Have you heard about the Eating Pause?

dgilner
dgilner Posts: 120 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
I am reading a book called "The 100 Days of Weight Loss" and thought I would share this idea.

Day 35 The eating pause
During my years of weight-loss counseling, i have discovered a facinating behavior that helps people know when they are full. At some point the process of eating a meal, most people stoop briefly and lay down their forks or put down the food they are holding in their hands. Then they might stretch, talk a little, watch TV or even read the paper.
After this pause in their eating, people will often glance down at their food and decide they want more. Maybe they think it still looks good or they just want more of the taste in their mouths, so they pick up their forks and resume eating. But after finishing the rest of their food, they exclaim, "I shouldn't have eaten that bc now I am too full!"

Stopping at the pause
When you naturally pause in your eating, you're usually at the exact point where you feel satisfied or comfortable In fact, this pause seems to correlate exactly with the moment your stomach indicates it's taken in enough food. If you continue to eat, you quickly move to the level of being too full.

Each person responds differently to the eating pause. Some people push their plates aside, subconsciously concluding they've had enough. Others wait a few minutes and then begin eating again. In this case, they miss the signal to stop.

Watch carefully for the eating pause, and then use it as a guide to stop eating. If you typically ignore it and eat more, you risk gaining weight bc you'll always tend to take in more calories than your body needs. Once you're able to consistenly recognize the eating pause, you'll always be able to tell how much food your body needs. Start watching other people eat - you will be amazed at how easily you can spot others taking an eating pause.


I thought it was an interesting concept. I am working on recognizing this pause in myself - and thought it might be helpful to some of you. If you try it - let me know how it worked for you. Or how it felt to stop eating at this point - were you sad to leave food on your plate?

Replies

  • Amarillo_NDN
    Amarillo_NDN Posts: 1,018 Member
    Was told about that in the Move Program at the V.A. a few weeks ago. It is out body sayingn it's full but most times we don't listen. LOL I am tryingn to keep my ears and eyes more open these days for that.
  • hamiltonba
    hamiltonba Posts: 474 Member
    Thank you for that post. Now that I think back, I do pause, and usually continue eating.....Now I know to say I'm done. Sounds so easy, but in reality, it isn't. Knowing about the pause will definitely help me in my decision to know that I am not hungry anymore rather than being full....
  • Amanda421
    Amanda421 Posts: 261 Member
    thanks for sharing that information!
  • PercyPig
    PercyPig Posts: 318
    Very interesting - definitely going to pay attention to that from now on. How do you like the book in general, is it worth the read?
  • Brat3073
    Brat3073 Posts: 160
    wow, that is great information to have. I always have a pause, i thought it was because i was dealing with kids.....well yes, sometimes it is. But other times, i will pause, chit chat a bit and then go bnack to eating....even when i know i sholdnt!
  • ChubbieTubbie
    ChubbieTubbie Posts: 481 Member
    I stopped eating my breakfast to read this...and decided to throw the rest away. Thanks for sharing!!
  • ShellyBee
    ShellyBee Posts: 117
    That is def. a great bit of advice.
    Although if you are weighing your food and measuring your food you know exactly what is on your plate already.
    I think this method would be great if you just put a bunch of food on your plate....but.....when ever calorie on my plate is accounted for and that is the last of my food for the day I am going to eat ever last bit of it.....Because MFP say's I can.....ha ha ha....lol!!!
  • SJSchwartz
    SJSchwartz Posts: 131
    That's a great tip for eating at restuarants! Whatever is left on your plate after the pause, just put it in a to-go box and eat it another day!
  • KellyBurton1
    KellyBurton1 Posts: 529 Member
    I totally agree with shellybee on the weighing of the food. But yes theres going to be times where we do not bother because we are out somewhere where we just cant take out the food scales. You always have to listen to what your body says, last night I didnt bother to weight my food just because I knew I needed to eat more but I aslo realized that my stomach was doing the talking for me. I put an little bigger potatoe on my plate and extra meat but as I was eating and talking and I realized to myself "I really dont want more of that potaote and I really have enough meat. I guess I was just use to eating a certain amount anyhow. It cases like that, yeah. unless you did weight out out food for that meal.
  • mzenzer
    mzenzer Posts: 503 Member
    That is def. a great bit of advice.
    Although if you are weighing your food and measuring your food you know exactly what is on your plate already.
    I think this method would be great if you just put a bunch of food on your plate....but.....when ever calorie on my plate is accounted for and that is the last of my food for the day I am going to eat ever last bit of it.....Because MFP say's I can.....ha ha ha....lol!!!


    You beat me to it. I want to finish because I've already counted the calories in the meal. That being said, this pause/restart phenomenon is definitely an issue with eating out and it's not a chain like subway, smoothie king, etc., where someone at MFP has already done the calories for an item and you know the volume. I do always pause at some point in a meal to chat when I'm at lunch with others at work. In fact I'll probably have the chance to test this out a bit today. Thanks!
  • Ckonner
    Ckonner Posts: 101 Member
    Thank you for posting this - I'll have to take note!
  • khollyk
    khollyk Posts: 150 Member
    I had my breakfast (oatmeal) about 30 minutes after reading this, so it definitely wasn't on the top of my mind. I was reading some posts as I ate, and at one point I sat the bowl down to click another link, and at that point I realized "this is my eating pause". I immediately went and threw out the rest of my oatmeal and came back to reading. An hour later, I'm not a bit hungry, feel just right! Thanks for saving me some unneeded calories!
  • saj9291113
    saj9291113 Posts: 65
    My mom use to always tell me about this when I was a kid, of course I was trying to eat so fast so I could get back out to play. So you could also add on eating slower, chewing more(try 25 chews for each bite, it is hard!) which helps with the digestion of the food and making you fuller. It gives your body time to signal "hey I'm done, dont send anything else down".
  • ptday
    ptday Posts: 1
    Yes, I've heard of it. It's one of the tools that I'm using now to help me lose weight. I've been told about it before in the past but ignored the advice. Not any more. I'm commiting to doing it this time. It makes total sense. Thanks for sharing this information. Maybe it will inspire others to listen this time.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories