A Memorable Eating "Experiment"!

[WWCarol 0]

Okay. As I was sitting down to eat my breakfast "slowly and mindfully", I experienced something that is hard to put into words. And I think it's something that anybuddy might want to try...just to see what happens to you.:bcb_smile

 

Get yourself a bowl of food that needs to be chewed. (Mine was a small 2-cup bowl that had: 1/2 cup bulgar, chopped carrot, and 3 oz. chopped chicken).

 

Have no distractions. (DH took DDog on a walk. I was alone at the counter in a quiet house.)

 

Start a timer to count-up so you can catch when/if you "sigh".

 

Have a clock that has a second-hand.

 

Take small bites and chew every second. No faster, no slower. (This will be slow-eating.)

 

Take sips of water between bites occasionally. Breathe.

 

Notice how you are feeling and what's happening.

 

Then report back here with your findings.

 

 

 

(I'm going to take my shower and then I'll report my findings.)

[wwlynn 11]

...ooh, I'm on the edge of my seat!

[WWCarol 0]

Well...........

 

I did this yesterday, too. And "sighed" at 10 and 14 minutes, when I stopped.

 

Today I just looked at the clock and thought, "Maybe I'm eating too fast, still?" I mean, how would you know?

 

So I slowed down, r-e-a-l-l-y slowed down until I noticed my bites were going in time with the second hand of the clock...! Every second.

 

And then it was like I got into The Zone. It was a zen-like state.

 

The hands on the clock seemed to stop. And I wondered why everyone in the world was rushing... And why would you eat so fast?!

 

I felt slight sighs earlier, but I got the Big Sigh at 18 minutes, and I put the rest of my food away. I still had about 1/3rd left. I stayed satisfied for 3+ more hours.

 

It may be hard to control distractions and other things. But after you've slowed-down this much, I think it would make you aware of rushing through food in the future.

 

It made a smaller amount of food ve-ry satisfying, and long-lasting.

 

So, the question is: if you could eat a lot of food and be satisfied, or eat a lot less (slowly) and still be satisfied, which would you choose?

 

Anyway. I'm interested to hear about other Buddies trying this and seeing if anything (and what) happens to them.

 

I'm not talking about FOREVER. I'm talking about trying it ONCE! LOL.

[WWCarol 0]

You wouldn't be able to do this with processed snacks. There's nothing to "chew".

 

The first bite of a rice cake would be GONE in 1-2 chews!

[wwlynn 11]

Verrry interesting Carol...thanks for sharing. I'll have to give it a try soon!

[WWCarol 0]

It's given me so much to think about:

 

My mind is just racing.

 

I'm now trying it with my famous FF yogurt/FF cottage cheese/1/4 apple/1 C. blueberries and grapes.

 

It looks HUMONGOUS... Knowing I'm going to eat it slow-ly.

 

I'm realizing I would like to scarf it...eating it unconsciously.

[WWLifer 0]

I remembeer this exercise quite well. It was totally unnatual for me. I had to make my self slow way way down. It seemed that I could chew my food forever. I think it was far more enjoyable for you. I like to get things done in a hurry, so this was a challenge at first. I have gotten much, much better over time. It really doesn't take as much to fill you up, you are correct about that. It seems I like distractions, someone to talk to, something to read, working a crossword puzzle. etc.

[WWCarol 0]

I remembeer this exercise quite well. It was totally unnatual for me. I had to make my self slow way way down. It seemed that I could chew my food forever. I think it was far more enjoyable for you. I like to get things done in a hurry, so this was a challenge at first. I have gotten much, much better over time. It really doesn't take as much to fill you up, you are correct about that. It seems I like distractions, someone to talk to, something to read, working a crossword puzzle. etc.

 

 

I like distractions, too. That's why I've been distracting myself for-ever...!

 

But I am wondering~ why eat so fast? For some reason I'm picturing lions after the kill. They're all jockeying for position and ripping meat and eating voraciously.

 

I mean, we're dealing with our little (civilized) bowls of oatmeal here. We don't have to make anyone BACK-OFF... We've got TIME.

[Guest LostTeacher]

this is an activity i think i am going to try when i get back from my holiday. i am also someone that has never really eaten without a distraction. in fact, since i have moved into my apartment two years ago, i can count on my hand how many times i have eaten at my dining room table. i sit to eat, but usually in my living room, reading or watching tv. that became a much bigger thing for me to deal when i was seperated. i never watched tv while eating when i was married, but when i seperated, i was just lonely, so i ate with the tv on. now that i feel better about things, i still do that.

i think it will be a tough one for me to do, this activity. i am going to give it a try at lunch or something, but i do find it weird to eat in complete silence, and all alone. just not something that most people do.

 

LT

[SCMusicMom 10]

I will try this tomorrow morning at breakfast, even though I'm really afraid I'll be satisfied before I finish my very favorite meal of the day.

 

You're right about being surprised at how big a small amount of food seems. A year ago I couldn't imagine only eating 1/2 cup cereal with 1/2 milk for breakfast but now it looks like a lot of food.

 

Laveta

[WWCarol 0]

this is an activity i think i am going to try when i get back from my holiday. i am also someone that has never really eaten without a distraction. in fact, since i have moved into my apartment two years ago, i can count on my hand how many times i have eaten at my dining room table. i sit to eat, but usually in my living room, reading or watching tv. that became a much bigger thing for me to deal when i was seperated. i never watched tv while eating when i was married, but when i seperated, i was just lonely, so i ate with the tv on. now that i feel better about things, i still do that.

i think it will be a tough one for me to do, this activity. i am going to give it a try at lunch or something, but i do find it weird to eat in complete silence, and all alone. just not something that most people do.

 

LT

 

I think it's worth the experiment, just to see what you find out about your body/your self. Not about distractions, because I think most people want distractions.

 

But it takes going without distractions in order to see how you react to chewing-very-slow-ly...

 

 

 

 

I will try this tomorrow morning at breakfast, even though I'm really afraid I'll be satisfied before I finish my very favorite meal of the day.

 

You're right about being surprised at how big a small amount of food seems. A year ago I couldn't imagine only eating 1/2 cup cereal with 1/2 milk for breakfast but now it looks like a lot of food.

 

Laveta

 

I want to hear all about it, Laveta! You might just end up eating it all, but feeling satisfied longer in the day...? Beck calls it "maximizing your psychological satisfaction".

 

 

It was very difficult eating the yogurt/cottage cheese/fruit SLOW-LY...! I kept at it, but it wanted to be GONE! It's not very chewable... It would just slide right down my throat.

 

This experiment did help me because I noticed when I would start to chew faster. It was easy to recognize and slow-down again.

[tatortots 10]

This is interesting Carol. I have totally forgotten about the sigh theory. I will be aware of it again. Thanks for sharing:salut Judy

[WWCarol 0]

You're welcome, Judy.

 

I'm really anxious to hear about anybuddy else's experience with this.

[Guest sodacracker]

HI,

 

At 8:45 a.m. I took a smaller than usual bowl and put about 1/2 cup cooked red river cereal in it with a chopped apricot and sat at the kitchen table and started to eat.

 

Not too much to chew so it only took me about 5 minutes to eat it, which is about 3 minute faster than I would have eaten it if I had been at my usual pace. I too liek distraction when I eat. Read, stand, watch a movie,

 

I was surprised though, that I was not hungry when I finished as it was maybe only 3 points worth of food. It held me over for 2 1/2 hours when I repeated the exercise, this time adding some cottage cheese to the same amount of cereal and apricot.

 

It has been almost 2 1/2 hours since that bowl of food and I am just starting to get hungry.

 

Thanks for the lesson Carol

[WWCarol 0]

Thanks for sharing, Soda!

 

When I had my oatmeal this morning, it was very hard to turn a bite into tons-of-chews! With a bite of chicken/bulgar/carrot on a flatware teaspoon, I can make it go from 35, up to 50-chews, at absolute most.

 

With the oatmeal, it was like 5 or a little more!

 

Maybe that's why I like whole grains/grain berries/groats so much. They're so CHEWABLE.

 

(And psychologically satisfying... )

[SCMusicMom 10]

I tried the experiment this morning. My breakfast is also not chewable at all so I made a point to put my spoon down after every bite and concentrated on the flavor and feel of that bite in my mouth. I also made sure each bite was completely gone from my mouth before eating the next bite. No TV, no book to read, just me and my Ezekiel 4:9 cereal (cooked).

I think I was the same fullness, since I measure my cereal everyday I knew it was the same amount. It took me 11 minutes to eat, which was impressive, since I can easily eat this in 2 minutes. It was so much more pleasurable though, since I actually paid attention to what I was eating. I probably didn't eat long enough for the sigh thing though so I'll try that at lunch.

 

Laveta

[WWCarol 0]

Ooooo...interesting, Laveta!

 

I'll be excited to hear about your lunch!

[SCMusicMom 10]

My lunch yesterday was

1/3 cup brown rice

2.5 oz. chicken (cut up pretty small)

1/2 cup green peas

 

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup plain ff yogurt

 

It took me 25 minutes to eat!!! I purposely did not look at the time until I was totally finished. I was by myself at work in the break room and did not read, work a Sudoku or anything else. I just sat and ate, chewing slowly (I was aiming for Carol's 1 chew per second) and thought about what I was eating.

 

I still didn't do the sigh thing. I did have to take more deep breaths though because I was chewing for so long!

 

Now, I need to practice the slow eating when I'm with others and running my mouth and eating too quickly.

[wwwangels 10]

I have read the first three bites are the most enjoyable. I have always noticed that I eat less and are more satisfied if I eat slowly. Europeans tend to eat slower and enjoy their food more. They can take hours to finish dinner. There is a lot of conversation and interaction. I was in Europe for 5 weeks when I was in college and it seemed it took everyone forever to eat. I would be thinking, "I'm done, lets go, come on. Sheesh are we going to sleep here?" and then I slowed down and got into their way of eating. I wish we had more time here in the states to do that.

[Missilissa 10]

Thanks for the information. I am switching from Flex to Core and I will try to practice this 1 chew per second. I am definitely curious. I am also getting lots of Core information off of the great threads. Thanks again.

[WWCarol 0]

My lunch yesterday was

1/3 cup brown rice

2.5 oz. chicken (cut up pretty small)

1/2 cup green peas

 

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup plain ff yogurt

 

It took me 25 minutes to eat!!! I purposely did not look at the time until I was totally finished. I was by myself at work in the break room and did not read, work a Sudoku or anything else. I just sat and ate, chewing slowly (I was aiming for Carol's 1 chew per second) and thought about what I was eating.

 

I still didn't do the sigh thing. I did have to take more deep breaths though because I was chewing for so long!

 

Now, I need to practice the slow eating when I'm with others and running my mouth and eating too quickly.

 

I had the opportunity to do that today, eating out with my mom. She usually mentions at every meal how SLOWLY she eats; how she's always the slowest eater... I ate slowly. Paused. Sipped water. Talked. And as I ate so slowly, chewing slowly, matching her pace, we had this nice slow-ed down lunch. (Kind of like eating under water.) And guess what? She never mentioned what a SLOW EATER she is...! LOL!

 

I have read the first three bites are the most enjoyable. I have always noticed that I eat less and are more satisfied if I eat slowly. Europeans tend to eat slower and enjoy their food more. They can take hours to finish dinner. There is a lot of conversation and interaction. I was in Europe for 5 weeks when I was in college and it seemed it took everyone forever to eat. I would be thinking, "I'm done, lets go, come on. Sheesh are we going to sleep here?" and then I slowed down and got into their way of eating. I wish we had more time here in the states to do that.

 

That's what I loved about reading "French Women Don't Get Fat". There's so much appreciation of food and textures and tastes and friends...When I was making those meals for DH (those that were Core-friendly) we had the nicest time slowly eating and appreciating our memorable French meals...

 

Thanks for the information. I am switching from Flex to Core and I will try to practice this 1 chew per second. I am definitely curious. I am also getting lots of Core information off of the great threads. Thanks again.

 

Well now. You have to report back and tell us what you learned about yourself. It'll be interesting, for sure!

[cookofdeath 10]

my grandfather always ate like this and was painfully thin.

hmmmmmm, maybe you're on to something here

[Abiona 10]

Not on Core, but wanted to report about my slow and mindful eating, as well:

 

I had noodles with veggies and a cheesy sauce for dinner last night. Since I was really doing horrible at eating slowly the whole day, I took my time during this meal. I ate for 40 mins, and I could only finish half of it because I SIGHED! Yes! After a while I couldn't eat at a faster pace, because I felt stressed when I chewed faster. Interesting.

 

Isn't dinner over in the US the time of day when the family gets together to talk? When my family is over for a meal (ok, we're 8 people, just my siblings and parents) it takes 3 hours at least - so much to talk about! Although, lunch is usually the big family meal around here.

 

Soph

[WWCarol 0]

my grandfather always ate like this and was painfully thin.

hmmmmmm, maybe you're on to something here

 

Hmmmm............Maybe!..............

 

Not on Core, but wanted to report about my slow and mindful eating, as well:

 

I had noodles with veggies and a cheesy sauce for dinner last night. Since I was really doing horrible at eating slowly the whole day, I took my time during this meal. I ate for 40 mins, and I could only finish half of it because I SIGHED! Yes! After a while I couldn't eat at a faster pace, because I felt stressed when I chewed faster. Interesting.

 

Isn't dinner over in the US the time of day when the family gets together to talk? When my family is over for a meal (ok, we're 8 people, just my siblings and parents) it takes 3 hours at least - so much to talk about! Although, lunch is usually the big family meal around here.

 

Soph

 

Soph, have you "sighed" before?...Or noticed that you have?...

 

How COOL.

 

Nowadays it seems like people in the U.S. get together over dinner just a few times a week (if that). I think families are trying to get back to getting together for a relaxed evening meal together. It's good for sooo many reasons~

[Missilissa 10]

OOOHHH!!! I forgot and then when I tried, I kept going back to my old habits! I think you are onto something and I am going to try until I succeed. I want to eat like her grandfather and be painfully thin.