Take a look at your environment when you eat... see if you can change something

1) you eat in front of tv? Way too easy to mindlessly eat without noticing. I cant count how many times I reached down to grab the next bite and was shocked there was nothing left. Try eating deliberately at the table, preferably with company.

2) you already eat at the table? Do you eat alone? If not, try talking more. Talk about your day, start a discussion about something you have thought about, etc. I bought some of those "thought" cards and put the deck on the table - just pick the top one and base your discussion on it. The more you talk the slower you have to eat in the end (i.e. when the other person talks, you may eat faster, but you are focussed on the conversation and get your words in).

3) Eat at the table but alone, or the above not work? Eat while performing a chore. This is actually my best one . I make my plate, leave it on the counter. Then I start cleaning the kitchen, folding laundry, etc. Every few minutes I *walk* over to the counter (I dont stand near it - in fact I am usually moving all over the place), and take a bite. While still chewing I get back to what I was doing. Dont hover over the plate shoveling it in.

The idea is to slow your eating down enough for the "full" feeling to register. I.e. maybe 20 minutes. Since we eat so little food, that is hard. So you can also try a smaller fork, or even chopsticks. Heck for my dog to slow down I had to put her food in a bundt cake pan (the circle donut looking kind) so she had a harder time gulping it. You could even pack a picnic style meal, hike out a mile or something, eat it then hike back. That way, no matter how fast you eat - when its gone its gone, and you have at least 10-20 minutes walk back for it to hit bottom. And if still hungry when you get back - hey you walked 2 miles

Think through what you can do to make it harder to shovel food in or to spread out the bites. Be creative! After awhile, hopefully it will be more of a habit.

So stick it in micro for a few seconds. Or make smaller serving then go back for seconds. Or put a heating pad under your plate while you eat. Or get a thermal lunchbox or container to hold half the food while you eat the other half. Or switch to cold sandwiches. Or eat the hot food part first then cold later (i.e. soup/meat first, then salad/fruit). Put hot meat on cold salad. etc etc etc. Eat 1/2 size meals and eat twice as often.

If you can identify the "issue", you can brainstorm for the "fix" . Just stating the issue as if it is insurmountable or leaves you no choices wont get you anywhere

aylajane wrote: »

Or maybe its not even an issue for you. If you finish your meal in 10 minutes and are "satisfied" but not stuffed, and you are not overeating or hurting your stomach, then just let it go.

I agree with aylajane. I have the same issue of too many years of fast eating and still finish a meal in 10-15 minutes. but with no more than I can eat, it's just the right amount of time for me. the relatively small amount of time still allows my "fullness triggers" to kick in

I usually finish my meal within 15 minutes at 2+ years out, but in the beginning, just to practice more mindful eating, I used a timer. I took a bite every minute and made sure I chewed thoroughly. I didn't have to do it forever, but it was a good exercise for me to learn to slow it down a little and be conscious of my eating, especially after years of mindless, automatic eating.