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
- 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.
- 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.
- Put down the spoon, the fork, the knife while chewing. Only pick them up again after the previous mouthful has been swallowed.
- Chew slowly, bite into small pieces, and savour the juices – whether its paneer, meat or tiramisu.
- 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.