Re: Bit of a breakthrough: Focussed Meals

March 26, 2010

Hi Sohni: My husband was also a multitasker and couldn't eat without watching

tv, reading mail, etc., etc. Likewise he ate very quickly and often overate.

He really didn't need to work during his lunch hour and eat at his desk while

working, but he believed he did. After he decided he wanted to hear what his

coworkers thought about their current manager (whom everyone dislikes), he

started eating lunch with his coworkers. They actually eat in the company

cafeteria and talk during lunch, rather than work. I'm amazed at how much more

slowly he eats dinners at home now. He's also slowly losing weight, because he

actually eats less during the day at work.

However, I also worried about not getting everything done, if I just ate while I

ate, rather than processing mail, watching the news, talking on the phone and

even driving to and from galleries, when I ran my own business. I still watch

tv occasionally while I eat. However, I committed to eat one daily meal without

distractions until I could easily recognize my satisfaction/full signals and

stop eating when I felt those sensations. Now I can eat 'distracted meals' and

still sense fullness, after doing enough focussed meals to recognize my stomach

cues.

I'm not saying you're wrong to eat with distractions. Maybe you're more familiar

with your stomach cues than I was. So you don't need to practice eating focussed

meals until you can recognize and heed those 'stop eating' sensations.

Everybody's different. So we use whatever IE guidelines work best for us.

SUE

>

> I thought it was your post, but wasn't positive. Seems to be a good

> approach to me.

>

> To be honest, I can't remember the last time I was completely without

> distractions. My brain is always in overdrive because I've been

> multi-multitasking for years now. How I spend my time or think I

> deserve to spend my time is really a moot point at this stage. It is

> what it is. Hectic! This is what I've chosen for myself, so I deal

> with it. I know it won't last forever. If IE is going to be workable

> for everyone, there has to be some " give. " If I can't make it flexible

> enough to fit into my life the way it is now, it's not going to work, so

> I'm tweaking things as I go along.

>

> Sohni

>

March 27, 2010

Fortunately I don't eat fast. Most of my issue is with binges and less

with overeating at meals. I'm really trying to steer away from just

eating because I have to eat something or I'll be starving for

hours--I'm trying to stop and think, even if it's just for a minute,

about what seems good. I do usually get one uninterrupted meal a

day--it's the rest of the time that I need to deal with. I'm getting

better at feeling my signals when there's a lot going on, or I'm not

home, getting ready to run out the door, etc.

On another note, my sense of smell seems to be more discriminating

lately. I've been making a lot of meals for my family that just don't

smell good to me at all. Especially anything with meat in it. So I've

been eating what I want and they're getting what they like, which

smells stinky to me!

Sohni

sue wrote:

Hi Sohni: My husband was also a multitasker and couldn't eat

without watching tv, reading mail, etc., etc. Likewise he ate very

quickly and often overate. He really didn't need to work during his

lunch hour and eat at his desk while working, but he believed he did.

After he decided he wanted to hear what his coworkers thought about

their current manager (whom everyone dislikes), he started eating lunch

with his coworkers. They actually eat in the company cafeteria and talk

during lunch, rather than work. I'm amazed at how much more slowly he

eats dinners at home now. He's also slowly losing weight, because he

actually eats less during the day at work.

However, I also worried about not getting everything done, if I just

ate while I ate, rather than processing mail, watching the news,

talking on the phone and even driving to and from galleries, when I ran

my own business. I still watch tv occasionally while I eat. However, I

committed to eat one daily meal without distractions until I could

easily recognize my satisfaction/full signals and stop eating when

I felt those sensations. Now I can eat 'distracted meals' and still

sense fullness, after doing enough focussed meals to recognize my

stomach cues.

I'm not saying you're wrong to eat with distractions. Maybe you're more

familiar with your stomach cues than I was. So you don't need to

practice eating focussed meals until you can recognize and heed those

'stop eating' sensations. Everybody's different. So we use whatever IE

guidelines work best for us.

SUE

>

> I thought it was your post, but wasn't positive. Seems to be a

good

> approach to me.

>

> To be honest, I can't remember the last time I was completely

without

> distractions. My brain is always in overdrive because I've been

> multi-multitasking for years now. How I spend my time or think I

> deserve to spend my time is really a moot point at this stage. It

is

> what it is. Hectic! This is what I've chosen for myself, so I deal

> with it. I know it won't last forever. If IE is going to be

workable

> for everyone, there has to be some "give." If I can't make it

flexible

> enough to fit into my life the way it is now, it's not going to

work, so

> I'm tweaking things as I go along.

>

> Sohni

>

March 27, 2010