Pacing yourself while eating

Thanks for the advice everybody. I will also think about Robb Wolf's advice: dont think of your mouth as a vacuum cleaner


Chopsticks! What a great idea.

haha! i love the onion. good link :)

[quote]

No matter how tender the steak, a European chews the piece a good deal — as said, because he is in the chewing habit through being partly herbivorous, and because he has been admonished to chew. The uncivilized Eskimo has never had practice in herbivorous mastication and his mother has never told him to chew for the good of his health. So he gives the piece a bite or two, rolls it around in his mouth once or twice, and swallows. He will, of course, chew efficiently should the piece feel as though it might be too large or too hard to be gulped down. -- Vilhjalmur Stefansson, The Fat Of The Land (p98)</blockquote>


Seems we&#39;re in good company!

I used to do this all the time, and then before I knew it my meal was over before I really enjoyed what was there.


Heres what i do. As I&#39;m eating my meal I think about the animals/plants/various life forms that went into making it.


I think about the chickens who&#39;s eggs I&#39;m eating. i consider their day to day lives while I&#39;m chowing down. I try to appreciate their way of life and be thankful for what they have done to give me the meal. It&#39;s hard to scarf down the food when you are really really thinking about how thankful you are that some animal/plant provided it. I find that the more varied my meal the longer it takes. For example, a salad takes me a lot longer b/c with each bite i try to taste a particular part of it and be thankful that plant made the sacrifice to feed me. Be thankful for its death to allow me to survive. This really helps me to slow down :)

I find that if I eat with others this really helps me- I enjoy their company and able to therefore enjoy my food more if that makes sense- and I&#39;m so interested in them, the food takes less importance.

i use small forks/spoons & often have a cup of tea before i eat. if i drink too much during my meal it makes my digestion difficult.

Is there a particular reason you want to slow down? Do you over consume if you eat fast?


I&#39;ve got other things to do besides spend my day masticating.


I think this is why I can&#39;t enjoy haute couture dining. If I like the taste of something I know right away and am even more apt to woof it down. It makes me feel out of place in upscale places. Also, they tend to serve small portions and place emphasis on multiple courses which bugs me. I do on the other hand like tapas/small plates...go figure.


Sorry to get OT, but I see very little reason to unless you&#39;re concerned about the above to adjust your eating speed.