Do you eat too fast?

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Replies

  • Mountainbiker2015
    Mountainbiker2015 Posts: 129 Member
    I eat way too fast. It's annoying. I love eating, so I'd like to enjoy it, but I just tend to wolf it down. I usually finish a meal in less than five minutes.

    So,

    1). Do you eat too fast? Be honest. There's no shame here.

    2). Any tips to help me slow down and enjoy my food? (other than not eating in front of the tv, chewing food x amount of times, counting to 30, putting the fork down, etc).

    Ta! ^_^
    I have this problem too.....always have. You would think someone was going to take my food off my plate if I don't eat it fast enough. I have tried to eat slower by engaging in conversation with the family more while I am eating, sometimes I read a book, etc. It is hard as hell sometimes.
  • runbyme
    runbyme Posts: 522 Member
    I eat like a Hoover! :blushing:
  • loserbaby84
    loserbaby84 Posts: 241 Member
    I'm a fast eater but just in these past two weeks that I've been with MFP I've made a concious effort to take more time. What helps me is chatting with someone - it's more fun than eating alone anyways :)

    Also, I used to be the one who set down a plate of food and went atter. Now, I put the plate down and actually take a minute to look and appreciate what I'm about to put into my body! It's great practice and ultimately gives you a new perspective on what you SHOULD be eating.

    Less hiccups too! Haha!

    Good luck!
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
    I use to. Now, I sit at the table and eat with my left hand. It makes me eat slower because I am natural right handed.

    This is interesting... I'll have to try it!
    I'm a fast eater too. Like some of the other posters, I try to take sips of water in between bites (plus it fills me up). I also try to finish chewing and swallowing what's in my mouth before putting more in... Easier said than done sometimes!
  • Vonwarr
    Vonwarr Posts: 390 Member
    1) I power through my food. I had to learn to portion food ahead of time, and if I'm still hungry after eating what I SHOULD be eating, I just drink water until I'm no longer hungry (generally 15-20 mins after I started eating). Over time I've found I have been eating less, even though I still eat just as fast.

    2) These are things that work for me:
    - Strike up an interesting conversation... I eat slowest when I'm engaged in a dialogue. If I'm staring at my plate I shovel food even faster.
    - Cut things up into smaller pieces, works better when preparing food, but also when eating it. More pieces means more time shoveling.
    - Another tip is eat more, lower calorie (but still healthy!) food... eating 2 cups of steamed broccoli will take me a lot longer than eating something that is smaller but more calorie dense - for example almonds.
    - Eating with chopsticks CAN slow you down.... until/unless you pick up the plate and just use them as a tool to scrape the plate into your mouth. >.>
  • Savemyshannon
    Savemyshannon Posts: 334 Member
    I, too, am a fast eater. I'm a nurse, so even on my lunch breaks, there's a chance I could be called away! I inhale my lunch before it has even had time to cool off sometimes, because I HATE to have to leave my lunch half-eaten to go back to work!

    Unfortunately, this habit also follows me home. When my boyfriend and I eat dinner, sometimes I am completely done before he's halfway through! I've had to do the 'counting' thing while at home sometimes to force myself to slow down and enjoy my meal.
  • bkw2488
    bkw2488 Posts: 190 Member
    I eat really fast also.... Think some of it has to do with being in a rush all the time between work and kids activities going on. I find myself telling the kids to Hurry up and I remind myself to stop doing it! Or being so hungry by the time I get to eat. I to have been working on ways to slow down my eating.... So hard to remeber until the food is mostly gone :smile:
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    Yes I have always been a fast eater. It's so unladylike, but eh, what can ya do? I don't like to eat slow, LOL.
  • BeckaT79
    BeckaT79 Posts: 216
    I am a fast eater. I have tried everything to stop also. Sometimes in the middle of a meal I get up and put dishes away or load the dishwasher or don't put out my drink so I have to get up during the meal to get it. This helps me slow down a little. I also cut my food as I go along (including pizza days) to help keep it slow. I also used chop sticks for everything for a while but all that did was improve my chop stick skills and I started eating fast again. If I keep my food in moderation I don't worry about the speed anymore. Good luck.
  • afrazier128
    afrazier128 Posts: 99 Member
    I am addicted to Sudoku. I find if I work on a puzzle (book and pencil, not an e-puzzle) while I'm eating, I eat much more slowly - putting the fork down, chewing slowly and more thoroughly, etc - since I am distracted. Any kind of puzzle you enjoy would work!
  • trm981
    trm981 Posts: 42 Member
    I eat way too fast....after having a baby it started and I have never changed.:sad:

    Me too! When my kids were babies they would cry and want to be fed whenever I was trying to eat, it never failed. I learned to shovel my food fast if I wanted to finish it before it got cold sitting there for a half hour while I fed a baby.

    I like eating fast though. I don't know why, it just feels more satisfying to me to take big bites and eat fast than to nibble at food. So I just put the portion on my plate I know I'm going to eat and have logged my calories for. So if I finish it in 5 minutes or 20, who cares? I would have eaten it anyway. =)
  • opalescence
    opalescence Posts: 413 Member
    mindful eating. its not easy but its definitely a habit worth developing. google mindful eating hth

    Best of Luck :flowerforyou:
  • mikejacobs1958
    mikejacobs1958 Posts: 128
    Guilty as charged !!!!
  • JeaninePaige
    JeaninePaige Posts: 464 Member
    Yeah, I do. :( And I find that often when I eat quickly I end up still hungry after I'm finished. I really need to learn how to take my time so my body has a chance to be full.
  • stevepierson
    stevepierson Posts: 119
    I only have a 30 minute lunch and eat at my desk. I hoover my lunch!!

    LOL, I resemble that remark!!
  • FitasBarbie
    FitasBarbie Posts: 141 Member
    Try using chopsticks instead of you're regular fork and spoon... That should slow things abit :wink:
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I eat slowly. I don't have tips I just do it because I like to. I like to enjoy my food. My boyfriend takes the biggest ungodly bites and wolfs his food down so fast... it kind of grosses me out lol.
  • Tysonhi98
    Tysonhi98 Posts: 21
    I Destroy my food lol :) :L
  • twiztc
    twiztc Posts: 135
    I eat so fast

    I used to eat a quarter pounder loaded with salad in about 2 minutes

    I still eat fast

    I think its because when I was about 13 I would eat as much as my Dad. If he ate faster than me he would try to steal bits off my dinner plate... that's until he got my fork in the back of his hand.

    We both used to race each other and the first to finish got the best pick of what my brother and sister didnt want.

    I cant believe I used to eat like that and stayed so very skinny.

    My hubby on the other hand is painfully slow- I've known him take 2 hours to eat half a dozed chicken wings that I'd have finished in 5 minutes!
  • twiztc
    twiztc Posts: 135
    that is ok if you are crap with chopsticks:wink:

    dont slow me down :laugh:
  • messyinthekitchen
    messyinthekitchen Posts: 662 Member
    Yes I eat like I am a prisoner lol. It's horrible but I can't help myself lol. A friend I know eats with her eyes closed. It has helped her lose weight and she eats slower now.
  • fitatfiftyfive
    fitatfiftyfive Posts: 46
    YES. But I'm trying to be conscious of every bite I put into my mouth now so that I will know I'm really full. When I eat fast I always overeat. Taking time to savor really does help me. For instance, I can eat a Hershey bar with almonds without even realizing I've done it, but if I buy really good cholocate - say Lindor's Dark Chocolate with Chilis - I can break off a small piece and let it melt in my mouth - this always takes me longer than a Hershey bar or a bag of M&Ms. It seems more decadent with the more expensive chocolate.....:bigsmile: :bigsmile:
  • JWmovin4ward
    JWmovin4ward Posts: 179 Member
    Yep I eat too fast, it is something I am midfull of & try to eat slower especially when eating with others. I find putting the cutlery down inbetween bites is the easiest way...
  • twiztc
    twiztc Posts: 135
    oh ... now chocholate is differen......

    its gotta be sucked as it melts


    <<<DROOOOOOOOOOL>>
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    I used to be ridiculously slow... now I eat pretty fast... To try to slow down I try to match my boyfriend and only put my fork to my mouth when he does. I might chew and swallow faster, but the food goes in at the same rate. Sometimes when he gets distracted by the TV I'm staring at him screaming (in my head) OMG HURRY UP AND TAKE ANOTHER BITE!!! I wouldn't dare tell him that's what I do - he'd make it into some sort of game for sure and drag dinner out over two hours!!!
  • coachblt
    coachblt Posts: 1,090
    I thought I was a fast eater but apparently not. I'm always one of the last to finish and ordered the smallest amount of food.

    I'm not a slow eater like my grandmother was, mind you, but certainly not a fast eater either. I would say average, I suppose.

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