Mindlessly Eating Better

Last week I wrote about how diet culture impacts our relationship with food and sets us up for binging, deprivation and cycling weight. The focus of that article was making peace with food.

But for a lot of people with gradual and persistent weight gain, their relationship with food is OK (they aren’t feeling guilty or deprived), they just overeat without knowing it.

We are a society  of mindless eaters. Frequently in a rush, and distracted, we are often unaware of what and how much we are eating. Add that to holiday parties and it’s really no surprise that many people complain of weight gain this time of year.

Again, last week I wrote about becoming more aware of hunger, fullness and cravings. Not to make yourself wrong if you are eating when you aren’t hungry and not to deprive yourself of the foods that you love.  But to just become more aware and in tune with your hunger and fullness so that your relationship with food can be improved.

Now I want to give some pointers, some “speed bumps” so that when you are attending celebrations, eating in restaurants or sitting down for family dinner, you can create some space and awareness around eating. 

Before I jump into the tips and pointers, it’s worth noting that there were some researchers back in the 2000’s up until as late as 2015 who had what appeared to be good research on the subject of mindless eating.

I and others in the wellness field started paying closer attention to it.

Just a few years ago those same researchers from Cornell University had to retract the studies due to questionable methods in the research. So, I obviously stopped citing the research (although I am grateful to Brain Wansink for starting the conversation and popularizing  the term "mindless eating").

Nevertheless, I continued to make it a point to notice my own behaviors, and the behaviors of my coworkers, family and friends. Purely anecdotal. If you have shared a meal with me over the past few years, just know that I’ve had my eye on you.  

Create your own experiments. Watch what happens when  you leave a bowl of candy or a plate of cookies out at work. One that is easily within reach.

Notice by the end of the day how much you or your coworkers eat from it. Then watch what happens when you make it less convenient to eat.

In some departments the candy or snacks are across the room. Far less convenient to eat. People know it's there, it's just that they have to go out of their way to get it.

Sometimes the food sits there for so long it has to be thrown away. Not so if it’s out on the desk for people to grab every time they walk by. We are a culture of convenience. Let’s use that to our advantage. 

Same thing in your kitchen. When I’ve left a plate of cookies or a cake out on the island where everyone can see it, it gets eaten so much faster. When people are standing around the island, they pick at it, not even realizing that they are eating it.

I’ve eaten things I don’t even like because I was standing around a kitchen island chatting and just picking at food.

Put it away. Back in the cabinet. There’s no deprivation in that. You are free to eat it whenever you want.

You just won’t be so prone to mindlessly eat it. And you will create a “speed bump”. You will have a couple of minutes to check in with your hunger and decide what you want to eat. You can still eat it, you will just be more aware of what you are doing. 

When you are eating at the dinner table with your family, notice what happens when you eat “family style”. Notice how much more you keep eating just because it’s in front of  you.

By plating it in the kitchen, when you finish eating, you won’t mindlessly reach for what’s in front of you for an automatic second helping. You will have a little bit of time to think if you want more.

It gives you a minute to check in with your hunger and fullness. (To be clear, when I am entertaining I serve family style. I do not make my guests march into the kitchen and serve themselves. It's the typical weeknight meal that I keep the food on the stove. I'm a good host!)

At holiday parties when food gets put out, scout it out first. Decide what you want to actually eat before you start putting food on your plate. Doing this will just make you more aware of what you are wanting to eat.

Then, stay out of arms reach of the table. It cuts down on the picking of food and mindless eating as you get absorbed in a conversation. By having to walk across the room, it creates yet another speed bump so you can check in with your hunger and notice what it is that you really want to eat

With all of these strategies, there is no will power being used and there’s no deprivation. There is just the creation of some time to be more aware of hunger and cravings and really being clear about what you want to eat.

Even knowing all of this and having become someone who really has developed a good relationship with food, I’ve finished some parties with a stomach ache.

It was always when I stood around the counter or the table as the party was winding down and just kept snacking without even being aware of what I was doing.

It doesn’t happen often anymore as I've learned to either just move the food away or stand further away from the table.

Again, this isn’t depriving myself of what I want to eat. I eat what I want. It just cuts down on that mindless picking that adds up to the point of overeating and getting a stomach ache.

Set up your own experiments at work and at home. None of us are immune to this type of mindless eating but we can make some minor changes in our kitchens and at parties in order to become more aware.

Happy Holidays!!

Photo by Jill Sauve on Unsplash