Still eating way too fast... Got a good tip to slow down?

mccraee

I kind of agree that speed doesn't matter for calorie counts. But it does matter for satisfaction and that helps me to eat less overall.

How are you eating now? For me I have to have some rules. I don't eat in the car. I don't eat at my desk or in front of the TV. I do eat dinner with my family 99% of the time which works for me but might be a problem depending on how that goes for you.

But what works the best for me is to be present and think about eat bite. Or to enjoy each bite. And, then access after each bite how that went. This also helps me to stop when I'm satisfied or full.

I try to set a nice table. Light some candles this time of year for dinners.

owieprone

Not sure if anyone's suggested this, but how about breaking your main meal(s) down into two smaller plates. Put one plate out of sight (in oven to keep warm or fridge to keep cool). Eat the first plate, wait 5 mins or go do something else for a bit, eat second plate. Or if you're eating little and often, break your food down further into main and 'dessert'. So if you're having porridge and fruit, don't have your fruit in the porridge, have it 10 mins later as a dessert.

I also liked the eat while doing something technique. I eat lunch at my desk as i walk during my lunch. All my food is in the fridge so i have to go get it (other side of the building), i take one thing at a time back to eat so i don't just gorge everything in one sitting.

I'm also a fast eater, i just make sure i actually look at what i'm eating, while watching tv, working or whatever. So just before i stuff my face, i look at it. Visual confirmation i've eating something. It helps me.. it also helps that i'm a complete clumsy donkey so if i don't pay attention to what i'm doing i tend to drop stuff (or throw - weird RSI symptom, I apparently hate teaspoons they need to be thrown on the floor with vigour; yesterday i hated a box of dates).

Hope that helps

bexilashious

Each time you take a bite, put down the knife and fork and chew your mouthful 20-30 times before swallowing

It takes a little getting used to but I find I'm fuller from doing this and eating less

Lourdesong

You could try eating with your non-dominant hand. I saw a thing in some documentary way back when where they had a percentage of people at the movies eat popcorn with their non-dominant hand and they ate much less popcorn than the rest of the audience.
So I started doing that with my air popped popcorn and I definitely found it slows me down a lot.

It's much harder to eat meals with utensils with my non-dominant hand than it is to grab popcorn, but it's doable (except with chopsticks
ime). It's quite a challenge to load up my fork and have that huge bite-to-be to make it to my mouth without falling off the utensil with an unsteady uncoordinated hand. Being so uncoordinated kinda forces one to put less on their fork at a time. I do this when I remember to, it doesn't always occur to me in time. Unlike the popcorn which stuck because of the doc.

maisiba

Sorry for not replying earlier. I was unexpectedly away for a while. Thanks everyone for their thoughts and contributions.

ElvenToad wrote: »

What I started doing pretty early on was simply just taking smaller bites because going from eating massive amounts of food to eating a normal amount of food... it helped me feel like I was getting more food?

Focusing on small bits sounds more "feasible" to me than trying to chew 25 times - for me personally at least. I'll try do that a bit more.

kenyonhaff wrote: »

Here's a bit of an oddball tip, but it works: Try eating with chopsticks when you can!

Lourdesong wrote: »

You could try eating with your non-dominant hand. I saw a thing in some documentary way back when where they had a percentage of people at the movies eat popcorn with their non-dominant hand and they ate much less popcorn than the rest of the audience.

These 2 suggestions are interesting. They might not work for all kinds of food but it could help for some. I'll add that to my list of things to try.

For everyone who asked if it matters? Well, as long as you eat the same amount of food it won't matter in terms of weight loss or gain but that's my concern longterm.

Because for me personally it does have an effect on satiety. And as I mentioned in my OP, right now I measure everything and stop eating after I finished my planned meal because that's what I cooked or prepared. I just know once I get into maintenance in 10-12 months time (or so I hope), this will become an issue for me because I hope to stop weighing and tracking every single thing at some point.... and then the risk of getting seconds or bigger portions just goes through the roof for me.

That's why I want to improve on this habit now while I'm very focused and under control to reduce my risk of overeating in the future.

jelleigh

I eat my food crazy fast too. (Hate it when my food gets cold!). I think in the past its led me to taking extra helping of food I didn't need aince I still felt hungry. (They do say it takes your brain 20 min to 'catch up' and send the "I'm full" message). I tried chewing my food the recommended 20 times but honestly it made me gag to go past 12 chews. Instead, now I pre log my food and decide how much I'm eating beforehand, then eat it the way that I want. Its probably better for digestion to slow down but I also want to enjoy my food and I enjoy it more eating fast.

PatanjaliTwist

It's a habit, so if you'd like to break it, you can.

I agree with others that unless you're having digestion issues, or have other reasons for slowing down eating, it might not really matter. I have a brother who eats quickly & it's never seemed to do him any injustice. I think it came from being in military war zones... he needed to eat now & quickly, because who knows what's around the corner in 10 seconds. The only negative I've seen with it is sometimes he just doesn't taste his food... he tosses it down so quickly, you can ask what he just ate & he only has a reasonable idea of what meat was in his sandwich. That habit doesn't really affect him, so he doesn't care. Although, we have heard that the better food is chewed, the less the body has to work to digest & utilize nutrients, so it might not be a bad idea.

What works with children in slowing eating is using bento boxes. You don't need to buy anything special, but can use any series of small containers to hold each food individually. Some say meals slow when eating only 1 food at a time on your plate or from your bento box. This way, you taste each food & appreciate it, which might slow your eating to savor each bite, rather than having everything mixed together, so that it's a mish-mash of dinner.

For those who mentioned drinking water, many cultures drink only before or after a meal. Why? Liquids dilute digestive juices. Again, if you've no issues with indigestion, do what you prefer. But, I learned long ago to drink a glass of water 30-min before or after eating. I only take a sip, if necessary.

Good luck!

crackpotbaby

Chew each mouthfull 30 times before swallowing (obviously won't work with mushy textures). Take time to be mindful of the flavours you're eating.

Digestion begins in the mouth and apparently the stimulus of chewing sends the message to your brain that you are eating leading to a slow down in the production of the hormones that say 'feed me'.

tasaiar1

Ice started to count the times I chew. Aim to chew each mouthful around 30 times
Trust me it's time consuming lol