Changing *what* I eat not *how* I eat it.

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FatUncleRob
FatUncleRob Posts: 341
in Food and Nutrition
I had dreams that my "weight loss journey" would include increased will-power and the ability to eat more slowly. I guess, eventually, that may happen - but I'm here to tell you that it hasn't happened yet!! :smile:

I still tend to wolf my food down really fast. I'll open up my lunch box and tell myself that I'm going to "savor" my granola bar snack - that it's going to last five or ten minutes so that I "really taste it". Next thing I know, I've devoured it in 90 seconds flat!!

I guess I'm the kind of person who eats fast AND grazes throughout the whole day. In the past this was a problem because my grazing involved multiple trips to the snack machine during my work day - or feasting on junk food snacks at weekends.

Rather than concentrating on cutting down on the number of snacks, or trying to make them last longer, I've been making sure that I just have plenty of healthy stuff available (either at home or packed in my lunch-box for work).

Typical snacks now consist of celery, raw almonds, cherry tomatoes, grapes, apples, low-fat bean dip, salsa, berries etc.

I also wash it down with huge volumes of water. (At least 96 oz. a day).

I'm not sure if I'm eventually going to change *how* I eat but, for now, changing *what* I eat has made a huge difference.

Anyone out there made the switch to eating at a slower pace?

Replies

  • HeyLisa
    HeyLisa Posts: 201
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    Dude, I was so much like you. I used to eat so fast and never got to the point I was full until wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too late.

    I'm in week two here and i'm finding that i'm doing better with this. I make myself put the food down between taking bites. I make myself take a sip.. today my 200 cal breakfast was actually kinda filling.

    I'm going to keep working on this one too!
  • HeyLisa
    HeyLisa Posts: 201
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    Duplicate post.
  • MeliciousMelis
    MeliciousMelis Posts: 458 Member
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    What a huge positive change!! You got this!
  • bitty1taz
    bitty1taz Posts: 309 Member
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    That's amazing you posted this because I took my mom out to eat and I tried to actually taste the food I was eating. But NOOooooo! I just wolfed it all down in what seemed like seconds flat. Hardly coming up to breath.
    So yeah....I too hope to some day slow down and enjoy the food I"m eating.
  • Amgoding
    Amgoding Posts: 16
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    I used to eat fast as well. I need to be careful eating now because I get a wicked belly ache if I eat too much at once!!
  • swtally80
    swtally80 Posts: 278 Member
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    That is a great goal! It is one I also need to work on!!! I like the idea of taking a bite setting it down and having a sip of water.... I think I will try that!
  • Diana35bha
    Diana35bha Posts: 292 Member
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    I think lots of people eat without concentrating, just to get through the meal, and on to whatever they have to do next...... I know I often do too.

    But to physically put the food down, or fork or whatever back on the plate will slow you down anyway


    Good luck. And yes, I will start trying it myself!!

    :wink:
  • Adbrown1956
    Adbrown1956 Posts: 72 Member
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    i used to do that as well and my doc said that was the cost of me gaining soooooo much wieght becuz i was over eating at each meal... he told me to practice chewing my food a 100 times before eating that bite... and it works.. hopes this helps..
  • FatUncleRob
    FatUncleRob Posts: 341
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    he told me to practice chewing my food a 100 times before eating that bite... and it works.. hopes this helps..

    Yeah, I definitely need to chew my food better.
    I'm also going to try setting the food/fork down between bites. :happy:
  • Brandon74
    Brandon74 Posts: 453 Member
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    I am also a fast eater and usually scarf my food down, which then results in me watching everyone else at the table finish eating since I am the first one done. It's a hard thing to change. I have been a fast eater my whole life.
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
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    I don't know if the whole "big family" thing is a cop out here, but I blame my fast-eating habits on coming from a large family on a low income.
    I've eaten fast my whole life, but I have slowed down recently thanks to my slow (PAINFULLY slow!) eating boyfriend. How I've slowed down isn't so much that I eat slower (maybe a little --- I conscientiously take sips of waters every few bites, or set down my fork), but is a lot more about waiting for seconds. I put the same amount of food on our plates. Inevitably, I am done WAY faster than he is, even when I'm going slow for me. Then, I sit and wait for him to finish before I even think about seconds. I talk, drink water, but leave my plate empty.
    By the time he's done, I'm pretty much positive of whether or not I'm still hungry.

    Is finding a slow-eating S.O. bad advise? xD

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