Sometimes the littlest changes make the biggest differences!

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WW_Jude_V2
WW_Jude_V2 Posts: 209 Member
in Getting Started
Somewhere on MFP recently, I bumped into a thread about a British television series called Secret Eaters. I tracked it down on youtube and watched a couple of episodes.

One of the 'experts' mentioned eating with your non-dominant hand as a way to make yourself pay closer attention to what is going in your mouth. Well, damn - - it actually works for me!

When I compare the shoveling speed when eating with my right hand with the careful and deliberate manipulations required when I use my left hand, it's night and day.

By the time I finish chasing peas around my plate or dripping yogurt down the front of me, I am very aware of what I'm eating and in turn that seems to have turned off the usual memory loss that goes along with cramming food in my face while watching tv or hanging out on MFP. "Huh, my plate is empty.....I don't remember eating - I need something else!"

Wondering if anyone else has come across anything that might seem kinda silly but actually has proven to be quite helpful?

Replies

  • CindyMarcuzAdams
    CindyMarcuzAdams Posts: 4,006 Member
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    What a great idea. I am a serious lefty. My right hand is practically useless. This is going to prove interesting.
    Thanks for this...
  • mewickla
    mewickla Posts: 71 Member
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    I write right handed, but I do most everything else left handed ... including eat. :grumble:
    I would love to hear some of the other things people to do to help them be more aware!
  • nursecat1
    nursecat1 Posts: 18 Member
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    Sounds like a fun tip. Actually,I am able to do pretty good both hands because I practice---even writing and picking up stuff. Mindfulness is very important in this journey. I find I can focus on everything when I fast and drink only water one day and then alternate with sensible meals the next day. Works for me. The dietician frowns on this approach,but it really does work for me . Only do it for the first 1-2 weeks.
  • PMJ145
    PMJ145 Posts: 2 Member
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    That's a great idea! I used to use chopsticks much the same until I got so good at using them I was back being capable of shoveling. Lol
  • Listeninguponyou
    Listeninguponyou Posts: 507 Member
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    What? That's kind of an odd kind of cool thing you just found out. I might try it out. though recently my right hand has been unreliable.
  • WW_Jude_V2
    WW_Jude_V2 Posts: 209 Member
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    That's a great idea! I used to use chopsticks much the same until I got so good at using them I was back being capable of shoveling. Lol

    I'm filing this one away for later. I'm thinking I may try to use chopsticks with my left hand after I get confident with a fork or spoon.

    On second thought.....that would just be too cruel. :noway: Or too funny. One of those. :ohwell:
  • Cookieman123
    Cookieman123 Posts: 26 Member
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    That's interesting, I'm going to try this out tomorrow. I would love to trick my brain into thinking I'm full.
  • Tillyecl1
    Tillyecl1 Posts: 189 Member
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    I really like that program. I also use the non dominant hand eating tip and it has worked well for me. I also use smaller, white coloured plates to me me think I have more food (seeing it all packed onto a smaller plate makes me think I'm eating more than if my food is spread out over a massive dinner plate), strange but works for me :-)
  • ashleighwebster88
    ashleighwebster88 Posts: 6 Member
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    I love that program!

    And that is such a good idea - going to give that a go! x
  • KaelaLee88
    KaelaLee88 Posts: 229 Member
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    That's a good suggestion, I would definitely try it if my left hand were not completely useless!

    My Hubby and I went out and got 2 smaller plates (Somewhere in-between a dinner and a side plate) and when we put our meals on it, seeing the plate full works wonders in making me feel fuller.

    Kaela x
  • JazmineYoli
    JazmineYoli Posts: 547 Member
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    Very interesting. I will have to give this a try. I am so used to shoveling food into my mouth that I hardly get a chance to enjoy it. *I've been conditioned to do that with jobs that had short lunch breaks.
  • WW_Jude_V2
    WW_Jude_V2 Posts: 209 Member
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    I really like that program. I also use the non dominant hand eating tip and it has worked well for me. I also use smaller, white coloured plates to me me think I have more food (seeing it all packed onto a smaller plate makes me think I'm eating more than if my food is spread out over a massive dinner plate), strange but works for me :-)

    I watched the episode about this last night. Makes perfect sense! There was also one about using a tall thin glass rather than the shorter wider ones. Whoever would have thought our brains are hardwired to work against (some of) us?
  • WW_Jude_V2
    WW_Jude_V2 Posts: 209 Member
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    *I've been conditioned to do that with jobs that had short lunch breaks.

    That's a good point that I hadn't considered. I had my lunch break when I got home yesterday. I work for a crown corporation that has been continually downsizing its staff but not the amount of work so most times I work straight from 7:30am to 4pm without even a chance to visit the ladies room. If I am famished, I may attempt to eat at my desk. After a few years of that you get used to it and adapt behaviours. Time to RE-adapt and take better care of ourselves!

    (edited to define "crown corporation" for anyone not familiar: it's a company run by the provincial government in Canada. In my case it's the hydro power company)

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