Robin1403 Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 Ok, I've searched everywhere for advice on this, and it's a weird question, but I'm asking anyway. What do you do if you happen to be eating a meal alone? I'm so used to clicking on the TV or messing with my phone that I'm kind of at a loss. My first Whole30 I broke the "eating at my desk" habit but I didn't break the TV habit, and I'm trying to this time. I started reading, but for me it was like watching TV, I focused on the book and my food was gone before I realized it, just like when I watch TV, so that wasn't a good alternative. I feel weird just looking out the window and thinking about chewing...I guess that's the modern world, I feel like I always need to be doing something or looking at something or making progress on something or else I'm wasting time. Any ideas...maybe staring out the window, relaxing and thinking about chewing is a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted April 3, 2017 Moderators Share Posted April 3, 2017 Relax, congratulate yourself on a good meal made... concentrate on the spices, the flavors... chew thouroghly and feel virtuous that you can sit and do nothing but savor your food for a few minutes where most other people have their face in their phones... I was going to say read but you tried that... I find reading difficult because I either forget to eat or forget to read... Put on some nice music and have a date of one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin1403 Posted April 3, 2017 Author Share Posted April 3, 2017 Thank you for the advice...I was listening to Liquid Mind Radio on Pandora during my lunch but kept picking up the stupid remote to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" a song, ugh! Next time I'll hide the remote and just enjoy zenning out...and I do eat way to fast so consciously chewing and thinking about the flavors, etc. really makes sense. I will give it a try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted April 4, 2017 Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2017 For the fast eaters out there (myself included) it actually helps to put the fork down between bites... fork one into your mouth, put the fork down, chew consiously and then pick up and repeat... while you get used to doing this, it's really better to have no distractions so you can concentrate on this mindful way of eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racheleats Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Maybe try listening to a book instead of reading? I LOVE Audible and my library also has audiobooks that you can rent, maybe yours does too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Woman Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 The hardest thing about Whole 30 for me is sitting at the table and just eating my meals. Most of my life I have done a crossword while having breakfast, read while eating lunch and watched TV during dinner. I really miss that, especially my breakfast crossword. Honestly, just sitting there eating is really boring and I just want to get the meal over with as soon as possible. After the first couple of days I realized I was gobbling down my food so now I'm concentrating on slowing down and thinking about what I'm eating, but it's still boring. I'm wondering if it would be OK to listen to music while I'm eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted April 4, 2017 Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2017 Yes, it's fine to listen to music. There was recently a similar discussion, and someone mentioned even listening to an audiobook. The point is really that you shouldn't be focused on something else to the point that you either forget to eat, or you look down and realize all your food is gone, but you don't really even remember eating it. If you were eating with other people, there'd be conversations, but it is hard when you're eating by yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Ooooo, doggone it. You're not alone if you have W30 buds. I think about you all of the time. I think about W30 peeps more than people I used to know. They never helped me learn how to ride my own bike....look Maw, no hands. Music is good medicine. It's healing, even while you're eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossiter Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Hi! I just completed some mindfulness training that actually focused on food. The main takeaway for me, being a faster eater, was to clear the table of any distractions. This included turning off phones, smart watches, etc. even just for 10 minutes. The trainer recommended STOP. S-Stop. T-Take a DEEP breath. O-Observe. P-Proceed. The STOP method has been really helpful for me in general when I feel a craving or notice I'm getting anxious or stressed around food. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted April 4, 2017 Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2017 I've merged these two identical topics together for one discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Woman Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 On 4/3/2017 at 4:02 PM, Robin1403 said: Ok, I've searched everywhere for advice on this, and it's a weird question, but I'm asking anyway. What do you do if you happen to be eating a meal alone? I'm so used to clicking on the TV or messing with my phone that I'm kind of at a loss. My first Whole30 I broke the "eating at my desk" habit but I didn't break the TV habit, and I'm trying to this time. I started reading, but for me it was like watching TV, I focused on the book and my food was gone before I realized it, just like when I watch TV, so that wasn't a good alternative. I feel weird just looking out the window and thinking about chewing...I guess that's the modern world, I feel like I always need to be doing something or looking at something or making progress on something or else I'm wasting time. Any ideas...maybe staring out the window, relaxing and thinking about chewing is a good thing? I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way. That was good advice from the moderator; in addition I'm going to try listening to music. I think it would be a good accompaniment but not too distracting from the food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Woman Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 On 4/3/2017 at 5:13 PM, SugarcubeOD said: For the fast eaters out there (myself included) it actually helps to put the fork down between bites... fork one into your mouth, put the fork down, chew consiously and then pick up and repeat... while you get used to doing this, it's really better to have no distractions so you can concentrate on this mindful way of eating. Such good advice and I've been working on doing just that. I've noticed that besides slowing me down, I'm able to think about whether I'm really hungry enough to finish everything on my plate or maybe ready to stop eating while there's still some food on my plate. I consider this a major achievement as I've always been a "clean your plate" girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I'm kind of the opposite, I have to do something while eating to a) slow me down and b ) force myself to keep eating. Food mostly grosses me out and if I'm just focusing on the food I will stop eating fast. By surfing the web, reading/typing on the forum, watching a show or reading a book I will sit with my plate longer and eat most of what's on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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