Mindful Eating - Step Two

[SusieQ]

Ok, so you've communed with your raisin. You have had the experience of mindful eating - one raisin's worth - and now it's time to try to bring some of that to a regular meal.

You're ready for Step Two.

First, a question for you. What behaviors get in the way of mindful eating? Think about your own life, your own approach to meals. What things do you do that do NOT promote mindful eating?

Tomorrow, I will use your answers to post antidotes for mindless eating. I will tell you simple, concrete things you can do that will slow you down, help you to feel more satisfied with less by mindful eating practices. And I'll tell you the single most powerful tool in the arsenal. You won't believe how simple and effective this one...little....change....can be!

But first....let's hear from you. What behaviors do you engage in that result in mindless eating? Describe them in detail: the times, places, situations, circumstances, and behaviors.

Here's one of mine to get you started:

I am likely to eat mindlessly if I let myself get too hungry. Then I eat the first part of my meal too quickly.
So painful hunger is a promoter of mindless eating in my case.

Ok, your turn. I showed you mine, now you show me yours!!!!

Susie

[Rhonda]

Okay, mindful Susie ;D, here's one of my mindless ones! Last night, I fixed pork chops, baked potatoes, and green beans for dinner. I was sitting there eating my pork chop, when I realized that I wasn't hardly chewing my meat - I was practically swallowing it whole (well, not quite that bad)!! I was pretty shocked when I had this little revelation! I've probably been doing this for years, totally unaware of it! Heck, I probably look like my boys when they eat - wolfing everything down! This morning, when I sat down to breakfast, I tried to consciously SLOW DOWN, but it's not as easy as it seems! Old habits are hard to break!

[Luv2Cook2004]

I am not careful with my portions on leftovers----I tend to want to eat what's left in the fridge instead of throwing away the "dabs" of this and that and by the time I'm thru being frugal, I am too full.

I also eat much too fast and I know there are times I would not eat everything on my plate if I had not gobbled the food.

Can't wait until your comments tomorrow!!!

[Kippy]

Eating every lunch over my laptop (I have enough crumbs in the keyboard to feed a third world family)

Time and lack thereof

Stress

"Bag of". I don't do this any more but once upon a time I would bring a bag of chips or pretzels (healthy choice hah!) or crackers to the tv or pc, instead of a single serving, and just munch munch munch until they were all gone and not know it until I reached in for more and found empty space. This was the first behavior I changed when I embarked on my journey.

[JeddoMom]

Susie, sometimes I just feel the need to munch. I am usually not too hungry when I feel this way, more like I just WANT to crunch on something. The good news is that I've learned to eat raw veggies when the munchies come and that usually satisfies me.

So, since I eat veggies mindlessly sometimes, is that bad? Monica

[Di]

Mindless eating? Well, I have recently been paying attention to what I am doing. I realized that if my kids are not eating their food, I will take their plates into the kitchen and eat off of it before it goes down the drain. YIKES. Not good. I Know what I am doing now and not letting myself do it. That is a horrible habit to break.

Another thing. I did the raisin thing yesterday, then when I was running late out the door to my WW meeting I caught myself wolfing down a huge piece of ham. I didn't have time to grab dinner before the meeting and knew I would be famished. I stopped myself 1/2 way and said "slow down girl". I am actually pretty proud of myself for it. Slowing down, that is;)

[Lesley1]

Never eating at the table. I eat lunch at my desk almost everyday, even when I don't have to, and I eat dinner sitting on my bed watching television. (We don't have a TV in the living room.) And I am embarrassed to note that my husband and I eat sitting on the bed even on week-ends. This is his preference. I don't push to eat at the dining room table because then I'd have to clear all my stuff off of it.

I eat too fast. There was a thread on the regular boards recently where someone remarked that she is putting another forkful of food into her mouth before she has swallowed the last one. I realized that I do that as well and I am trying to pay attention to that.

[akansan]

Lack of time is my biggest contributor to mindless eating.

Overly hungry -- anything will work, as long as it's quick.

[krb]

Boredom. I bemoan the fact that I am too busy in life and have no time to just putt around. (Which really isn't essentially true). Then, when I do have unstructured time, all I want to do is graze. I eat mindlessly when my time is unstructured. -karen

[Sooz]

I did eat my raisin yesterday, and I will tell you it was the sweetest raisin I have ever had. (I keep them in the house DD loves them).

I noticed today that in the mornings I eat standing up in the kitchen while feeding the kids, and making lunches. Today is the first time I ever really paid attention to that.

I too eat lunch in front of the computer.

If I get fast food I finish it, I can't walk away from the fries. At restaurants I eat way more than I do at home and I am not good about ordering wisely.

Boy, never really admitted this stuff to anyone..

[becky]

I did the raisin thing and hopefully will be able to practice mindful eating on a regular basis. It was a good exercise in control, too.

I am a "dedicated" eater. I eat too fast, for one thing, (just like my father and brothers) and I am always certain that one serving will not be enough... the reverse of anorexic thinking. I also worry that if I don't eat that cookie (or cake or ice cream), I might never, ever, get an opportunity to eat another cookie again. AGH!

As a WW leader I have asked my members to observe the behaviors of naturally thin people; I think it's a worthwhile exercise.

My DH is a perfect example. He is more concerned with everything else than the food, while I'm working with both hands to get it while it's hot. He talks while I eat. When I try to slow down to his speed, he asks me if something is wrong. He eats only when he's hungry and is not particular about what he eats. Food is food. If it satisfies his hunger, and it's not totally disgusting, he'll eat it.

If I can find an attitude toward food somewhere between our two extremes, I'll be happy.

Thanks,
Becky

[beccahmommy2twins]

Becky makes a good point.

Most people don't realize it, but dieting, and the resulting "dieting mentality" makes people become overeaters.

I suffer very much from the thoughts (especially at restaurants and with desserts) that "if I don't eat all of this, and seconds, I won't get anymore". That comes from all the times I have tried to deprive myself. In the past I realized this and decided - I won't deprive myself, I'll give myself a little bit of the things I enjoy. I thought that was the solution. Now I realize that induling (FOR ME) isn't the answer. Stopping that feeling of being deprived is. I am only deprived if I tell myself I am.

[mylikeit]

Eating when rushed. Eating when I'm absolutely exhausted from preparing the meal, herding children, trying to give DP a bit of an evening break, keeping the dog from jumping on the 2 year old, and coping with cramped conditions in my kitchen. I feel so fried that I just shovel the food in without noticing it because eating is one more thing I "have to" do.

[Rhonda]

A couple of things that hit close to home (read on some of the earlier posts):

Having the next bite of food ready to shove in before the first bite is even swallowed - OUCH! I didn't realize I did that until I was sitting here reading posts just now (while I was eating lunch at my computer, of course).

Mindless eating while standing at the kitchen counter making the kids' lunches - OUCH! I don't HAVE to stick that knife back in the peanut butter jar one more time for me (might cut my tongue off, too)!

Restaurant dining - We don't eat out that often, but during the holiday season, we ate out a good bit. One of my sons and I split a seafood platter at Red Lobster one night that had enough food on it for three people!! I've finished one or two of those off myself before (hiding in shame).

Observing the behaviors of thin people - now that's a good one. My mother (who hates me being fat and badgers me incessantly about it) has never had a fat day in her life. We went home for Xmas, and she fixed the big turkey dinner with the whole nine yards. We all fixed our heaping plates, and then my mother came through the line with a salad plate - A SALAD PLATE! She said that was all she wanted! She took a few bites of pie for dessert, had a cup of coffee, and was done!

I have a whole lot to learn! To be truthful, I think a lot of my past dieting failures have been because "the brain factor" hasn't been added to the mix. I'm intrigued by all I'm reading here! Thanks Susie and everybody for making me think (or be un-mindless)! ;D

[saf2004]

I have to agree with KRB - my biggest problem is boredom. I know that's the biggest trigger for me - on days when I have a lot going on, I don't eat much at all, and never feel hungry from it. But, on slow days, I'm always on the search for food.
I think, because I'm bored (and also because I live alone, so lonely is probably another part of the problem) I grab the food and either bring it in front of the tv, computer, or grab a book to keep me otherwise occupied while I eat. So, then I zone out and concentrate on that rather than on the eating experience.

Want to hear something really ironic? When I started reading this forum, I grabbed a bag of edamame I brought with me for a snack (I actually was very hungry, not bored or lonely). This is the last thread for me to read in this forum, and i just realized that my edamame is almost all gone - and I barely remembered eating it (although I am not longer starving!). I'm going to go savor the last 6 pieces I have left (they're the unshelled kind, so lots of experiences involved in eating them!). I would be ashamed of this, but realize it's a process and definitely something I need to learn. Thanks for doing this Susie!