Do you eat at the dinner table?

amymeenieminymo
amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For years my husband and I have ate dinner in front of the TV. Up until recently we had no kids (we have a 4 month old now) but she isn't on solids yet so it still didn't seem like a big deal to eat in front of the TV.

But I couldn't figure out why I can eat a healthy breakfast and lunch (at work) and view it as fuel for my body, but at dinner I just want to pig out and eat comfort food, and I think it is because of eating in front of the TV. So last night I put my daughter in her highchair for the first time, she had a bottle and I ate my dinner at the table (my husband was still at work) and it seemed to help shift my view.

So, do you eat at the table and do you think it helps, or do you think it would help?
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Replies

  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I eat at the table. I don't think it affects my weight at all, I just think eating on the couch is gross.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    i do and i do. if you separate eating as a separate activity you are less likely to overeat because it makes you more conscious of what is going into your mouth
  • Cardio4Cupcakes
    Cardio4Cupcakes Posts: 289 Member
    I eat at the table because I'm usually cutting things and that's tricky.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    YES! My husband and I have no kids (two dogs - fur kids) lol

    But yeah, every night regardless of what we are eating, we sit at the kitchen table together and enjoy dinner together and have some conversation. Granted, many nights the TV is on in the back ground to catch up on some news. But for the most part we eat and talk to each other. I find this helps because watching TV is a trigger for me to snack. Also, by having dinner conversation we both tend to eat slower than normal because we are talking. So we feel full in an appropriate time frame vs. eating fast.

    I also try to do other things when I am eating. While I like to take great care in preparing my food and eating thoughtfully (taste/sense/smell/looks), etc. I also find that if I am reading, typing, writing, etc. just something casual while eating I tend to eat slowly as I am doing other things in-between. This has worked well for me as I was always a fast eater and would tend to over eat as a result.

    For example... Just now while typing this, I was eating a peach. I would stop, look at my food, take a bite, enjoy the flavor/sensation, chew, swallow, and type then type more.
  • Brige2269
    Brige2269 Posts: 354 Member
    I always eat at the table. I am not comfortable eating off my lap on the couch on at a small TV tray. Hubby on the other wants nothing but TV time during dinner. I let him eat there if it's a casual dinner, and eat at the table if it's a "nicer" dinner. I think eating at them table puts you more in a mind set that pays attention to what you ARE eating. Eating in front of the TV can very easily slip into mindless eating, and before you know it, you have eaten way more than you had intended to.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    I don't have a dinner table. :-(

    You prelog your food no matter where you eat it though right? It doesn't matter where you eat so long as you prelog it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    We eat as a family at the table or out on the patio table a few nights per week...usually Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday nights. The other nights, my wife and I eat after the kids go to bed and we usually eat in front of the t.v. I don't eat any more or less in front of the t.v. than I do at the dinner table....i practice the same portion control either way.
  • Marie047
    Marie047 Posts: 240 Member
    I have 1 child (3) we always eat at the table. Find it much better for eating but don`t think it helps weight loss, however its better to engage in conversations with everyone than sat in front of TV, we tend to have music (quietly mind) playing in the background.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    When I'm alone I'll usually be on the sofa. When guests are round we'll eat at the table. I haven't noticed it make any difference in terms of what I eat / want to eat / how much I eat.
  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
    I found that when I eat at the couch, I just kind of shovel food into my face. Where as when I eat at the table, I focus on it and really am aware of the act of eating.

    While I still enjoy munching away in front of my shows in the evening, I feel more satisfied when I eat my meal at the table.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I don't have a dinner table. :-(

    You prelog your food no matter where you eat it though right? It doesn't matter where you eat so long as you prelog it.

    This here... I eat it directly from the pan after I cook it.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    the only time we ever eat at the table is Christmas day
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    I have 1 child (3) we always eat at the table. Find it much better for eating but don`t think it helps weight loss, however its better to engage in conversations with everyone than sat in front of TV, we tend to have music (quietly mind) playing in the background.

    Yes... I think this is so important. My husband and I both grew up in families where dinner time was 5 PM, everyone had better be at the table, the TV got shut off and the phone was taken off the hook. It was family time for conversation and sharing food. That is a precious value to me that I wish was sustained. Unfortunately everyone is so busy these days most kids are eating quickly in front of the TV.
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  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    I eat on the sofa (well off of a tray) and don't think it makes a difference. Saying that, our living room/dining room is open plan so even at the table we put the TV on lol!
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  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I weigh my food in the kitchen, so I don't think it affects what I eat at all.
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    You prelog your food no matter where you eat it though right? It doesn't matter where you eat so long as you prelog it.

    I agree with this, I always pre-log so it makes no difference
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    There are three of us and we almost always eat at the dinner table. The TV is often on in the background, though, and the dining and living areas are one big room. We do have a no cell phone rule, though. The exception is the rare occasions when one of us picks up pizza or fast food on the way home because everyone got home late that day.

    I'm not sure how sitting in front the TV would change how much I eat except that I might eat even less. I make up a plate of food and I eat it. The serving dishes would be in the kitchen; I'm not going to bring them into the living room with me. In order to have seconds I'd have to get up from the sofa, go into the kitchen, serve myself more food then go back into the living room and sit down to eat it. That's not likely to happen.

    If you're bringing the meal into the living room with you perhaps that is what needs to change? Just put your portioned/weighed servings of food with you to the TV and leave the rest in the kitchen.
  • amcook4
    amcook4 Posts: 561 Member
    No kids, but my husband and I eat at the table most nights. We will sometimes have snacks or whatnot in the living room though. I think as long as someone is conscious about the food they are eating and the portions it shouldn't matter too much. Back when I lived by myself I ate most meals in the living room, but that was mostly because I couldn't see my TV from the kitchen, I would get bored!
  • icck
    icck Posts: 197 Member
    We have a dining table, it's a new addition in recent months. It's covered in 40K miniatures and boxes full of paints. We usually sit on the sofa, or better yet have a living room picnic on the floor.
    My daughter and I stay with family on the days I work though, as I work in a different town/free childcare, and we'll usually eat at the table there.

    I don't find much of a difference between the two though, to be honest.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    We rarely eat together or even eat the same things (I'm vegetarian, he's not) and it's just the two of us, so we rarely eat at the table. But I do still eat healthy, nutritious food most of the time.

    Where I eat doesn't affect me in that way. But you are you and if it helps you to eat at the table, then eat at the table!
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    I don't think there's any magic trick to it. It's all about calorie deficit. But I have noticed that ever since I've started this weight loss journey, I tend to naturally eat at the table. Whereas before, I always ate at the couch (I'm single with no kids). So, I wonder if there might just be some mental thing that it does. Kinda like how they encourage people to not read, watch TV, or work in bed so that your brain only associates bed with sleep. Maybe eating at the table does the same thing for us. If we only associate food with the table... Maybe we are less likely to snack mindlessly. Honestly, I don't know! Just thinking out loud, because I've noticed that in my own behavior.
  • DellaWiedel
    DellaWiedel Posts: 125 Member
    I don't have a kitchen table. My husband and I have a really tiny house, and since we never ate at the table anyway, we just got rid of it because it was taking up too much space. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to eat at a table though, but now we don't have one... lol
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
    We have a table, but rarely eat at it. I prepare my food in the kitchen so it really makes no difference where I eat it.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I don't have a kitchen table. My husband and I have a really tiny house, and since we never ate at the table anyway, we just got rid of it because it was taking up too much space. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to eat at a table though, but now we don't have one... lol
    Where do you collect all your junk mail??? lol
  • CkepiJinx
    CkepiJinx Posts: 613 Member
    95% of the time we eat dinner together at the table. I have one daughter. We have always done this it is a time for us to sit as a family and talk to each other, the only time we don't is if she has practice or a game.

    I like to eat breakfast on the coach watching tv.

    Lunch is kinda of whatever, sometimes at the table, sometimes on the coach, sometimes while I am walking around doing other things to prepare for my day.

    It doesn't really change my eating habits but I could see how some people all I to mindless eating while watching tv.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Nope never..... The table is used for folding towels and putting clutter on.... I eat in my recliner at just about every meal, unless we are eating out.. haven't figured out a way to take the recliner with me.... :tongue:
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    All nutrition aside, I personally think it's important for a healthy family dynamic to have a scheduled uninterrupted time to sit and be with each other. Most families make that dinnertime. I try to make sitting at a table for dinner a priority.
  • DellaWiedel
    DellaWiedel Posts: 125 Member
    I don't have a kitchen table. My husband and I have a really tiny house, and since we never ate at the table anyway, we just got rid of it because it was taking up too much space. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to eat at a table though, but now we don't have one... lol
    Where do you collect all your junk mail??? lol
    Coffee table. LOL

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