include short-term counseling and nutrition consultation, as well as referrals to counselors in your community. 
• MIT GAIN (Graduate Assistance and Information Network) is a free, confidential service that connects MIT graduate students and their families with work-life experts who can provide personalized resources, including nutrition coaching, and referrals for a range of services. Interpreter services are available.
• Mindful eating can help us tune into our physical cues and decrease mindless or emotional eating. A mindful-eating journal or app can help in learning to practice eating this way. This mindful-eating journal lets you record your meals as well as your hunger level and emotional state while eating. 

Weight-management reimbursement

Members of all three employee health plans—the MIT Traditional Health Plan, MIT Choice Plan, and MIT High Deductible Health Plan—are eligible for reimbursement of expenses related to participation in qualified weight-management programs. Qualified programs are Weight Watchers meetings, Weight Watchers at Work, and hospital-based weight-management programs. Get the details and download the weight-loss reimbursement form.

To find out if a particular class qualifies, call Blue Cross Blue Shield Member Services at 1-800-882-1093.