Are you 'present' when you eat?

Prilla04
Prilla04 Posts: 174 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've recently spoken with a behavior modification pro and she suggested being 'present' when you eat. Which means, looking at your food, feeling it in your mouth, really tasting it, etc as opposed to watching tv and scarfing your food down with no thought to it. Does anyone have any tips to share on how they stay 'present' while eating? How do you make yourself slow down?
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Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    I chew slowly & thoroughly.. about 20 chews per bite.

    I dislike eating around others because of the pressure to talk. I take my eating seriously! :happy:
  • harribeau2012
    harribeau2012 Posts: 644 Member
    no. I'm usually next door eating cake.


    Seriously though - I too have heard that paying attention will make a lot of difference.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    Have you read Paul McKenna for "mindful eating"? Didn't work for me because I actually like mindless eating.
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,267 MFP Moderator
    Yes, absolutely present. We have a 'put it in a bowl or on a plate' and 'eat at the kitchen table' rule in my house. Unless you're eating peaches. Peaches can be eaten while standing over the kitchen sink. :P
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
    just get orthodontic braces. Thats what slows me down plenty :)
  • IHateThinkingOfAUsername
    IHateThinkingOfAUsername Posts: 568 Member
    See I just can't do the whole mastication thing. The resulting texture just makes me want to gag.
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
    Almost always. The exception would be when I make popcorn for the sole purpose of mindlessly eating it while watching a movie.

    edit: The only tip I have is to separate eating from any other activity. Don't eat dinner in front of the TV, for example. If you're like me, you could sit and eat until the movie/tv show/whatever is done, regardless of whether you're even hungry.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    we don't eat in front of the tv. Always at the table. Even if one of the kids is just having a snack, they sit in the dining room at the table, no distractions.
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
    Sit at a kitchen/dining room table without distractions. Or discuss how the family members' day has been. Depends whether I'm eating alone or with someone else.
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
    I love to sit and savour my food
  • TheHeathBar
    TheHeathBar Posts: 22 Member
    I love to eat while I'm watching TV. I save my favorite shows for dinner time and we all watch. I guess I'm wondering what difference it makes in regards to weight loss? You're still eating what you put on your plate so wouldn't you get the same results if you just measured what went on the plate?

    ETA: Not trying to be a ****. Just curious how this is supposed to help!
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
    I love to eat while I'm watching TV. I save my favorite shows for dinner time and we all watch. I guess I'm wondering what difference it makes in regards to weight loss? You're still eating what you put on your plate so wouldn't you get the same results if you just measured what went on the plate?

    ETA: Not trying to be a ****. Just curious how this is supposed to help!
    Does it have to be about weight loss? OP asked a question on mindfulness during eating.
  • Lonestar5775
    Lonestar5775 Posts: 740 Member
    One of the things I found after being on MFP for half a year was I was actually hungry by the time it was mealtime. I realized I had eaten or snacked any time I felt hunger beginning. Now, by lunchtime my simple egg salad sandwich tastes like prime rib and I do notice the taste and textures much more than before.

    I had to wake up to the fact hunger is not a bad thing. We get tired as we go through our days but we do not immediately lay down for a nap when we feel we would like to. Eating is now the same way for me. I tell my body when we're eating not the other way around.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    I've recently spoken with a behavior modification pro and she suggested being 'present' when you eat. Which means, looking at your food, feeling it in your mouth, really tasting it, etc as opposed to watching tv and scarfing your food down with no thought to it. Does anyone have any tips to share on how they stay 'present' while eating? How do you make yourself slow down?
    I totally had to relearn this and yes, I think I'm there again. I really like it when I see others doing this, it reminds me to do it too.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    One of the things I found after being on MFP for half a year was I was actually hungry by the time it was mealtime. I realized I had eaten or snacked any time I felt hunger beginning. Now, by lunchtime my simple egg salad sandwich tastes like prime rib and I do notice the taste and textures much more than before.

    I had to wake up to the fact hunger is not a bad thing. We get tired as we go through our days but we do not immediately lay down for a nap when we feel we would like to. Eating is now the same way for me. I tell my body when we're eating not the other way around.
    I like this!
  • cld1075
    cld1075 Posts: 25
    I have started focusing on flavor and enjoying the food I eat. I feel more satisfied when I am "present" even though I am eating much less than I was. If I eat without paying attention now and my portion is gone, I feel cheated because I didn't even get to enjoy it...lol.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    its funny how much we think of food when we're not eating, and how little we think of it when we are
  • Amandatkm
    Amandatkm Posts: 3
    I agree, planning out your meal, savoring bites, with less distraction in the room, is a great mindful technique. It can be work, though. IT does feel like meditation, with appreciation for the food on the plate, even if and especially if it is tiny portions. I can not do it all the time. Its great at work, when things can be hectic, and to stop for a purposeful lunch, instead of scarfing it down and not remembering what I ate.
  • Mariachicat
    Mariachicat Posts: 311 Member
    I try to be! I do think it's important.
  • Prilla04
    Prilla04 Posts: 174 Member
    Thanks for the replies. I have always been a fast or mindless eater and usually ended up overeating. By the time I registered that I was full I had eaten too much. I am TRYING to slow down and savor my food. It does help me because a lot of times I stop before my plate is clean. Just trying to work on this bad life long behavior. I'm slowing down now but I'm staring at my plate thinking "Yep, there is my chicken on my plate", "Yep that tastes just like chicken", "That's some good chicken", "How long can one actually think about chicken? 30 minutes, no way", "How long should I wait for that next bite?", "Wonder what I should think about now?" And that's all in the first 30 seconds. Just looking for some insight from all of those enviable people who eat so slowly. :bigsmile:
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I will eat and converse with people (thought not simultaneously) and I will sometimes watch TV while I eat. I still enjoy my food, every bite. I chew an autopilot, not counting chews because each food is different and requires more or less chewing (steak vs mashed potatoes). I try not to make my life about eating, just make eating a small portion of my life (that I do enjoy quite a bit).
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
    See I just can't do the whole mastication thing. The resulting texture just makes me want to gag.

    Absolutely this. ^ "Mindful" eating and "being present" while eating recommendations seem to make eating into a ritual, too.I distrust rituals when it comes to food. Pay attention to what or when you eat. That's enough, in my opinion.
  • Prilla04
    Prilla04 Posts: 174 Member
    One of the things I found after being on MFP for half a year was I was actually hungry by the time it was mealtime. I realized I had eaten or snacked any time I felt hunger beginning. Now, by lunchtime my simple egg salad sandwich tastes like prime rib and I do notice the taste and textures much more than before.

    I had to wake up to the fact hunger is not a bad thing. We get tired as we go through our days but we do not immediately lay down for a nap when we feel we would like to. Eating is now the same way for me. I tell my body when we're eating not the other way around.
    I like this!

    Agreed!!! Good insight!
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    You know, I think it's a great question and it crossed my mind just today as I was plowing down my lunch in time to get on a conference call. There are going to be people who take this to extremes of course, but the thought crossed my mind that I was just stuffing my face and not really being mindful (or even enjoying) what I was eating. I'm curious to see if it will show up later somehow - maybe in cravings or actual hunger.
    Anyway, I try not to get too esoteric about health or weight loss. I'm a simple guy. But these things do make me wonder every now and then and hell, thinking about it certainly can't hurt. It's been a process of understanding what my body needs and is asking for, so every little data point helps.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I'm terrible with this, but some tips I've heard are to put the eating utensil down between bites and to count how many times you chew.

    I suppose if it's something you eat by hand (pizza), set the food down between bites.

    The main thing I have learned recently is do no eat and watch Coupling at the same time ...
  • Prilla04
    Prilla04 Posts: 174 Member
    I have started focusing on flavor and enjoying the food I eat. I feel more satisfied when I am "present" even though I am eating much less than I was. If I eat without paying attention now and my portion is gone, I feel cheated because I didn't even get to enjoy it...lol.

    I have done the same thing - felt cheated. You nailed that on the head.
  • Prilla04
    Prilla04 Posts: 174 Member
    its funny how much we think of food when we're not eating, and how little we think of it when we are

    That is soooo true!
  • TheHeathBar
    TheHeathBar Posts: 22 Member
    I love to eat while I'm watching TV. I save my favorite shows for dinner time and we all watch. I guess I'm wondering what difference it makes in regards to weight loss? You're still eating what you put on your plate so wouldn't you get the same results if you just measured what went on the plate?

    ETA: Not trying to be a ****. Just curious how this is supposed to help!
    Does it have to be about weight loss? OP asked a question on mindfulness during eating.

    No it doesn't. I just assumed and that is my fault. What is it about then? There has to be a benefit or else why would it have been suggested to OP. Weather or not it is about weight loss doesn't matter, that was poor wording on my part, I'm just curious what the benefits would be. I'm even more confused now if it isn't for weight loss.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    Do you know who was really 'present' when they ate? The guys from the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. They would take hours to eat their small meal, not talking to one another during the meal but focusing solely on the food. Some would save some from the chow hall and then slowly nibble on it until it was gone, hours and hours. Anorexics tend to have elaborate food rituals as well since they obsess about food.

    Maybe just eat your food, enjoy it and be done with it. Making it such a strong part of your life, so much that you count chews, won't eat around other people because they are a distraction and other behaviors isn't usually a path towards a healthy relationship with food but an obsessive one.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    I've recently spoken with a behavior modification pro and she suggested being 'present' when you eat. Which means, looking at your food, feeling it in your mouth, really tasting it, etc as opposed to watching tv and scarfing your food down with no thought to it. Does anyone have any tips to share on how they stay 'present' while eating? How do you make yourself slow down?

    Pretty much how I eat. People take the piss as I'm always the last to finish. I care not.

    Buddhists call it mindfulness when you focus on the present. Meditative mastication?

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