Mindful eating

2

Replies

  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
    Brain Wansink has a great book called "Mindless Eating" and he has a lot of tips.

    You could try putting your fork down in between bites and hands in your lap. Also, it is helpful to always eat at the table. Try to avoid TV, phones, and other distractions.

    When I did a mindful eating self study, they suggested chewing each bite of food, focusing on the flavor and texture. They also suggested pausing halfway through the meal and asking yourself if you are still hungry.

    If you are still hungry after you eat, try drinking some tea (unsweetened or herbal brewed) to give your self time to register if you are still hungry or not.
  • FallenAngelErato
    FallenAngelErato Posts: 1 Member
    @cmriversidecmriverside i agree completely, relax maybe take a deep breath before starting, is it because you have to go some place or at work? It took me a while to slow down my whole life was hurry hurry things to do, i don't even listen to music and i have found i usually under eat now not that that i good but I'm getting there, i love to chew slow and taste the food now and always have fast snack near by so i don't just swallow my food cuz so hungry
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited November 2017
    giggling at the fact im reading this thread, as i eat my third icecream cone. lol
  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
    That's when the zombies eat your brains instead of your flesh.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    I'm using a program that encourages mindful eating. I'm not good at it, but it has been useful. I found I was sometimes eating in minutes without even processing. I have slowed down, and it has helped me. I think about what I an eating now. I do calorie count to keep me honest. But I am not sure that is enough.
  • nickssweetheart
    nickssweetheart Posts: 874 Member
    Sometimes I just eat fast, so I'm hardly an expert. It partly depends upon how hungry I've let myself get. My first tip would be not to go too long without eating if you're trying to slow down and really experience it. Make an experience of it, like others said: set the table, maybe light an *unscented* candle? I've posted before that I always slice fruit and try to eat it slowly to really enjoy the sweetness and texture.

    And speaking of texture, I think that can be a big part of keeping us engaged with what we're eating: add nuts to oatmeal, sprinkle some shredded carrot over soup, top a curry with cilantro, etc.
  • JoLightensUp
    JoLightensUp Posts: 140 Member
    greyhoundwalker wrote: »
    I think mindful eating can be helpful psychologically, I mean it makes no difference to your calorie intake if you've already worked out your calories for that meal and have it on a plate in front of you, but slowing down a bit and taking notice of how good it tastes certainly helps me with the satisfaction level. I know that if I'm eating while working, the lunch just disappears down my gullet with no memory of enjoying it and though I might be physically satisfied I feel cheated! And feeling psychologically satisfied helps with adherence so is worth it to me.
    I can't do the no TV book or iPad thing though, it's fine if I'm eating with family, friends or colleagues, but if it's just me and the food I feel quite uncomfortable and tend to race through the meal, the key for me seems to pair eating mindfully with another relaxing, brain engaging activity. We're all different.

    I agree. I think creating a relaxing atmosphere for eating and enjoying meals can be an individual thing. I love to read while eating if I'm on my own. I would find sitting and just thinking about my meal all the time quite boring. I'll read backs of cereal packets in the morning if there's nothing else around lol! I feel relaxed and enjoy my meals while reading and I'm a slow eater.

    I'm not discounting the mindfulness techniques, though; I appreciate that others might need to ditch the books and electronics so they can slow down and focus on their food more.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    YepItsKriss wrote: »
    I wonder if this is why i was so fat before... I didn't breath in enough. :tongue:

    Maybe. Mindless eating IMO is a major factor in being overweight...
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    greyhoundwalker wrote: »
    I think mindful eating can be helpful psychologically, I mean it makes no difference to your calorie intake if you've already worked out your calories for that meal and have it on a plate in front of you, but slowing down a bit and taking notice of how good it tastes certainly helps me with the satisfaction level. I know that if I'm eating while working, the lunch just disappears down my gullet with no memory of enjoying it and though I might be physically satisfied I feel cheated! And feeling psychologically satisfied helps with adherence so is worth it to me.
    I can't do the no TV book or iPad thing though, it's fine if I'm eating with family, friends or colleagues, but if it's just me and the food I feel quite uncomfortable and tend to race through the meal, the key for me seems to pair eating mindfully with another relaxing, brain engaging activity. We're all different.

    Yeah, I have found that I can't do the no book, computer, or phone thing either. And I am ok with that now. One thing I have done is stop working while eating. I used to eat while working at my computer, and I don't do that now. But I might come into the forums while eating :).
  • davidylin
    davidylin Posts: 228 Member
    YepItsKriss wrote: »
    Oh, ive never under estimated sparkles, they are the herpes of the craft world after all.
    Ha! I snarfed my fruity soda water.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    YepItsKriss wrote: »
    I wonder if this is why i was so fat before... I didn't breath in enough. :tongue:

    Maybe. Mindless eating IMO is a major factor in being overweight...

    It is/was a big factor for me. I never realized how often I would just eat without thinking about it at all.
  • BarneyRubbleMD
    BarneyRubbleMD Posts: 1,092 Member
    JoLightensUp wrote: »
    greyhoundwalker wrote: »
    I think mindful eating can be helpful psychologically, I mean it makes no difference to your calorie intake if you've already worked out your calories for that meal and have it on a plate in front of you, but slowing down a bit and taking notice of how good it tastes certainly helps me with the satisfaction level. I know that if I'm eating while working, the lunch just disappears down my gullet with no memory of enjoying it and though I might be physically satisfied I feel cheated! And feeling psychologically satisfied helps with adherence so is worth it to me.
    I can't do the no TV book or iPad thing though, it's fine if I'm eating with family, friends or colleagues, but if it's just me and the food I feel quite uncomfortable and tend to race through the meal, the key for me seems to pair eating mindfully with another relaxing, brain engaging activity. We're all different.

    I agree. I think creating a relaxing atmosphere for eating and enjoying meals can be an individual thing. I love to read while eating if I'm on my own. I would find sitting and just thinking about my meal all the time quite boring. I'll read backs of cereal packets in the morning if there's nothing else around lol! I feel relaxed and enjoy my meals while reading and I'm a slow eater.

    I'm not discounting the mindfulness techniques, though; I appreciate that others might need to ditch the books and electronics so they can slow down and focus on their food more.

    I do the reading thing too, especially at a restaurant, reading menu items, ingredient lists, to slow down my eating while enjoying the food since I know it will take an hour after I start eating (regardless of how much I eat) before I'll feel full. At home, I might read email, news or some other quick story on the net. What's "bad" for me is to eat while watching a movie or documentary (typically on Netflix) as I always seem to get drawn into what I'm watching & hardly remember anything I've eaten & thinking I still need to eat but the calories I've already eaten say otherwise.
  • BarneyRubbleMD
    BarneyRubbleMD Posts: 1,092 Member
    nickssweetheart wrote: »
    Sometimes I just eat fast, so I'm hardly an expert. It partly depends upon how hungry I've let myself get. My first tip would be not to go too long without eating if you're trying to slow down and really experience it. Make an experience of it, like others said: set the table, maybe light an *unscented* candle? I've posted before that I always slice fruit and try to eat it slowly to really enjoy the sweetness and texture.

    And speaking of texture, I think that can be a big part of keeping us engaged with what we're eating: add nuts to oatmeal, sprinkle some shredded carrot over soup, top a curry with cilantro, etc.

    I can strongly agree with this--I use to go 6-7 hours without eating anything and when my meal time would come around, I'd be so hungry (I'd feel like I'm starving) that I'd gulp everything down and want more and end up stuffing myself.

    These days, I try to stick to 4 hours between meals which has worked out much better but I do have to be more mindful of my meal times as it's easy to be focused on something (i.e. work) and delay them when I should just stop what I'm doing and eat my planned meal.

  • BarneyRubbleMD
    BarneyRubbleMD Posts: 1,092 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    I'm still hungry after I eat too. It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to communicate "Full" to the brain. I think this is a cruel joke God plays on us.

    So, set a timer?

    I think the eating out part will come in time. You'll realize two things: 1. One big meal isn't going to sidetrack your progress. 2. You'll have a much better idea of how much to eat after logging your meals at home for a while. The restaurant food will look like a HUGE amount of food. Because it is. :)

    Wow! only 20 minutes! You're lucky it's that fast--it takes about an hour for my stomach to tell my brain that "it's full". It's why I've really had to slow down my eating to take at least an hour, otherwise, I'll just want to continue eating because I'm still hungry & end up eating way over my daily calorie limit.

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