Does anybody else eat really, really fast? I do and always have which is definitely not good for my overall efforts. When I eat too fast, I don’t savor the flavors. In the past, I stuffed food in without giving my body time to register that it was satisfied and no longer hungry.
Even now I have to catch myself so that I slow down and stretch out the meal. Not only does this help me enjoy it more, but I know that I am satisfied with less. Earlier today at lunch, I really took my time with my yummy kale and broccoli salad for lunch. For me, consuming it over a 20 minute period means I took a forkful at a time, tasted, chewed, swallowed, and then paused before putting more food on my fork.
Tonight I blanched a bunch of string beans that I bought from the produce stand, freezing most of them so that I’ll have them over several meals. I grilled a couple of lamb chops and cooked a garnet sweet potato. It took a while to prepare everything and I wasn’t thinking when I first built my plate. Thank goodness I stopped and looked before i sat down to eat. I’d started to rush as I got hungrier and ended up serving myself too much food. I took some off and, in the process, reminded myself yet again to treat myself like an honored guest at my table. No rushing through the meal. Again, I took my time.
At meal’s end, I knew I was completely satisfied with the smaller portions. Everything tasted really good, too!
Like every behavior, repetition is necessary so that behaviors become habitual. Being mindful takes practice. It’s so much easier to speed eat, but rapid consumption is counter-productive to my efforts. So, in this as in the entire journey, slow and steady will win the race!
Weighty Matters 
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i wanted to eat fast so i could get on to the next plateful before anyone else..i was/am a volume eater..the more the better..but since having my lap band, i can only eat so much (which is why my surgery of choice helps me)..but in the end its what i end up eating that defines me..i stop at 20 min whether i am done or not..i now eat to live…and not live to eat….nearly 50 i am and it took me a lifetime to love food…not inhale it for instant foodgasms…the taste is there for a brief moment….
great blog post..enjoy it very much.
All the time. I used to eat slowly and deliberately. When I started binging and purging, I started speeding through my food. I know for me, part of it i that I don’t want anything to digest before I can purge.