Are you 'present' when you eat?

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  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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?
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Yes, I'm "present" when I eat because

    a) I'm eating food I enjoy.
    b) I'm limited on how much I should eat (re: calorie goal, portion control).

    My husband, otoh, isn't. He only realizes how much he's eaten when his plate is empty or he has to get up to get more chips. If I didn't portion out his snacks (at his request btw), he'd still be eating 2kg of crunchy cheese curls in an hour because he doesn't know how to stop.
  • Squamation
    Squamation Posts: 522 Member
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    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.

    ^^THIS!
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    How does this work with the five-bite diet?
  • Prilla04
    Prilla04 Posts: 174 Member
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    Oh! I forgot to share a tip that is working for me so far - I use a cocktail fork (and a tiny spoon when needed) to eat my food. I know, it's crazy but I eat small portions so when I look at my plate, I cut little bites with my baby fork and when it goes in my mouth it's a reminder to slow down.
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
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    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.

    My point exactly! I think elaborate rituals *around* food might be fine, like, for example, always eating at a table covered with a cloth and fully set, or a wine-tasting ritual before-hand, or family grace with each giving individual thanks, or whatever. I think those things increase your appreciation of food and of your company and make you mindful of your meal. Elaborate eating rituals, however, are not trustworthy--in my opinion.;
  • Cashewtheguineapig
    Cashewtheguineapig Posts: 11 Member
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    Read a diet tip that advised you to use chopsticks whilst snacking so that eating requires more conscious effort. That's probably assuming that you're fairly bad at using them, sure if I tried to use this tip I'd get proficient in no time :)
  • Barbellarella_
    Barbellarella_ Posts: 454 Member
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    no I just play with my food.

    Fan-ice-cream-face.gif
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
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    Eff Mrs. Manners and Mrs. Post and use your opposite hand for all utensils )

    As a bonus to being more present, it develops neural pathways!
  • Prilla04
    Prilla04 Posts: 174 Member
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    How does this work with the five-bite diet?

    What is this witchcraft you speak of? Five bites?? Just no. :laugh:
  • Smpo1979
    Smpo1979 Posts: 13 Member
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    I've recently noticed that I'm never present for anything I do...honestly....so I'm working on that. I find it really hard work to be present, and not 10 miles ahead of myself at all times. I don't know if it will help with weight loss, but it's sure to help with binges. If I'm consciously thinking about what I'm putting in my mouth as I'm doing it, I actually do make better choices. We'll see how that shows up in my metrics.

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