you eat too fast?

My entire life I have always seemed to finish eating before everyone else in my family, which now includes DH.

I've tried the "make sure you chew each bite at least 20-30 times before swallowing" but that just gets annoying.

If you used to eat too fast...how did you slow yourself down in order to really enjoy what you're eating?

TIA ladies!

I used to eat too fast, yeah.

Part of it was how I ate - in front of the TV or while in the car or while at my desk.
Part of it was .. I dunno exactly ... greed? But not quite greed. I guess the same reason I'd eat a whole pizza or a whole bag of chips at a sitting. The "fear" that if I didn't eat it now, I might not get more later?
Part of it was programming from my job - when I'm shooting, I often dont' have time to sit down for a meal, so I grab what I can and eat on the run.

Now, I try to make each meal a *meal*. I'm not saying I'm always able to, but when I can I do the following:

I make sure I put food on a plate or a bowl. I don't eat a sandwich while standing over the sink or spoon somthing out of the container while standing in front of the fridge. Part of that is that I measure and weigh everything I eat now, so I weigh out one serving, put it on a plate, and then sit down with the plate and eat.

I try to eat meals at the table as often as I can. That means a placemat. A plate. A knife and fork. A glass of water or wine (or both). A cloth napkin.

A trick you can use other than the chewing each bite a dozen times, is to set your knife and fork DOWN between bites. I take a bite, and set my fork down. Take sip of water or wine. Then pick the fork back up. When you're not holding on to your fork and shoveling food in, it's easier to go slow!

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Guilty as charged. I'm always the first done. It's bad, especially if there are seconds sitting around! I try to go slower, but dang the food just tastes too good and I want to eat it!

Yeah, putting the fork down between bites is a GREAT idea--wish I could remember that one!

Only if I've waited too long to eat and I'm starving. Then I feel sick, even if I ate a healthy meal/portion.

Once upon a time I was the person who inhaled my food and would be finished long before anyone else.

It's odd, but I remember for me that the taste of certain food just drove me crazy. It was like I had some odd food lust, and I just had to eat everything very quickly. I can't really explain it any better. I just had to eat it all now.

Now, the opposite is true. I am normally the last person eating, and I often find myself apologizing for it!

It took some time, but I was able to retrain myself by using methods I'm sure you've heard before:

* I set my fork (or spoon) down between every single bite.

* I chewed at least 20 times for most things.

* While eating, I would take the time to really think about what I was eating-- how it looked, how it felt in my mouth, how it tasted, how did it smell before I took a bite, and so on.

* I made sure I was not eating while distracted: that meant no TV, music, reading, phone conversations, nada. I concentrated on my food and eating it, and that's it.



I no longer follow those little rules, but I don't Hoover my food up anymore, either. If I ever find myself eating too quickly again, then I would return to those strategies. (Doubtful I will, though, since it's been about 10 years now that I've been eating slower.)

The whole chewing 20-30 times in each bite thing-I think that rule really shouldn't be a rule...simply because it might work for steak...but not so well for yogurt or mashed potatoes.

I think the big thing for me, is not so much how many times I chew, but to actually slow down and TASTE the food properly. Something that really helped me with this, was when I first got into wine tasting.

I learned to slow down, to smell it, and notice the small nuances and things in the smell. To notice the feel of the wine (or food) on my tongue. (Is it silky, smooth, harsh, etc. in the mouth?) Slow down a bit and properly enjoy your food or drink to the maximum. You don't have to chew it so much, but keep it in your mouth long enough to get the hints and bit of flavors that come out in it.

If I bought a $30 bottle of wine, or a premium SINGLE truffle from a gourmet chocolatier, and just slammed it down, it literally would be wasting it.

There is a big difference between eating/drinking something, and actually tasting it.

For instance, if you have a Little Debbie "Zebra Cake" snack cake. If you really slow down and taste it, you probably won't ever eat one again. The white coating tastes like WAX, and leaves a waxy film on the palate.

That's so true.

I also used to eat fast, but now I find I'm usually the last finished at the table because I actually taste my food and try really enjoy what I am eating.

My whole family eats too fast, WAY too fast!!

When we're out I try to eat slower but DH and I are still the first ones done, I get embarrassed about it too...

I'm the same as sh315. I usually do finish first but I think it's because my portions are smaller. The issue comes when there is other food around to eat while the others are eating.

I eat way too fast!!! I blame it on the fact that where I work, we get 20 minutes for lunch everyday. And that 20 minutes is not taking into account having to walk back to your classroom and, of course, you run into ten people on the way there...haha. But it's almost like we've been conditioned there to scarf down the food so that we have enough time to eat and do 18 other things. Oh the joy of being a teacher

I have noticed though that when I do deliberately take my time to eat and eat slowly, I feel much more full afterwards. I have been trying to break myself out of the "eating quick" cycle, but it's definitely a hard habit to break since I've been teaching there for 7 years.

I now tend to eat slower than others around me. When I find myself eating too fast, not really taking the time to enjoy the food (and I do love food!), it's a sign to me that my focus is on something else and I may be eating for a reason other than nourishment and enjoyment. Then, I try to ask myself what I'm trying to get away from with they way I'm eating.

Try thinking of the food as you eat it. Maybe pretend you're a food critic and have to describe the food you're eating.

I've always ate so slow I was the last to finish by at least ten minutes, even when I was a kid. Ever since I met and then married my husband, I eat so much faster now! He eats sooo fast, I feel lonenly finishing alone. I'm trying to eat slower again though. Between each bite I try to make sure to put down my fork, so I take time to chew my food enough. It's hard sometimes though.

I actually find it really helps me eat slowly to do something else at the same time. Obvously, if it involves my hands, the better. But even just reading helps. I stop to concentrate on the other activity, and take much longer to finish my meals, and I *do* find that makes me fuller on less. Internet surfing works pretty well for me .