Mindful eating

nickssweetheart

Sometimes I just eat fast, so I'm hardly an expert. It partly depends upon how hungry I've let myself get. My first tip would be not to go too long without eating if you're trying to slow down and really experience it. Make an experience of it, like others said: set the table, maybe light an *unscented* candle? I've posted before that I always slice fruit and try to eat it slowly to really enjoy the sweetness and texture.

And speaking of texture, I think that can be a big part of keeping us engaged with what we're eating: add nuts to oatmeal, sprinkle some shredded carrot over soup, top a curry with cilantro, etc.

JoLightensUp

greyhoundwalker wrote: »

I think mindful eating can be helpful psychologically, I mean it makes no difference to your calorie intake if you've already worked out your calories for that meal and have it on a plate in front of you, but slowing down a bit and taking notice of how good it tastes certainly helps me with the satisfaction level. I know that if I'm eating while working, the lunch just disappears down my gullet with no memory of enjoying it and though I might be physically satisfied I feel cheated! And feeling psychologically satisfied helps with adherence so is worth it to me.
I can't do the no TV book or iPad thing though, it's fine if I'm eating with family, friends or colleagues, but if it's just me and the food I feel quite uncomfortable and tend to race through the meal, the key for me seems to pair eating mindfully with another relaxing, brain engaging activity. We're all different.

I agree. I think creating a relaxing atmosphere for eating and enjoying meals can be an individual thing. I love to read while eating if I'm on my own. I would find sitting and just thinking about my meal all the time quite boring. I'll read backs of cereal packets in the morning if there's nothing else around lol! I feel relaxed and enjoy my meals while reading and I'm a slow eater.

I'm not discounting the mindfulness techniques, though; I appreciate that others might need to ditch the books and electronics so they can slow down and focus on their food more.

J72FIT

YepItsKriss wrote: »

I wonder if this is why i was so fat before... I didn't breath in enough.

Maybe. Mindless eating IMO is a major factor in being overweight...

Dnarules

greyhoundwalker wrote: »

I think mindful eating can be helpful psychologically, I mean it makes no difference to your calorie intake if you've already worked out your calories for that meal and have it on a plate in front of you, but slowing down a bit and taking notice of how good it tastes certainly helps me with the satisfaction level. I know that if I'm eating while working, the lunch just disappears down my gullet with no memory of enjoying it and though I might be physically satisfied I feel cheated! And feeling psychologically satisfied helps with adherence so is worth it to me.
I can't do the no TV book or iPad thing though, it's fine if I'm eating with family, friends or colleagues, but if it's just me and the food I feel quite uncomfortable and tend to race through the meal, the key for me seems to pair eating mindfully with another relaxing, brain engaging activity. We're all different.

Yeah, I have found that I can't do the no book, computer, or phone thing either. And I am ok with that now. One thing I have done is stop working while eating. I used to eat while working at my computer, and I don't do that now. But I might come into the forums while eating .

davidylin

YepItsKriss wrote: »

Oh, ive never under estimated sparkles, they are the herpes of the craft world after all.

Ha! I snarfed my fruity soda water.

Dnarules

J72FIT wrote: »

YepItsKriss wrote: »

I wonder if this is why i was so fat before... I didn't breath in enough.

Maybe. Mindless eating IMO is a major factor in being overweight...

It is/was a big factor for me. I never realized how often I would just eat without thinking about it at all.

BarneyRubbleMD

JoLightensUp wrote: »

greyhoundwalker wrote: »

I think mindful eating can be helpful psychologically, I mean it makes no difference to your calorie intake if you've already worked out your calories for that meal and have it on a plate in front of you, but slowing down a bit and taking notice of how good it tastes certainly helps me with the satisfaction level. I know that if I'm eating while working, the lunch just disappears down my gullet with no memory of enjoying it and though I might be physically satisfied I feel cheated! And feeling psychologically satisfied helps with adherence so is worth it to me.
I can't do the no TV book or iPad thing though, it's fine if I'm eating with family, friends or colleagues, but if it's just me and the food I feel quite uncomfortable and tend to race through the meal, the key for me seems to pair eating mindfully with another relaxing, brain engaging activity. We're all different.

I agree. I think creating a relaxing atmosphere for eating and enjoying meals can be an individual thing. I love to read while eating if I'm on my own. I would find sitting and just thinking about my meal all the time quite boring. I'll read backs of cereal packets in the morning if there's nothing else around lol! I feel relaxed and enjoy my meals while reading and I'm a slow eater.

I'm not discounting the mindfulness techniques, though; I appreciate that others might need to ditch the books and electronics so they can slow down and focus on their food more.

I do the reading thing too, especially at a restaurant, reading menu items, ingredient lists, to slow down my eating while enjoying the food since I know it will take an hour after I start eating (regardless of how much I eat) before I'll feel full. At home, I might read email, news or some other quick story on the net. What's "bad" for me is to eat while watching a movie or documentary (typically on Netflix) as I always seem to get drawn into what I'm watching & hardly remember anything I've eaten & thinking I still need to eat but the calories I've already eaten say otherwise.

Unknown

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BarneyRubbleMD

nickssweetheart wrote: »

Sometimes I just eat fast, so I'm hardly an expert. It partly depends upon how hungry I've let myself get. My first tip would be not to go too long without eating if you're trying to slow down and really experience it. Make an experience of it, like others said: set the table, maybe light an *unscented* candle? I've posted before that I always slice fruit and try to eat it slowly to really enjoy the sweetness and texture.

And speaking of texture, I think that can be a big part of keeping us engaged with what we're eating: add nuts to oatmeal, sprinkle some shredded carrot over soup, top a curry with cilantro, etc.

I can strongly agree with this--I use to go 6-7 hours without eating anything and when my meal time would come around, I'd be so hungry (I'd feel like I'm starving) that I'd gulp everything down and want more and end up stuffing myself.

These days, I try to stick to 4 hours between meals which has worked out much better but I do have to be more mindful of my meal times as it's easy to be focused on something (i.e. work) and delay them when I should just stop what I'm doing and eat my planned meal.

BarneyRubbleMD

cmriverside wrote: »

I'm still hungry after I eat too. It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to communicate "Full" to the brain. I think this is a cruel joke God plays on us.

So, set a timer?

I think the eating out part will come in time. You'll realize two things: 1. One big meal isn't going to sidetrack your progress. 2. You'll have a much better idea of how much to eat after logging your meals at home for a while. The restaurant food will look like a HUGE amount of food. Because it is.

Wow! only 20 minutes! You're lucky it's that fast--it takes about an hour for my stomach to tell my brain that "it's full". It's why I've really had to slow down my eating to take at least an hour, otherwise, I'll just want to continue eating because I'm still hungry & end up eating way over my daily calorie limit.

cee134

oat_bran wrote: »

Does anyone have any tips or resources on how to eat more mindfully?

I'm a very fast eater. I notice that at times I eat compulsively fast, almost inhaling my food. I also tend to not really think about the food I'm eating while I do that. I tried to focus on what I'm eating but my thoughts drift off constantly. And I think that this leads me to not registering that I'm full and overeating.

As stated, eating slower will help. Also finding out what fills you up. Protein and fiber seem to work well for some people. Protein and fat for others, it depends.

vingogly

J72FIT wrote: »

Maybe. Mindless eating IMO is a major factor in being overweight...

Here are my reflections on this after 50 some years of fighting to lose weight - and how I believe we can keep it off. There are in my opinion three main root causes for our being fat, and here's what I've concluded are the solutions:

Mindless eating

1. Slow down, enjoy what you eat and eat what you enjoy. If you don't like what you're eating and wolf it down to get it over with, what's the point of eating?
2. Don’t do other things while eating, make it a separate special time and an enjoyable one.
3. Become aware of your satiety cues before eating, and half an hour after eating: rate your hunger on a 1-10 scale.
4. Don't eat when you're full or satisfied, and don't let yourself become extremely hungry
5. If you finish and want more, wait at least 20 minutes because it takes that long for your brain to get the message that you're full.

Lack of activity

1. It appears naturally thin people tend to fidget; they're always moving around. (see: The Fit Tend To Fidget).
2. Obesity has apparently always been with us: people were making obese statues 30,000 years ago (See: Venus of Willendorf)
3. In a hunter-gatherer culture, obesity had survival value when food was scarce. It no longer does so.
4. Fidgeters (the "naturally thin") can get away with mindless snacking; non-fidgeters can't
5. The takeaway is: If you naturally are not very active, you have to make a conscious effort to become so. (the thin fidgeter can get away with mindless snacking, you can’t).

Emotional eating

1. Many of us have learned to use food for self soothing when we're angry, anxious, lonely, etc.
2. We also have beliefs surrounding food's role in our lives, some of which are counterproductive.
3. Find other ways to have your emotional needs met - and if you think you might have an eating disorder, get professional help.

timtam163

I find that this goes hand-in-hand with just listening in general, tuning into the world around me. Practice listening and being mindful and aware throughout your day and you might notice ways in which you can improve your focus and improve the quality of your time with your food (and your dining companions). This carries over into being more in tune with emotional sensations, and if you're well-practiced at tuning them out it'll be hard initially but gets easier with practice.

robingmurphy

Susan Albers "Eating Mindfully" is probably my favorite book on the topic: a.co/ixqgdr2

"Mindful Eating Awareness" is a close second, though: a.co/fZL54Fo

ehloring

I define mindful eating of being conscious of what I am putting in my mouth rather than how I am eating. How I eat is my behavior. To me being mindful is planning to have good food available to eat, planning on how I will fit a piece of cake into my calorie alottment for the day. When I go to a party, I take a plate and only eat what I put on that plate- never picking or grazing from bowls. That is being mindful.
I also have the problem about thinking I am hungry after I eat. I also try to bulk up on vegetables and even put down a layer of lettuce or fresh greens on my plate before I put the food on it. Anything to prolong the meal so my brain will get the message.