Mindless Eating

• April 11, 2021 @ 7:05 pm
• Written by coach
• Categories: Current Nutrition Plan | Today's Topic

One key area in attacking “Eating Less” is not to eat mindlessly. When mentally preparing to take on this journey, I couldn’t help but to notice, how much I ate, and the variety of different foods I ate, during the evening hours while watching television. Why, I wonder, do I eat like I do watching TV?

I remember, as a kid, being so excited on Sundays when we got to open up the TV trays, and eat dinner while watching the Wonderful World of Disney and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom! Do you have fond memories too?

My own research has shown that many people eat because they are sad or bored. I don’t think I am sad but, I must admit, I do get bored. Today’s television isn’t very exciting to me. I watch it because it is something to do at the end of the day. I get up, go to work, come home, take care of the horses, ducks, chickens, do some yard work, and then plop myself onto my chair and see what has been recorded to watch. After dinner, I catch myself thinking about popcorn, chips, chocolate, ice cream, and of course my favorite, a bowl of cereal!

Most of what I have read speaks to making there be a specific reason for eating. The idea is that when you are eating, you are doing so because you are genuinely hungry and that you are doing so with the concentration of fueling that hunger. So, what are going to be some of my ways to reduce Mindless Eating? There are volumes of suggestions out there; but, I am realistic enough to know I won’t do them all — here is what I will set out to do:

1. Keep food out of sight: Well, I’m going to keep “bad” food out of sight and have “good” food in plain sight. I am not the sole purchaser of what goes into my cupboard or refrigerator/freezer; but, I am going to move bad food to inconvenient locations and ask that we stop buying so much “bad” food.
2. Eat slower: I remember joining the Air Force right out of high school. At Basic Training you got what seemed like a full 3 minutes to shovel food down your mouth, put your tray away, and get back into formation in time for your favorite Training Instructor to re-start the yelling process … ah, the days of TSgt Munoz! Anyways, I will chew my food longer and try to really enjoy what I am eating. It has been suggested to eat with your non-dominate hand to help slow things down; but, I don’t see myself putting myself through that … I’ll just seek to eat slower with already having less on my plate.
3. Reduce the Combo’s: By that I mean, I think I’m going to move the table to my back porch and start eating dinner there more often while looking out onto my property. I will focus on my meal, eat slower, and try to enjoy the meal more versus just filling up while watching whether or not the Rock becomes the next president.

Side Note: This won’t work for me, but, research has also revealed that some suggest that you choose your eating partner wisely. There is no point in trying to Eat Less while those you are eating with scour everything thing in sight. If you are to be at a family gathering, it is important to get up and away from the table when you are done eating; otherwise, there is a likelihood that you will eat more while everyone is eating and talking and socializing — at least put your plate away.

Side Note 2: America loves to super size and there are a number of places you can go to stockpile — Sam’s, BJ’s, etc. Countries that don’t have these sorts of opportunities/availabilities seem to weigh less than we do in the good ole USA. The idea is to NOT stockpile your house with large quantities of food at any given time. For me, I have to buy the good deals when they present themselves and just have that discipline not to eat volumes.