... one mouthful of cake... or the whole cake?

I realized the more I eat, the less I actually "taste" the food.
I can get so much more pleasure out of letting my boyfriend order dessert and asking him for one mouthful, than from ordering my own dessert and eating it all.

In the same way, I notice that if I have a whole pizza in front of me, I'll gulf down the first 5 slices and only actually "taste" and enjoy the 6th slice... like I need to get the rest of it out of the way (or "secure" it in my stomach to make sure it won't run away!).
Whereas if I tell myself I am only going to have one slice (and only order or take one slice), I enjoy it as much as the 6th slice of the whole pizza, and usually feel full / satisfied enough not to want any more.

So I am trying to relearn to savor food, instead of mindlessly swallowing it.
Hard part is, sometimes I forget

Do you also have that experience? Have you used that technique to help you "control" your food intake?

I completely agree with you.

I enjoy food more now than I did when I was stuffing my face because I actually taste it!

I used to stuff it all in because I was trying to fill a void and kind of cover my feelings in a way with food by eating so much. But now I am in control and I really enjoy and savour every bite.

I find chewing small pieces many times stops me eating loads and I try to drink between each bite. I heard that if you put your fork down between mouthfulls it helps you focus on what you're eating more, but I haven't done that yet...

That is such a good point! Yes I have noticed that myself. I have a perfect example, I love homemade chili and only make it a few times a year usually when its cold. I usually gobble it all up and its gone in two days. The amount is pretty large, enough for 8 people.But today I made some and I measured out my portion and I really enjoyed it and savored the flavor.

I have noticed that too!! Why don't we taste the bites in between the first and the last? Glad you pointed it out..

Kelly

Sara, you make an excellent point!

My newest trick is to portion out my meal and put away any leftovers BEFORE I start eating. Then I can eat my meal and feel good about having the correct portion sizes AND I'm not tempted to eat more while cleaning up. I've always been a slow eater, but paying attention to the tastes instead of the amount is a great idea!

Thanks for posting this discussion!

Kara

This is what I do. Even once the food has lost all it's appeal, I'm no longer tasting it even, I still eat more and more. It's like as long as I am eating I can escape reality. I hardly enjoy the food itself at all anymore.

i completely agree with you all... i just eat before i think. I've now learnt to try to think before i eat, it usually results in less being eaten! I also try to think that every individual mouthful is like a little mini meal so it usually lasts longer!!

I know what you mean.. I can recall eating a meal. The parts of it I was not so fond of I ate first.. the rest I saved for last.. Wouldn't it just make more sense to not eat what I don't want instead of just eating it first to get it off of my plate.