Tweaks for 2019 – Eat Slower

I eat very fast. I start preparing my food after R has started eating. 5 mins later I’ll start eating. I will have finished my food, rinsed my dishes, and often finished the dessert before she finishes eating. Yes she’s a slow eater. But it only highlights how fast I eat.

If we are watching a serial on the TV, I finish food before the starting credits are over. If we are watching a football match, Ole Gunnar’s Man United are still shaking the opponents hands before the whistle by the time I finish eating. They’ve scored 2 goals by the time R finishes eating.

Eating fast had its advantages growing up in a big joint family. It meant being able to go for a second serving quicker – before the favourite dishes got over. It also meant being able to finish food quickly to get away from prickly adults and back to fun/play/book/isolation. An ability to eat fast also meant that when forced to eat dishes I didn’t like, I could quickly swallow them after chewing just twice.

I want to eat slow.
To enjoy the food more – keep the food longer in my mouth so I can feel the taste longer, taste more of the juices.
To eat and digest better – chew the food longer, into smaller bits so it digests better.
And so that I eat less – ensure more of the food has reached the belly, and registered with the brain before I finish the first serving. Fewer, smaller second servings will be the result, hopefully.

Expected difficulty

Hard.

Tips & tactics

1. Don’t watch TV, and put down the phone while eating. This is to ensure that more of mental focus is on eating, and not on another distraction.
2. Don’t break a new bite (Indian chappati or dosa), or cut a new bite (say pizza, steak, etc) while the previous one is still in the mouth.
3. Put down the spoon, the fork, the knife while chewing. Only pick them up again after the previous mouthful has been swallowed.
4. Chew slowly, bite into small pieces, and savour the juices – whether its paneer, meat or tiramisu.
5. Don’t chew into the chocolate. Let it take its time to melt in the mouth. Most relevant for Lindor, Dairy Milk and the Belgian/Swiss assortments.

Memorable phrase

Eat like the French, not like the Americans