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Post by bbbearsmom on Jul 4, 2019 23:42:55 GMT
Friday, 07/05
Day 5 β Eat Slowly and Mindfully
Beck gives two reasons why it is important to do this: when you eat slowly your mind has time to register that you are full; when you notice and enjoy every mouthful, you feel more satisfied when the food is gone.
She gives suggestions on how to slow down your eating:
Change something in your environment. Change something on the table such as putting a vase in front of your plate to remind yourself to slow down.
Set a timer to beep every one to three minutes for you to take a break. One poster had a timer on her phone she used.
Take sips of water every few bites.
Look at the clock. Keep track of how long it takes you to eat and try to make the meals longer.
Here are her suggestions for how to notice what you are eating:
Eat in a relaxed atmosphere.
Focus intently on your food. βSavor the taste of each bite, noting the flavor and texture of everything you eat.
Train yourself to eat with some distractions. At first practice eating without distractions so you can concentrate on eating slowly and mindfully then go back to having distractions but keep up eating slowly and mindfully. When you start to eat quickly and mindlessly again go back to practicing without distractions.
How are you doing on eating slowly and mindfully? Are you willing to eat without distractions to practice the skill?
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Post by bbbearsmom on Jul 4, 2019 23:55:29 GMT
I think this is a great idea. I believe in the idea that when you eat slowly and mindfully you do feel more satisfied quicker. I'm also big on chewing food thoroughly. I associate eating fast with gaining weight. When I catch myself doing it bothers me. It bothers me because I worry about losing focus and going backto my old eating habits. I love my raw veggie salad because I like all the crunchy chewing.
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Post by cathygeha on Jul 5, 2019 4:54:56 GMT
I am not sure about this one...for me I *think* it is more important to be mindful and aware when filling my plate and journaling before I begin to eat. Once the food is ON my plate I know that it is OP and that if I don't go BACK and am mindful then I will be okay...
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Post by wwlurker on Jul 5, 2019 12:41:03 GMT
This is definitely one I need to work on. I am almost always distracted while eating, and I eat very fast. In part, I blame this on the fact that once I hit about 10 years old, we rarely ate dinners as a family and no one made us eat meals at the table, ever. We even ate holiday dinners all over the house!
Nowadays, I try to have family dinners and weekend lunches at the table as a family, but it doesn't always work out that way. I do need to be aware of that. I also do a lot of mindless eating at night, which is a behaviour I'd really like to curb as it makes me feel unwell in the mornings sometimes.
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Post by lani on Jul 5, 2019 14:42:37 GMT
Now that I know that the quantity and frequency of my meals are planned I absolutely savor every bite. I already mentioned that I do always eat in front of the TV or with a book or magazine. I do drink water and take a sip after almost every bite and try to remember to chew thoroughly. The chewing helps digestion, too.
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Post by surfgirl on Jul 6, 2019 19:20:33 GMT
I have always tended to eat faster than others, I really don't know why that is. I didn't come from a big family where one had to grab what they could before the others, I think I just am a fast eater, so I've had to really slow it down. cathygeha, I think the 'being mindful and OP about what's on the plate' vs. 'eating more slowly and thoughtfully' are two separate but distinctly important components of success. Why? Because most if not all of us are here because we over eat. And the point I think Beck is trying to make here with slower eating is that even if we have a plate of correct portion sizes and OP foods, if we scarf it down quickly, our brain may not be satiated and we will therefore hit the kitchen to either eat seconds, or snack after we eat, whereas if we had eaten more slowly and thoughtfully, our brains would also be satiated and the act of eating savored. To me, when I slow down my eating, I often feel fuller without having to finish every morsel on the plate and I think that is because I've been mindfully taking my time eating. One thing that I find helps a lot is the: Take 3 bites THEN take a breath and sip of water/drink THEN stop and breath for a few moments before taking another 3 bites. That really helps me slow down and enjoy my meal. I always think about slower eating like my dog when I was growing up. He'd beg and drool for a piece of food and when we gave it to him he'd gulp it down without even chewing it, and then look at us like "more please, that was nothing!" And I think he acted like that because he didn't chew, he's a dog, he just knew he wanted to get that good smelling food into his stomach! But for us humans, it does make a difference if we slow down and enjoy our meals, because we're dealing not only with fueling our bodies, but also satiating our minds as well. Just my two cents...
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Post by bbbearsmom on Jul 6, 2019 20:11:12 GMT
because we're dealing not only with fueling our bodies, but also satiating our minds as well. Just my two cents I really like this point. If you are not satisfied you keep on eating.
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Post by surfgirl on Jul 7, 2019 21:32:44 GMT
because we're dealing not only with fueling our bodies, but also satiating our minds as well. Just my two cents I really like this point. If you are not satisfied you keep on eating. Exactly Judy, it's why so many of us feel that losing weight is mostly mental!
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Post by hpeterson1951 on Jul 8, 2019 15:07:43 GMT
I used to be a very slow eater when I was young. My family used to tease me about it and my Dad would actually take food off my plate if he was done and hungry and I wasn't done.
I because a very fast eater once I started working in Special Ed. Trying to eat lunch, cut up food for kids, feed them, deal with being hit during lunch, watching for run aways, etc. all leads to scarfing food down in record time.
Unfortunately that carried over to all meals.
I'm working on putting my fork down between bites, taking a drink of water between bites, and watching my speed in relationship to those I'm eating with.
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