I'm watching the biggest loser and..

they say it takes 20 minutes for your body to tell your brain it is full.  I am curious, does anyone out there force themselves to to make their meal last 20 minutes?  (I usually eat very quickly.)

The CC blog had an interesting piece on 'How To Eat' this week.   And amongst other things it suggested that you set aside a particular place to eat (rather than eating at the same time as doing something else) and that you savour your food more slowly to give the 'full' signals chance to register.  Avoid the types of soft, 'instant' foods that you can just swallow down without much work

I've done that for years.  My kitchen table is where we eat and I like to take my time over it.  A glass of sparkling water acts as a foot-brake & I make sure the meal contains plenty of things like vegetables that need some chewing!  I also find that hot food takes longer to eat.... you have to give it chance to cool, of course.

If I'm in a hurry I'll eat faster, but it often takes me 20-30 minutes to sit down and really enjoy a meal, especially if I'm eating with others.

It's not about "forcing" myself, it's just about taking the time to appreciate the food I'm eating and enjoying how good it tastes.

I've heard that if you have trouble eating slowly you should try to eat without distractions, eat at the table with a knife and fork, focus on all five senses (sight, sound [when chewing], taste, smell, touch), put your fork down between bites, drink water between bites. And don't just eat anything, make an effort to eat food that actually tastes good, so that it's more enjoyable to slow down and savour it.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

If I'm in a hurry I'll eat faster, but it often takes me 20-30 minutes to sit down and really enjoy a meal, especially if I'm eating with others.

It's not about "forcing" myself, it's just about taking the time to appreciate the food I'm eating and enjoying how good it tastes.

I've heard that if you have trouble eating slowly you should try to eat without distractions, eat at the table with a knife and fork, focus on all five senses (sight, sound [when chewing], taste, smell, touch), put your fork down between bites, drink water between bites. And don't just eat anything, make an effort to eat food that actually tastes good, so that it's more enjoyable to slow down and savour it.

 I do this and it really works! It's true. Another 'tip' to try is to have a glass of water 10-15 mins before you eat. It'll kick-start the process and you'll feel full quicker.

I don't force it, it happens naturally. When I'm eating with other people I'm always the last one to finish even if it's them who are doing most of the talking. I usually take more greens which take a longer time to chew properly compared to softer cooked stuff. Chewing burns calories too so may as well do a lot of it xD

However, before when I didn't eat as much vegetables and I was distracted by a tv show or something the food would go down crazy fast o_O

I have always eaten relatively slowly, especially in social situations, since I am a talker!  But I still find one of the most helpful pieces of advice for me when I reduced my portions and was  trying to avoid reaching for seconds was to not put the next bite "on deck" while I was still chewing the last bite.  I don't always put my fork down, but I do try to consciously chew, taste, swallow before I get the next bite ready.  It really made a difference for me in giving me time to realize I was satisfied.

I don't force myself to draw out meals to 20 minutes, but I try to wait at least 20 minutes after eating a small meal and then eating one more portion of something if I am still hungry. I'll repeat this until I'm full. I end up eating a lot of one-portion mini-meals throughout the day, although they are mainly centered (time-wise) around traditional lunch and dinner times. I also snack a lot throughout the morning and at night. I don't know if it's ideal, but it works for me and has helped keep me from bingeing.

When i was in the early stages of recovery from anorexia and was slowly building calories in weekly (ie was being made to have 100 extra a week), I dealt with both the worry of binging and the concept of “savouring” food, by doing this very thing. I was mentally warped and obsessed with greed so slow eating justified to me that I was controlled. I took the 20 minute rule to an extreme, eating a 300 calorie bowl of food for my dinner over the period of two hours to three hours, taking a bite every 5, 10 or 15 minutes. As I gradually got onto a calorie intake substantial enough to gain weight, I would time all my meals, allocating different parts of food on the plate for different times (although often i would mix it all up and then quarter it so there would be a ¼ for each 15 minutes = with the goal to consume the meal in an hour, often over this.

These habits all derived from the mental illness of course, but sparked of by hearing a dietician of TV telling an overweight person that they should time themselves eat.

Very big and destructive mistake, even through weight restoration it was hard to kick these habits and tendencies.

I do not force myself to slow down when I am eating.  BUT, if you have done it, and I have, it works.  When you are eating and you do the sigh (everybody does when they have had enough) then you know you a close to being satisfied.  Works for me everytime.

I might be a bit weird but I always eat half of my food (no special technique) then rest for 10 minutes then return to the plate. I find when I do this I get to the point where I'm full faster and most time I can't even finish the last half of food I got there.

I used to finish meals in 5 minutes. I eat slow now. It was a conscious effort. A little hard at first. But one of the most important. I enjoy my food now. I am not as greedy as I was.  I had an sudden realization one day that my quick mindless eating was the biggest problem really.