“You eat like a truck driver,” a friend commented amiably over dinner the other night.
He’s right, too. Not so much in terms of quantity—although I can pack it away given the opportunity—but speed.
“You just put your head down and when you looked up, the plate was clean,” another friend once said.
It’s true and I’m not proud of it. I particularly hate when waiters take my plate away as soon as I’m done, making my shame more obvious.
So I’ve been trying this whole mindful eating thing. I caught the TLC show I Can Make You Thin the other day. It's mostly a lot of repackaged razzmatazz about something that’s been around a while. My friend Jean Fain, who does psychotherapy and hypnosis, has been teaching it to her clients for a long time. She make videos and CDs, too. See, here’s someone eating a Twinkie mindfully.
Hm. If it had been me, that Twinkie would never have known what hit it.
I’m trying, really. When I remember, I put my fork down between bites. I’ve tried to chew my food 20 times like the I Can Make You Thin guy recommends but that’s really kind of disgusting. I become aware of the chewed food in my mouth. (Hm, might that be the point? Some sort of aversion therapy?) And a peanut butter and banana sandwich cannot withstand 20 chews.
But my biggest struggle with the whole deal is that you’re not supposed to do anything else while you’re eating. Conversation, maybe, but no TV or reading or working. I tried this and realized that while I like food, eating is boring. I usually eat lunch (such as it is) at my desk. The other day, I sat at the kitchen table and tried to eat mindfully. Just me, alone, in the quiet, chewing. Whee.
I need to find a compromise between cramming lunch down my gullet as quickly as possible and sitting silently chewing for 30 minutes. Don’t know what that is yet.
Next I’ll try Jean’s hypnosis video. Can’t hurt, might help. Wish I had a Twinkie.
9 comments:
thanks for posting this - I don't know if it will have an effect on my eating habits, but it definitely helped to relax me!
Sophie,
Forget about chewing 20-30x. That's just dumb. And disgusting, I agree. Not to mention a pain in the jaw. And unsustainable. The number of times you chew naturally varies with the kind of food you're eating, how hungry you are, your schedule, among other things.
What you've yet to discover: mindful eating can actually be riveting, illuminating. If you're bored, try making more interesting food. Or just sitting with boredom, which is fascinating if you hang in there with it.
Mindfully yours,
Jean Fain
Harvard Medical School/
Cambridge Health Alliance
jfain@hms.harvard.edu
www.jeanfain.com
Yeah, I think I'm coming to understand that my tolerance of boredom is probably un-usefully (if I may) low.
I bought some gummi bears today. I can chew those a long time.
More interesting food is time-consuming and I don't like taking the time.
OK, finally I get to be an expert. I'm the slowest eater on earth. How did I manage that? I was brought up by a mother who had a choking phobia and was always ready to spring into action to "save" my sister and me. A little too ready, if you ask me. You'd eat slowly, too, if somebody were dying to perform the Heimlich on you every time you ingested a French fry.
Trouble is, everybody (except for my mother, of course) hates a slow eater. They all sit around, drumming their fingers, impatience rising, saying, "Aren't you finished yet?" They think slow eaters are boring. I hate it when people think I'm boring.
-- Ruth
So you're saying we probably shouldn't have lunch together...
That's probably why you're so slender.
I want a twinkie now.
Sophie,
Your comment about "I Can Make You Thin" inspired me to make another video. I love how creativity comes out of collaboration, which blogging is for sure!
Oh, here's the link to "I Can Make You Thin, But...":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNySNSRfhw
Thanks,
Jean
Very funny! And it put Jack right to sleep. Well, actually, he was already asleep but it put him MORE to sleep!
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