Eating alone, staring at the wall. . . ugh

[HoustonJen]

So I'm on Day 6 of my first Whole30.  Everything I read, including the Whole30 plan, suggests sitting at the table, turn off all the electronic devices, TV, phones, tablets, etc., and savor your food, listen to your body's messages, and don't mindlessly shovel food in your face and chew it well.  Well, I admit, this actually is a problem from me. I do shovel food in my mouth mindlessly, and I'm pretty certain I don't chew my food well enough.  I've often finished meals, and then wondered to myself, did I even chew that?  Wow!!  Okay, it's a little embarrassing, but it's the truth.  So I need to take this advice and "turn it all off and pay attention to my food" to heart.  But. . .

...   I'm single, so 95% of my meals are eaten alone.  I find myself just staring at the wall, it's all very boring and I'm still shoveling food in my face because I have nothing else to do!!
Quite frankly, sitting there eating alone at the table is a huge trigger to start feeling sad and lonely . There's no one to talk to, nothing to get my mind off that fact that I'm sitting here alone eating alone, alone. I don't think feeling sorry myself is part of the plan.

So any suggestions.... encouragement.  What do you do while you're eating alone?

[MeadowLily]

Listen to music. Even the finest dining joints in the world have live music or background streaming. I was a singleton for quite some time and always went out to dinner by myself.  It takes practice but I did not read a book. I enjoyed it so much that I preferred it over my own cooking.

Music makes everything better. You can still get it touch with yourself or take a walk on the wild side. Reminisce on your happiest experiences or memories. Imagine your sitting seaside in Greece or anywhere and still in touch with your body's cues.   

[kruddock]

I would second music, some thing soothing. Also, if the weather is nice, maybe eating outside, not sure if this is an option at this time of year for you. Dressing up the table a little could help? Maybe invite a friend over for dinner to experience your Whole30 with you? Now is your chance to maybe become more outgoing (I don't want to make assumptions here!), even if you are living alone it doesn't mean you have to spend all your time alone. Do something different, it might shake things up for you and relieve the boredom.  Hope this helps a little.

[SugarcubeOD]

As per forum rules, please don't cross post the same topic into multiple threads.  I've removed the duplicate thread.

How about reading a book, listening to music, listening to a podcast?  The point of the comment about getting your phone out of your face is more about becoming attentive when you eat and paying attention.  That doesn't mean that aside from having someone sitting in front of you, that you have to eat in silence staring at the wall... that sounds awful!

I am single and 95% of my meals are eaten alone also... It can be very tempting to sit in front of the tv and shovel the food in... 

Try putting your fork down between each bite... not as easy as one thinks to change THAT habit...Or make sure you're chewing 10 times (or whatever the recommendation out there is)

 But you're more than welcome to find something that you enjoy doing/watching/listening to while you eat that makes mealtimes enjoyable while also allowing you to remain attentive to the task at hand.

[HoustonJen]

19 minutes ago, SugarcubeOD said:

As per forum rules, please don't cross post the same topic into multiple threads.  I've removed the duplicate thread.

How about reading a book, listening to music, listening to a podcast?  The point of the comment about getting your phone out of your face is more about becoming attentive when you eat and paying attention.  That doesn't mean that aside from having someone sitting in front of you, that you have to eat in silence staring at the wall... that sounds awful!

I am single and 95% of my meals are eaten alone also... It can be very tempting to sit in front of the tv and shovel the food in... 

Try putting your fork down between each bite... not as easy as one thinks to change THAT habit...Or make sure you're chewing 10 times (or whatever the recommendation out there is)

 But you're more than welcome to find something that you enjoy doing/watching/listening to while you eat that makes mealtimes enjoyable while also allowing you to remain attentive to the task at hand.

Thank you.  I actually didn't intend to cross-post.  I just realized after I posted this that my question was probably better suited under another topic heading.  I tried to delete this one, but couldn't figure out how to delete it, so there they both sat.  I should have tried deleting first, then posting it under the other topic first.  lol  Thank you for deleting one.  This was my very first post, so lesson learned.

Well, reading is what I like to do.  You're right, it's more about being more attentive to what I'm doing, how I'm eating, than about what I'm doing while I'm eating.  I'll try the putting the fork down thing, . . . I could see that helping!

[HoustonJen]

4 hours ago, MeadowLily said:

Listen to music. Even the finest dining joints in the world have live music or background streaming. I was a singleton for quite some time and always went out to dinner by myself.  It takes practice but I did not read a book. I enjoyed it so much that I preferred it over my own cooking.

Music makes everything better. You can still get it touch with yourself or take a walk on the wild side. Reminisce on your happiest experiences or memories. Imagine your sitting seaside in Greece or anywhere and still in touch with your body's cues.   

Oh, I've eaten out many times by myself.  I'm not shy or anything.  My work schedule prohibits a lot weekday socializing, and I actually prefer my own cooking over eating out any day.  I love to cook, and I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen.  But it's different sitting at home alone, than going out to a restaurant alone.  I don't know. It's just different.   But the music idea is a great one.  I'm going to do that tonight!  Thanks.