Up until a month ago I worked retail FOREVER. For the past 9 years I have always worked it in some way shape or form. The past 9 were spent as a dog groomer for Petsmart. I was so busy either a) I wouldn't get a break and didn't eat lunch at all during my shift or b) learned to scarf down my food fast as lightening.
Now that I work at the middle school I notice how fast I eat. I actually have to make a point to stop and slow myself down.
I grew up in the house where "seconds" only came if you finished your plate..and my mom only made one extra dinner rolll for some reason...and I had an older brother....so I learned to inhale!
My boy is from the UK and his eating habits are so different. He has taught me to slow down...enjoy the taste...even to use a knife and fork at every meal.....I didn't even know I didn't know how to use a knife and fork correctly...but I didn't!
But I try to make conversation while eating instead of surfing the net or reading. Oh yeah - and actually breath.
Fellow retail-chick turned teacher here. When I got out of retail three years ago, I realized that I couldn't sit at a table for more than 15 minutes (my standard break time to wolf down food and get back to the floor). When I started teaching high school I would marvel at the fact I had 40 minutes to eat lunch but I would inhale my sandwich or whatever I had bought and then get antsy and impatient waiting to get back to work!
I had to retrain myself to relax at the table at work and actually devised a silly, yet surprisingly helpful system: I put my food down between bites, lol. Seriously, I take a bite and I put down whatever it is to chew and take a drink and a breath or two and then start again. Now, honestly, it takes me 25 minutes instead of 15 but it's a work in progress!
Yeah, I eat fast. I'm working on it, in part because it sucks to be the first one done and then wish you were still eating like everybody else whenever you eat in a group setting. I generally tell myself to slow down, and that I can always eat something else after if I'm still hungry. I'm usually not, though, if I take my time with the meal.
I use to do this! (I've slowed down a bit) I read somewhere that you should put your fork down between bites. I put mine down between bites and take a drink of water too. The water helps fill me up quicker and I don't eat so much so fast that when I finally am done I'm stuffed to the breaking point. I'm just satisfied. I'm learning to deal with being satisfied and not stuffed! It actually feels better. I use to feel so crappy after i ate and i'm sure it was from being so darn stuffed and maybe a bit of guilt for eating so much. Conversation works too. When I talk during meals I try to have an open ended conversation. So no "yes" or "no" questions. And I try to keep eye contact all the time so i have something else to focus on but my plate.
Growing up and well into my early twenties I used to scarf my food down. I was usually the first person to finish a meal.
Now, however, I am usually the slowest eater. I even apologize to other people about how long it takes, since I now finish about 5-10 minutes after everyone else!
Basically, I had to retrain myself: Like Thousandsunny, I started off by putting my fork down between bites (I don't need to do this anymore). I made sure to actually pay attention to what was in my mouth while I was chewing and savor it. I would try to chew things for a set amount of times (I forget what number I used) before swallowing it, just to slow myself down.
In time, eating more slowly became the norm. I take my time now eating my food. This has the added bonus of letting me know when I am starting to get full before I get too full, since it's too easy to overstuff yourself if you eat very quickly.
I am like Apple I use to eat really super fast (part of going to school forever and never having time to eat) and I've made an effort to slow down, to actually look at my food and enjoy what I'm shoveling into my mouth. It's hard, I seem to remember an occassion a few months ago (maybe 6 now) where I ate almost an entire pint of butter pecan ice cream in like 10 minutes. Needless to say things like that no only make me sick but stick in my mind and make me slow down.
I am a VERY fast eater, I don't mess around. It is really annoying because I will finish my food and see other people still eating, then I want more food. It's horrible.
I have found this AMAZING SALAD at a dinner close to my work, Chicken Cesar salad about 500 calories, OMG it's sooo good..... but I seriously complained the other day about how much chewing is involved.... ahhh... I know it is certainly something I have to work on.
When I worked in fast food (very first job) I only have a 15 min break so I would inhale my food as well. It has been 4 years since I worked there and I still scarf! It is a hard habit to break. At my job now, I have an hour but I still continue to inhale my food. If I am not thinking about eating slow, then I won't eat slow. It's hard.
Someone may have said this already (getting too tired to read through all the posts!) but putting down the fork really helps. I'd always heard this as a "diet trick," but it really hit home when I was working at a really nice restaurant, and I would watch people get their next bite ready while they were still chewing the first. It was like they didn't notice they already had a bite in their mouths already! I never noticed this working in lesser restaurants, but since the food there was so good (and so expensive!) it really stood out to me. I think it's really all about being mindful of what you're doing.
s
Someone may have said this already (getting too tired to read through all the posts!) but putting down the fork really helps.
That really does work! I saw that "tip" on Paul McKenna's show on TLC and started doing it and my food intake went down more than half of what I used to eat and I get full a lot quicker. This includes putting down everything, including sandwich if that's what you are eating. =)
I also used to literally inhale food years ago when I was working at a language institute because I had to eat during the break between classes... Well, at first I had stomach problem bc I was eating way too fast but once I got used to eat...I had no problem eating fast for EVERY meal... which is not good. =(
Anyone else have this problem?
