I am by nature a fast eater. I've slowed down considerably since I started taking smaller bites and trying to eat at a slower pace and enjoy my food. This is good.
But what I'm trying to figure out (and hoping that someone who's been there can tell me) is how to decide how much to eat and how to pace myself.
I've been deliberately measuring out smaller portions and allowing myself to eat the entire thing. Sometimes I don't eat all of it, sometimes I do.
Is this just an inherent trait that I seem to not have? I've tried the putting down the fork between bites but that is way too tedious for me. I've compromised to putting it down every 3 or 4 bites, but that's the best I can do.
Thoughts? Suggestions? (Especially from those who've had to learn to slow down.)
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
I, too, am a fast eater, and it took me a long time to figure out why. My mother blamed it on the Army, but I ate fast long before I became of draft age, and it wasn't because I was in competition for food with siblings, because my mother portioned out everything before calling anyone to the table. I finally figured out that I eat fast because I HATE room temperature food! If my food is supposed to be hot, I want it hot, and if it's supposed to be cold, I want it cold.
I pretty much measure out the normal serving sizes beforehand; 4 ounces of protein, 6 ounces of vegetables, 1/2 cup of carbs, and as much salad as I can squeeze into the bowl. If it's still not enough, I get a bigger bowl! I also usually cook enough for three or four meals, and immediately portion out the leftovers into my Rubbermaid divided containers PRIOR to sitting down to eat, which means you won't see me going back for seconds.
Driving is like coloring. You gotta stay between the lines!
Posts: 102 | Location: Chinatown | Registered: April 18, 2007
Many people eat practically a whole other meal while tasting or nibbling or snacking or whatever you want to call it.
This is me- has been me- could easily be me at any moment if I am not vigilant. I can so easily eat 1/2 of pasta with sauce and call it "tasting" it. HA! I am doing far more than tasting- I am eating 150 calories.
Plus (and for me this is critical) I don't enjoy the 1/2 cup of pasta I eat before the meal. I feel guity about it and then I feel like I SHOULD eat less at dinner. But I hate eating less at dinner. I love having a full dinner with my family. So, I end up eating my meal plus 100-200 calories of guilty food that leaves me stressed. The stress is the bad part. Eating clean feels free and relaxed. Eating "sort of right" feels stressful and forced and neurotic. IT just feels wrong to me and causes an internal strain that makes me want/need to eat more.
Originally posted by Coaster Girl: I'm still working on this, but here's another perspective I've been thinking about.
Do you notice a difference if you eat at home like you're in a restaurant, versus having all your food on one plate?
This ides makes a lot of sense to me. I, however, don't eat like this. When we are at home, I plate all my food on one plate- usually the salad takes up half of the plate. I have some protein and some starch. I love the look and feel of a full plate. It takes me a while to finish the plate because the salad is big and I do put my fork down between bites.
Originally posted by Coaster Girl: The reason I ask is that I've been playing with eating my veggie or salad as an "appetizer" before my main entree when at home. By the time I start looking for some fruit or dessert, I've gotten to where I'm not hungry anymore.
Research shows this to be true. I think you are on to something…
One strategy for filling up faster is to have broth-based soup or a big, low-calorie density salad as a first course. "Our studies show they do reduce subsequent intake in the meal," says Rolls.
I often/usually have soup or salad about 5pm and dinner about 6pm. I very seldom eat anything after dinner.
I'm still working on this, but here's another perspective I've been thinking about.
Do you notice a difference if you eat at home like you're in a restaurant, versus having all your food on one plate?
The reason I ask is that I've been playing with eating my veggie or salad as an "appetizer" before my main entree when at home. By the time I start looking for some fruit or dessert, I've gotten to where I'm not hungry anymore.
It seems to take me longer to eat that way rather than having all my food on one plate in front of me all at once.
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
Originally posted by Coaster Girl: I never really thought about how much I was eating while cooking dinner, or why eating sitting down and without distractions really mattered. And I knew that I had a habit of emotional eating, I just never quite figured out how to deal with how to NOT eat when I was upset...
Also, wanted to bump this up from another thread... because this is the kind of stuff that can really play havoc with weight loss/maint.
That is a HUGE reason why Beck has people slow down and sit while eating. I generally DON’T eat while preparing foods. I eat my portions, and I don’t eat a whole lot of “extra” food. Many people eat practically a whole other meal while tasting or nibbling or snacking or whatever you want to call it.
And the emotional eating does a lot of people in…
I kind of waffle back and forth… I just can NOT see “savoring” my oatmeal every single morning and putting down my fork between every bite, and sometimes I start eating it before I get to the table… HOWEVER, I measure and weigh that oatmeal like a fiend.
But, I think that a) her goal is to get people to be aware that if I eat a chicken leg and 4 bites of corn (that honestly add up to ½ cup) and a bunch of grapes all while making dinner… I’ve already eaten my dinner before I even sit down. And b) some people just start with too much food out of habit. And if they eat slower, they realize that they can get by very nicely on smaller portions. D posted about this with enchiladas… being shocked that one enchilada was enough… when, in the past, she had always eaten two.
A totally ridiculous example of eating larger portions… 3 g. of oatmeal is about a tsp. of oatmeal, it is literally a couple of pinches of dry oatmeal… and is 11.25 calories. If I start eating 33 g. of oatmeal every day, instead of 30... I’m going to weigh over a pound more at the end of the year. OK… this is a VERY ridiculous example and none of us are rats in a lab with ALL of our food rationed out in grams and milligrams.
But if a person is 20 years old and put on “only” 1.17 lbs a year… by age 50 she’ll be 35 lbs over weight. And we all know, 35 lbs isn’t chump change… that is a significant amount of weight to lose. Might take the average person 1 or 2 or more years to lose that much.
All from 1/2 bite extra of oatmeal. But people really don’t realize how those bites add up and really cause us to struggle. And who remembers eating 11.something calories at the end of the day? So it takes lots and lots of strategies… and slowing down and sitting down are important. And I have slowed down a lot… and I sit down MUCH, MUCH more than I used to.
But it isn’t always the portions we serve ourselves… it is all of the “extra” food, that often never gets counted or is forgotten about.
I was never a fast eater until college. I had about 15 minutes to not only select and purchase lunch but inhale what I had bought prior to the next class. This has carried over into my post-collegiate life. I find myself eating way faster than anyone around me. If I sit down at the kitchen table, I do find that I eat slower and put my fork down between bites. I am trying to be more conscious of how fast I eat and slow it down.
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
Well, my RD would have a fit if I didn't pay pretty close attention to my portions. (Hence why I have her around to kick my butt.) I guess I'm probably okay where I am, since I am doing a good job with slowing down.
(Thank you Denise, I was starting to feel alone in the driven crazy by putting my fork down every bite.) More power to those who do.
I will just keep plugging away at finding that "just right" spot. Because I know it's out there somewhere.
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
Has your dietician ever given you portion size guidelines?
Ad nauseum. I have several books, including one for my purse.
Ahhhh! I'd go with that...
Totally, and completely honestly... It doesn’t matter one single bit how fast I eat or how slowly I eat. It doesn’t matter one single bit if I eat standing up or sitting down…
For me it is TOTALLY about the portion sizes. If I’m supposed to eat 6 servings of grains a day… and I start eating 6 slices of toast at every meal… I’m in trouble.
If I’m supposed to eat 4 servings of fruit a day… and I decide to ditch the fruit and have crackers and cheese, instead… I’m in trouble.
If I start telling my self that I don’t have time to defrost vegs from the freezer and make a Boca Burger and I’ll get fast food just this once… I’m in trouble.
I’ve spend WEEKS with my sister… who “a BIG weight problem” means she has to lose 7 lbs. She eats breakfast standing up EVERY SINGLE DAY… but she doesn’t mindlessly eat more than she “should”. And she eats her fruits and vegs. I said to her once, “You know weight loss “experts” across the country would be going insane right now watching you eating standing up…” She said, “I’m eating GRAPEFRUIT for crying out loud!!! Geeze!!!!!”
Honestly… for ME… it is using measuring cups and the food scale and measuring out the correct portion size. And also eating a balanced diet... that is really important. And it doesn’t matter all that much if I eat them at the computer or standing or sitting.
I find putting down my fork between EVERY bite makes me feel bonkers… so I don’t do it. But I measure out those portions and use my food scale A LOT.
I've found that this is like playing a game of Goldilocks and the Three Bears... And the quest for “Just Right”.
If I eat too slowly I get "full" too soon... well, actually I was confusing "No longer hungry" with "full". There is a difference. And I wasn't eating enough and was getting REALLY hungry soon after meals and waking up hungry in the middle of the night. And I was losing weight, and didn't want to... and was losing too much, too fast... (like 4 lbs in one week)... and I felt on edge like maybe, I'd had a little too much caffiene or something.
On the other hand, if I eat too fast... my dinner is gone in 2 mins and 37 seconds... and I'm still "hungry" after I'm done, even if I’ve eaten an appropriate amount of food.
I'd just measure out the appropriate serving sizes and eat like a "just right" person... neither too fast... neither too slow.
But this week's habit is to reinforce the credit thing. I've never been good at it because I never grew up with it. Critical, no problem. Not saying anything because I'm not doing anything that needs criticized, no problem. Positive reinforcement, rewards, way to go's, well, I'm working on it.
Hee! The first thing I thought when I read that was, "REFRAME! REFRAME! RED ALERT! REFRAME! In the past, I've had trouble giving myself credit for the good things. Now, though, I'm working really hard at recognizing all the good things I'm doing." (Reframing is what my therapist calls it, and when I say things like that, she stops me immediately and makes me re-state. So when I read thoughts like those or hear them from other people, her words kick in and I change them up in my head.)
I hear you, though. I grew up similar. ("An A? I think you could get an A+ if you apply yourself, but an A is pretty good.") And I think, really truly, if you can force yourself to remember to give yourself credit--you might be doing just fine, maybe even better than you think you are right now.
Your "not hungry" is a good way to describe the way I'm trying to finish my meals. "Full", for so many years, has meant as much as my stomach could hold at the time, if it was on program or on plan (and sometimes, even if it wasn't). I'm good with "not hungry" for now, and I suspect that vague, not-empty-but-not-stuffed feeling is what true satiety is. It's a strange feeling, though. Like...I know there's room. I can eat more, it'll fit, I know it will. But...I don't HAVE to fill that space with food. In fact, I can wait an hour and see how I feel then. By the time an hour's gone by, I can wait another. And then one more isn't a big deal, because dinner's just one more hour away!
It's easier to eat until I'm FULL. It's harder to eat until I'm "not hungry." However, the benefits of eating until I'm not hungry are much greater than the benefits of eating until I'm full. And, maybe my favorite thing...I find at the end of nearly every day, I've saved enough by not eating everything I planned that I can have dessert or a glass of wine. (Honestly, dessert tends to win that battle, except for Fridays.)
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
I've been pretty happy with how I've done so far in slowing down. I've learned to get away from doing stuff impulsively (mostly because I get into trouble every time I do). I have several cards that I've used to get where I am now. I can be patient about most things, and this isn't one of those "impatient" issues.
I've had to work at being okay with being hungry sometimes, though. It's hard to sit here some nights and keep telling myself that I will eat when I get home. But it's getting better too.
I am proud of slowing down this much. I didn't like the bite, fork, drink, bite cycle. Part of it is that it was so slow, but also part of it is that realistically, when school starts next week, I'd rather have a "balance" between how I used to eat, and the pace that I have now. (ie stretching my meal out to 20 min.) If this is where I still am, great. But I don't have 30-45 min. to eat with school. (15-20 min. is on a good day).
I've been breaking "big" foods, like pita, tortilla chips, etc. into smaller bites to slow me down some. But sometimes I finish my food and am not "full" but not "hungry". I'm not sure if I need to just portion out a little more, and expect to leave it behind, or what.
And the "Giada bites" has been a big help to getting me to slow down this much. I've definitely slowed down because of that.
But this week's habit is to reinforce the credit thing. I've never been good at it because I never grew up with it. Critical, no problem. Not saying anything because I'm not doing anything that needs criticized, no problem. Positive reinforcement, rewards, way to go's, well, I'm working on it.
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
Unless it's something messy (a peach, plum, that sort of thing), I have been putting my food or utensil down between every bite.
Initially, especially when we went out or had other people over for dinner, I felt VERY self-conscious. I was eating SO MUCH SLOWER than everyone else! But (here's where the snotty voice in my head kicked in) I was trying to lose weight, and they weren't.
I like it now. I like enjoying my food and feeling full while there's still food in front of me. I had room for 4 slices of a yummy spinach-n-feta thin crust pizza for dinner tonight. I ate three. It took me longer to eat those three than it did for the boyfriend to eat six.
But you know what? It's my weight, and it's a tool I'm using to manage it. My brother and uncle both have an unusual defect in their mouths that make it impossible for them to eat quickly--and we don't tell them to hurry up. They eat slowly for health reasons--and I can do that, too.
I guess a good question would be...are you patient about other things, or a gotta-have-it-now person? I watch one particular friend eat (he's the kind that hunches over, puts his mouth roughly level with the plate, and basically shoves food in as fast as possible). He's very impulsive in all other aspects of his life, too. I can't see him EVER taking the time to slow down and enjoy a meal. He went with us once to our favorite fancy restaurant. No lie--before I'd taken two bites of my 6-oz steak, he'd FINISHED his 12-oz one. And this was two years ago, well before I considered slowing down my eating.
I hope (like Brie said) you're giving yourself credit every time you put your fork down. "Way to go, Laura, good job taking your time to eat!" That positive reinforcement for the behavior may help you do it more often. Is that your mindset, or is it a "This is so slow! This isn't working. I can't do this! It's too slow!" I guess I'm asking...do you need a Beck-style response card for taking your time while you eat?
Hey, I have one for weighing myself, and another for the wine tasting on Friday nights.
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
