Eat Mindfully and Never Diet Again?
Some of you may have experienced what I found myself doing just the other night: I plunked down in front of my computer with a bag of potato chips to eat while reading email. Twenty minutes later I reached for another chip and… they were all gone. Where did they go? I didn’t remember eating it that much. In fact, I couldn’t have because I was still hungry
I hate to admit it, but that very same thing happens to me far more often than I’d like. Does it sound familiar to you, too?
The solution, according to one woman, doesn’t involve taking diet pills. It doesn’t even involve dieting at all. Instead, we need to put our brains to work to lose weight. That is: we need to eat “mindfully”, as Harvard Medical School instructor Jean Fain explains in her YouTube video, “Why a Twinkie?”.
Now, ordinarily there’s not much exciting about watching a grown woman eating a Twinkie while emoting happiness and pleasure, and between the shoddy video quality and Fain’s patronizing over-enunciation I felt like I was back in 8th grade trying not to snicker at a health class video.
But I kept watching, contemptuously, in part to find out just how long she was going to sit there silently eating that Twinkie. A full minute later, and only halfway through the Twinkie, she stopped. Did you get that? She didn’t even finish the thing. In my household that’s almost unheard of. Fain’s point, however, was that we can eat the foods we love and still lose weight if we’ll just eat mindfully.
So what’s mindful eating? Susan Albers’ book, Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food 
…feeling the saltiness of each potato chip on your fingers when you pick it up. The taste of salt when you put the chip on your tongue. It’s listening to the loud crunch of each bite, and the noise that chewing makes in your head….”
Their other tips: make a celebration of it: if you’re going to eat, do nothing but eat. Eat slowly, free from mental distractions like the TV or computer. Wash your hands first like Mom told you to do. Sit down. Take small bites. Chew slowly. Give yourself permission to satisfy your hunger or cravings and to enjoy the taste while you do so.
Then eat every bite like it’s your first taste of that food… and might be your last.
You know, I think I may just give this a try. How about you?
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6 Comments »
Comment by jae
February 18, 2008 @ 10:56 am #
I don’t know that it’s to the level she’s talking about, but I sort of adopted something similar a couple weeks ago and have dropped 8 lbs — some water weight due to a med change, but not all of it.
I don’t call it mindfulness though. It’s just paying attention to what you’re doing and recognizing that hey — I’m not hungry any more.
jae’s last blog post..Weekend review
Comment by Jillian
February 18, 2008 @ 12:06 pm #
Yep, I read something a while ago that said you consume WAY more if you eat and watch TV or do other activities to where your mind is not focused on your meal.
When I was actually trying to lose weight, I lost more by eating what I wanted in moderation and just exercising. Of course, it helped when your the H tells you you’re HOT to him.
But I am going to give this a try. Eat, enjoy and realize when it’s time to quit.
Although, I have such a HUGE sweet tooth, I can’t imagine NOT finishing a Twinkie or a piece of cake. Seriously, LOL I’m not in to performing miracles!
Jillian’s last blog post..Jillian and the Merciless Attack of the Toys!
Comment by Chubby Mommy
February 18, 2008 @ 2:23 pm #
Jae, that is SO awesome. Congrats on the loss, and I hope the new meds are easier on you.
Jillian, I’m with ya on giving this a shot.
Last night I got a real lesson in how mindlessly I eat. We’d been watching a movie when I noticed that it was dinner time. So VH and I went upstairs and made burgers quickly, then everyone brought their plates down to eat while watching the movie.
I still have no idea where on earth my burger went. I remember eating the first bite (burger with jalapenos and Monterey Jack cheese… yum), and I remember seeing that my plate was completely empty. I have no idea what happened in between and I don’t recall actually enjoying any part of it besides the first bite.
An hour later I thought I was hungry again.
So I’m going to give this mindfulness thing a try. If nothing else, at least it’ll make eating a lot more inconvenient. Having to actually leave my desk or whatever I’m watching to go sit down at the dining table and have a meal is a LOT more of a hassle than, say, shoveling handfuls of chips into my mouth from a bowl while answering email.
Comment by kimsch
February 18, 2008 @ 5:58 pm #
When it comes to eating chips, I try to put some in a bowl and only eat those. Or put a small amount of dip in a bowl or small container and only eat enough chips for the dip.
kimsch’s last blog post..Monday Morning Musings
Comment by Chubby Mommy
February 18, 2008 @ 6:32 pm #
I try to do the same thing, but if I eat them while watching TV or working on the computer I’ll find the bowl empty before I even realize I’ve been eating.
And then I refill it because my brain still thinks I’m hungry.
Comment by Jo Beaufoix
March 2, 2008 @ 6:51 am #
Hi Chubby Mommy. Found you through Upstart Blogger and Ashley’s blog challenge. I think this is so true. I found a really good site in the UK that has similar ideas about savouring what we eat and not denying ourselves or being on a diet. ‘Beyond Chocolate’. I think it’s got some great ideas, because who wants to be on a ‘diet.’ Bleurghhh. Diets are evil and should be kicked hard with pointy shoes.
Jo Beaufoix’s last blog post..The pitter patter of tiny food stuffs
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