Starting a new habit this week??
 

I add 150 cals for 'graze' everyday to my calorie-count because I have a habit of taking a bite of what the kids don't eat. A bite of PB&J here, a few goldfish there, a bite of toast, a bite of eggroll....

NO MORE!

If it is not on my plate, then I am not eating it.

This is a hard one! I am a nanny, so I am dealing with food a lot during the day. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack... I was a grazer, for sure. Take a bite of this and that while preparing it, and if they didn't finish it all...it adds up! Since getting serious about my diet, I keep gum on me as often as I can. Before I start making lunch, I pop a piece in my mouth. Chewing goldfish with gum in my mouth is NOT appealing... It helps keep me in line, because the instinct is always there. Now, it's just a matter of remembering to grab the gum BEFORE I start.

Originally Posted by WinterStarzz:
This is a hard one! I am a nanny, so I am dealing with food a lot during the day. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack... I was a grazer, for sure. Take a bite of this and that while preparing it, and if they didn't finish it all...it adds up! Since getting serious about my diet, I keep gum on me as often as I can. Before I start making lunch, I pop a piece in my mouth. Chewing goldfish with gum in my mouth is NOT appealing... It helps keep me in line, because the instinct is always there. Now, it's just a matter of remembering to grab the gum BEFORE I start.

I always cook with a mint or gum in my mouth. I learned that one at WW 5 years ago. I allow myself one bite when something it done to check for seasoning instead of biting after each spice I add.

I have always eaten too fast. Maybe I will try the whole "put-the-fork-down" thing.

I am totally with you on this one. If I could conquer my grazing/snacking and my sweet tooth, I would be thin with no problem (my meals are generally quite healthy).

I only make one meal during the week and there isn't anything but a cany machine at work so grazing isn't an issue for me. I do eat too fast though. Maybe I'll try the putting the fork down thing too.

And I'm going to make sure I stay in my cal range. No more going over and no more being under 1200.

Putting the fork down is a good idea. I'm definitely going to try it. I eat WAY too fast!

putting the fork down is definitely a good idea. I may try to start that!
I've recently realized that I often eat when I'm not hungry, and I plan out all my meals to add up to however many calories for the day, and the times I eat them and whatnot.... so I thought to myself.... what if I just eat when I'm hungry and just write THAT down... I'm gonna try that for a few days!

So going to implement the putting knife and fork down!! I eat way to quickly and end up eating more after the meal because of this!
Thanks!

Great thread!

I'm in with the putting the fork down crowd. I ALWAYS finish before my husband. I always just pass it off on the fact that he's chattier than I am, but I know that isn't the whole story. It's time to slow down and enjoy!

There's seems to be a commonality here: Many people eat too fast (I'm one of them). I wonder why this is and if this is a trait common to those who struggle with their weight. I've tried the "putting down the fork" thing, but for some reason, it just doesn't seem natural. I may try taking smaller bites. If I had the courage, I'd love to videotape myself eating. I'm sure that I wouldn't like what I'd see; that would probably do more than anything else to cure me of eating fast.

I think I will hop on this bandwagon and put my fork/spoon/sandwich down between bites. I'm trying to teach myself not to devour my food so quickly; when I slow down, I enjoy my food more and reach a feeling of fullness AND satisfaction at the same time more easily.

I didn't start eating quickly until I had kids. I have two high-needs kids, and I just try to get through my meal as quickly as possible.

Originally Posted by cagesorwings:
putting the fork down is definitely a good idea. I may try to start that!
I've recently realized that I often eat when I'm not hungry, and I plan out all my meals to add up to however many calories for the day, and the times I eat them and whatnot.... so I thought to myself.... what if I just eat when I'm hungry and just write THAT down... I'm gonna try that for a few days!

ooohhh....i could not do that. That's how i operate on the weekends and sometimes it can be dangerous. Either I eat too little or i wait until i am starving and grab what ever is closest. Not that i keep that many bad for me foods around. I do best if i keep to a schedule.

Hey! Good ideas!

onthetee, I just wanted to say that you might want to watch out for those little bits here and there. You could be taking in more than the 150 cals you think you're getting. Just one TBS of peanut butter is 100 calories.

Another thing I do if I'm at a restaurant is that I put my silverware on the plate and push it aside when I've had enough, so that I'm not inclined to pick at the food I'm not taking home. I used to sit and nibble until it was all gone, even though I had "stopped eating." Now, when I'm done, I'm done.

Jay

Originally Posted by lumifan4ever:
ooohhh....i could not do that. That's how i operate on the weekends and sometimes it can be dangerous. Either I eat too little or i wait until i am starving and grab what ever is closest. Not that i keep that many bad for me foods around. I do best if i keep to a schedule.

That makes sense, maybe I worded what I meant wrong. I won't let myself "go hungry" but I won't eat just for the sake of eating and the fact that I have so many calories left in my day.
I have set a limit of 1500 cals since the beginning of my plan, and I find that I am sometimes above 1500, but never below. I'd like to have some below days due to the fact that I listened to my body and said "hmm I am not hungry anymore, I am not going to eat anything else today" instead of going "ooh! I have 100 cals left! what can I squeeze in?".
Actually, today I tried to eat really slowly, and thus far it has worked really really well. Something that interested me recently at a party I was at was that one of my very skinny friends took a piece of hero, took a bite of it, put it down, and promptly forgot about it when someone started talking to her and she got distracted. She didn't touch the hero for the rest of the night (though she did eat other things), but I'd like to be inthe mindset like that, where I am not so focused on my food.
Sorry to hijack the thread! Oops!

I'm getting back on the water wagon. :)

I purchased a digital scale this week. I want to get into the habit of weighing my food instead of guessing on the portions size.

I try to implement a new habit every week or two (depending on how long it takes to make it a habit). I havn't done the fork thing yet so I'm going to try that down the road.

My personal favorite new habit and this kinda goes with grazin I never eat standing up.

Well I tried the "food down between bites" strategy yesterday, and it worked well at lunch! I let my hunger get away from me in the afternoon, though, so by dinner I was ravenous and plowed through my meal. Whoops. Breakfast today went well, so today is off to a good start!