Slooooooow Dowwwn

lujako
lujako Posts: 87 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I struggle with eating to rapidly. I am always the first to finish by a significant amount of time.

I have read before that it takes time for your brain to and stomach to communicate. After reading this article, I am going to make an effort to slow down when eating.

webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/slow-down-you-eat-too-fast#1

I am going to try:
  • returning the utensil to the plate after each bite
  • taking a sip of water between bites

What speed do you find your self eating? If you are a slow eater, what are your tricks and tips?

Thank you!

Replies

  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    I can finish a dinner under 15 minutes. No idea if that's fast or slow. But I don't choke so I think it's OK.

    If you're trying to eat less by slowing down, I think it's futile effort. When good food is in front of us while we're hungry, it's already too late. Don't try your effort there. It's a band aid "solution" at best.

    It's much better to spend your effort on observing your health meter and delaying your meal time. The longer you go without eating without feeling ill the better. For us overweighters with over eating disorder, there's very little risk of getting starvation issue from this.

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited August 2016
    My husband tells me I eat too fast.... meh!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Yes, I try to slow down. For one thing, I stay fuller longer.

    Tips:
    - Eat mindfully, not while distracted
    - Eat high volume food that requires a lot of chewing, and chew thoroughly.
  • akamran1
    akamran1 Posts: 78 Member
    I think it's all relative. I eat at about the same speed as my brother. At the office, we eat lunch together, and I'm always the last one done. By far! Eating with friends, I'm often the first one done. I'm with @endlessfall16 -- as long as I don't choke, I'm good.

    That said, there's nothing wrong with trying to be more mindful about what you're eating. But that's about paying attention and not mindlessly shoveling food -- time isn't the issue there.
  • z4oslo
    z4oslo Posts: 229 Member
    I strongly disagree with the poster above.
    Eating slow is the perfect way to not overeat.

    I chew every bite around 20-25 times. A few things happens when you do this:
    • You actually enjoy the food you are eating
    • Your stomach have enough time to tell your brain when you are full
    • Your body and brain will learn to know what you are eating in terms of vitamins and minerals.

    When you eat slowly, you will most likely crave other types of food than you have in the past, and food you thought you like, may not taste as good as it used to (very salty food for instance)

    Eating slowly is what I do to lose weight. I dont log calories, and I eat whatever I want to eat, but still lose about 1 kg /week

    Equally important is to eat only when hungry. This will tell your body that there will always be enough food, and your metabolism will not slow down.
  • DuckReconMajor
    DuckReconMajor Posts: 434 Member
    I lost weight chewing/eating slowly before I started logging my food. I still use those slowing down techniques sometimes, for example when I'm at a restaurant with others and want to make the food i've pre-logged last as long as I can so I'm not the first one finished just watching others eat.
  • vixtris
    vixtris Posts: 688 Member
    edited August 2016
    I find myself shoveling big bites in my mouth if I'm really hungry. But I catch it and I try to slow down! Taking sips between bites is a good way to do that. Also, allow yourself to fully chew your fork/spoon-full and swallow before taking another bite. Also, if you eat with anyone else, play a little game in your head and try to be the last one to finish eating.
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
    endlessfall16 wrote: »
    I can finish a dinner under 15 minutes. No idea if that's fast or slow. But I don't choke so I think it's OK.

    If you're trying to eat less by slowing down, I think it's futile effort. When good food is in front of us while we're hungry, it's already too late. Don't try your effort there. It's a band aid "solution" at best.

    It's much better to spend your effort on observing your health meter and delaying your meal time. The longer you go without eating without feeling ill the better. For us overweighters with over eating disorder, there's very little risk of getting starvation issue from this.

    Whaaat? This is defeatist! Feeling overfull is not a comfortable feeling, especially if you've been eating at a deficit and haven't felt that way in a while. If you eat slower, then you have less food in you when you start to get full, and prevent getting too overfull. For many people, one of the biggest issues is portion control, and this helps portion control vastly by helping you realize how much food you actually need before you're full. If you still want the good food, take it home! I love good food and frankly I'm ecstatic when I slow down, get full before it's gone, and then I get more good food later because I didn't finish it all.
  • Junenox
    Junenox Posts: 2 Member
    I can be a very slow eater. By the time I have made it through half my food, others have eaten seconds and sometimes thirds. An average dinner takes me anywhere from a half hour to an hour to eat. Again by the time I have reached that mid-point I am no longer hungry, but if I don't finish then I will not get enough calories in.
    Tips: Taste your food, take the time to enjoy what you are eating. Your taste buds will register the taste of the food before stomach signals to brain you are full. If the food doesn't taste as good anymore, then chances are you are full, it just hasn't registered yet.
    Drink some water before you eat. It will take up some of the room in your stomach.
    And a funny tip: Get a dog. They will sit there and sniff and beg, and you will have to say no so many times, while sometimes giving in, that it will take you a longer time to eat.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I am a very slow eater because I am always talking instead of eating! Or I'm trying to feed my kids at the same time
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    z4oslo wrote: »
    I strongly disagree with the poster above.
    Eating slow is the perfect way to not overeat.

    I chew every bite around 20-25 times. A few things happens when you do this:
    • You actually enjoy the food you are eating
    • Your stomach have enough time to tell your brain when you are full
    • Your body and brain will learn to know what you are eating in terms of vitamins and minerals.

    When you eat slowly, you will most likely crave other types of food than you have in the past, and food you thought you like, may not taste as good as it used to (very salty food for instance)

    There's contradiction in your post. So you actually enjoy the food more or it may not taste as good? LOL.

    Except extreme cases/bad habits which I also think need to be changed, everyone has his own tempo in pretty much everything. I don't find it's worthwhile to change this tempo, especially if it's just the tempo of eating alone. It's screwy when it's involved other areas (eg break time, interactive, conversation speed). Everything you do is a system. Changing only one thing is difficult. It'll get pulled back to be in synch with the rest.

    Another way to look at this is it's like scratching an itch. You get the most out of it if you do it at the speed you are used to! LOL.
  • Bxqtie116
    Bxqtie116 Posts: 552 Member
    I think I'm an average eater, finishing my food in about 10-15 min. However, when I'm really hungry, I notice that I tend to shove the food in rather quickly.
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,510 Member
    I am a very slow eater, but apparently a very efficient one. It did not stop me from gaining weight. :(
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    Mouse_Potato wrote: »
    I am a very slow eater, but apparently a very efficient one. It did not stop me from gaining weight. :(

    Yeah, eating speed is pretty much inconsequential in weight loss.

    I tend to eat fast and can very fast if circumstance dictates, and I lose wt just fine.


  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
    I wouldnt say I was a slow eater BUT the evidence says different, I obvs have smaller dinners than most people I know and am still the last to finish.
    my husband is always finished and im still sat ther 15mins later eating.

    when I used to go out for a meal Id never finish because Id feel awkward being the last one sat still eating so as the rest finished Id just stop however far in to my meal I was and say I was done :/

    these days I dont care.......every single calorie on that plate is MINE and I aint leaving it behind lol so they just have to wait for me
  • tjones0411
    tjones0411 Posts: 179 Member
    edited August 2016
    I INHALE my food. It comes from when my kids were babies and they instinctively know when you're hungry because the minute you sit down to eat, they cry. So I found myself shoveling in whatever food I could before they started. lol. Even now, I eat way too fast if I don't consciously remind myself to slow down and enjoy it. I find that I can eat to satiety when I eat slower vs eating until I'm done...and being overly full.
  • nickisa28
    nickisa28 Posts: 116 Member
    I'm always getting told I eat to slow. It's not done for weight loss purposes but that's just the way j like to eat. I want to enjoy it so take my time. And if I'm honest, I think i may have some sort of complex about how I look when I eat. Someone catching me shovelling it all in would mortify me so I take small bites or cut into very small portions before eating it.
    A tip I've learnt from son...don't stop talking at the table!!! You'll definitely be the last one there..haha. seriously though, I think you should take it with a pinch of salt. How fast or slow you eat probably contributes very little to weight gain/loss compared to CICO.
  • IllustratedxGirl
    IllustratedxGirl Posts: 240 Member
    I def eat way too quickly lol
  • astrocosmiczoom
    astrocosmiczoom Posts: 86 Member
    After basic training, it was hard to slow down eating. I got used to consuming about 900 calories in about six minutes. Mindful eating is a cool concept, Google it!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I've finished my dinner and am on to dessert before my husband is 3/4 the way through his dinner. He eats too slow and I eat too fast. I'm putting the next forkful of food in my mouth before I've swallowed the last one. My brother and sister are the same, we've all finished our meals while everyone else is still going.
  • shrcpr
    shrcpr Posts: 885 Member
    I eat fast, too, so I just portion out my food to fit my calories and stop when I'm done.
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
    I'm a very fast eater and my boyfriend hates it. He says he's worried I'm going to choke on my food lol. I've read articles that say you should spend at least 20 minutes eating a meal, which just makes me laugh. I would have to force myself to count how many seconds to chew my food. At that point the food wouldn't even taste good and would be mush.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    lauraesh0384 wrote: »
    I'm a very fast eater and my boyfriend hates it. He says he's worried I'm going to choke on my food lol. I've read articles that say you should spend at least 20 minutes eating a meal, which just makes me laugh. I would have to force myself to count how many seconds to chew my food. At that point the food wouldn't even taste good and would be mush.

    Mush AND cold!
  • lujako
    lujako Posts: 87 Member
    Thanks for the pointers :smile: I have actually managed to finish last (even starting at the same time)! Felt like I should have won a chewing medal :#
  • clh72569
    clh72569 Posts: 280 Member
    I used to eat fast due to kids and wanting my food hot. Now my kids are in college and I savor my food. I eat so slowly at dinner my mother has asked on 2 separate occasions for my brother to get the car. To which he answered your daughter is not finished eating.

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