Slow eating/mindful eating

I struggle with the slow issue. I've always been one to eat til I was full. The problem is, I have decided that it takes me longer than the end of the meal until I'm full. I need to walk away feeling slightly deprived. Then 10 to 15 minutes later, I realize I'm full. Had I kept eating, I'd be stuffed. But when you're not actively thinking about that, or if something tastes particularly good, it's hard to do.

As for the plate issue, I admit I generally use a full sized plate. I probably shouldn't, and your post has reminded me that those smaller plates fit in the dishwasher better!

I struggle with the slow issue. I've always been one to eat til I was full. The problem is, I have decided that it takes me longer than the end of the meal until I'm full. I need to walk away feeling slightly deprived. Then 10 to 15 minutes later, I realize I'm full. Had I kept eating, I'd be stuffed. But when you're not actively thinking about that, or if something tastes particularly good, it's hard to do.

Have you tried drinking plenty before and during your meal? It'll help you fill up a little more and feel less deprived.

AnsiStar: Thanks for the advice, will definitely think about chewing a longer time. Maybe the two can be combined? Chewing more and also slower :-)
I will from today, serve my food on a smaller plate. I like the thought of eating less of the "real thing" to not feel deprived, I think that is a part of achieving a better relationship with food as well. Prevent the binging.

Just pop on your plate your usual serving and let it pile there precariously. Really does look like a monster of a meal even though it's just the same as normal! Works especially well with pasta/noodle/rice dishes I think All that psychology!
Or it also works in the way you listed, in that your portions will decrease like the plate size has. Though if your portions are normal I wouldn't worry about that. Just go for the smaller plate to make the portion appear bigger rather than actually cutting what you eat

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/23real.html

I absolutely think this has been a huge aid to my weight loss! I eat most of my meals on a salad plate and I often try to make them look pretty as I serve my food, it just increases the enjoyment and I have read it can be helpful to increase your satisfaction with meals.

I also have some little tiny plates about 3" around that I serve my snacks on, it makes it a little more special.

I've never been a super fast eater but I have sort of trained myself to eat even slower, especially when it comes to desserts, and high calorie treats like cheese. Mostly I take really tiny bites and try to savor those foods, often sipping on water or tea between each bite to slow me down more. My coworkers laugh at me that it can take me an hour to eat a cookie but that is one tasty hour for me and it keeps me to just one cookie that I really enjoy rather than wolfing a bunch down fast.

Hello community :-)

I wanted to know if anybody can tell me their experiences with eating slowly, combined with serving your food on a smaller plate.

How has that worked for you? I have so far lost 40 pounds by going vegetarian and I am loving it! But like many on here, I still need
to drop about 22 pounds to reach a goal weight at around 130 pounds (on a 5'7 frame). I am somewhat active on a normal day, walking around 5 miles a day 4 days a week (12,5 min a km).
The thing that stops me from losing more weight is the amounts I eat. I eat till the point where I cannot possibly eat more, and because I am a vegetarian I think it is "okay" to eat more of the other things. This way I eat way too much. I also have a problem with chocolate consumption but that's a problem for another day :-)

My question is:
Has it worked for you guys to serve on a smaller plate and then eating slowly?

Good luck to you all, it's worth the fight!

Hi Jensen,

I think smaller portion sizes are the way to go. If you are used to large portion sizes then start to reduce portion size. You'll probably feel better, have more energy by not filling yourself up at every meal.

As for the mindful eating, I am much more in favour of being mindful of our impulse to eat. I know for myself that rarely it has to do with real hunger but some sort of emotional or mental trigger. Just by being aware of it rather than responding to it habitually by going to the kitchen will be helpful.
You might want to also check out the group "MFP Buddhists" which has a thread or two on mindful eating.
Wishing you all the best,

Ben

I have managed to learn to stick to portions - simply by measuring out portions when I cook. So instead of just grabbing a load of pasta and chucking it in the pot, I weigh up two portions (for myself and OH) and cook, same with sauce, same with everything. Once ready, it gets divided out onto plates (I find size does not matter for me ;-) ) and once it is gone, it is gone. There are no leftovers, no seconds (unless I portioned for that to put in the freezer when I divide out the portions).

I am still struggling with eating slow and focusing on what I eat, rather than just wolf it down, but I manage sometimes. Thing is, the simple fact that the single portion is all that is there to eat helps me to stick to it. I also found out that I must have dessert, something sweet after dinner, otherwise my meal does not feel complete (childhood habit I guess). So I now reserve a few cals for a biscuit, a yogurt or a piece of fruit to have - weirdly enough it doesn't even need to be the chocolate mousse as I had thought all those years! ;-)

I also found drinking plenty of water throughout the day (and if it helps, before a meal) useful to differentiate between hunger, thirst and cravings ... if I feel I haven't eaten enough, I drink a glass of water or ice tea (homemade, sugar free), that mostly seems to do the trick!

Russellbrand6:
I also like something going on while I eat, maybe the trick can also be to not have too much focus on the fact that you are eating? If stuff has been served on a plate and portioned correctly losing a bit of focus won't hurt too much, aye.

It was strange turning the TV off at first - I always liked something going on while I ate too.
I grew up with the TV always on, plates in our laps as we ate. On the rare times we ate at the table I would read the paper or a book.
But I quickly got used to no TV on - so much so that I stopped turning it on at all, even outside of mealtimes. I cancelled my satellite TV subscription a couple of months ago.
Try music instead - we listen to BBC radio 6 in our house while we eat