Re: Slow Food Tenets Facilitate Intuitive Eating

[Guest guest]

Hi Jeanne: Per your request, I'll repeat here what I posted on the LHIE board

and more from my blog post about Slow Food Tenets and how those helped me:

I found some helpful suggestions in a chapter from " Can Diets Be Harmful? " That

chapter came from a Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter entitled

" Entering a 'Slow Food' State of Mind: Resolutions for Better Eating in the New

Year " (January 2003).

The letter begins by briefly describing the 'slow food' movement, which believes

that " by snacking less frequently and by preparing one's own meals, individuals

will (1) eat less, (2) eat healthier, less processed, foods and (3) enjoy eating

more. " Then the article explains why unfocused eating (while doing something

else) can cause overeating:

" Along with a lack of attention, a lack of enjoyment from quick eating gets

people consuming more than they should ... Part of what people seek in a meal is

good taste, pleasure, and relaxation. If those elements are missing, eating

continues even after hunger is sated in search for the more

intangiblesatisfaction food is meant to bestow. "

That observation helped me realize why even when I focus on the food and my

stomach sensations when I eat standing at the kitchen counter, I don't feel

satisfied as easily as when I sit at a table and eat: Standing deprives me of

'relaxation' while I eat! DUUUHHH!!

The best part of the chapter is the 'Slow Food Tenets', which are actually slow

food guidelines written by the authors of the Tufts letter, but in keeping with

the tenets of the slow food movement. Here's what they suggest:

(1) DON'T EAT UNLESS YOU'RE SITTING AT A TABLE. (You won't feel as satisfied if

you eat out of a container standing at the kitchen counter!)

(2) PREPARE MORE OF YOUR OWN MEALS. (Increase the number of meals you currently

prepare at home. Use time you would normally spend watching tv or online to

prepare food for meals perhaps while you watch tv!)

(3) DON'T EAT WHEN YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY. (When people eat when not hungry, they

don't have a clear 'no longer hungry' stopping point, eat more than necessary,

feel guilty and eat even more. Although people assume they will just eat less

later, a series of elegant French studies showed that snacking unaccompanied by

hunger did not reduce the number of calories later consumed when hungry.)

(4) SAVOR WHAT YOU'RE EATING. (When you eat quickly without focus, you miss the

food's flavor. What we consider taste is really smell. Taste only includes

sweet, salty, sour, bitter. However, slow chewing releases foods' odors to the

nose, which can detect subtle flavors.)

(5) DON'T EAT WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE. (Eating food just because it's easily

available or on your plate wastes calories AND satisfaction.)

(6) FOLLOW THE SAME PRINCIPLES IN RESTAURANTS THAT YOU WOULD AT HOME. (Expect

relaxed atmosphere, great service and granting special requests, like take out

boxes from every restaurant you visit.)

(7) PARTICIPATE IN MODERATELY VIGOROUS PHYSICAL EXERCISE EVERY DAY. (Exercise

improves appetite control and facilitates digestion.)

I almost always use tenets (2), (6) and (7). I prepare almost all of my own

meals, to avoid food allergens. I expect great service and relaxed atmosphere

from restaurants, also because I need allergy free preparation of my food. I

exercise every day, which improves my sometimes challenged digestive system and

also helps me sleep soundly.

HOWEVER, I finally understand why I don't feel satisfied when I eat standing up.

I don't like 'snacking' between meals, because I prefer to save my appetite for

a relaxed, sit down meal. I've gone back and forth between eat only sit down

meals and eat snacks between meals so that I eat less at the meals. I thought I

could stop sooner (than uncomfortably full), if I knew I could snack between

meals whenever I felt hungry. Instead I allowed myself to snack standing up when

I'm not hungry and continue to eat after the meal standing at the kitchen

counter, because I didn't feel satisfied by the meal. No I'm back to eating only

at meals and no longer feel overly full after those meals.

I really savor breakfast, because I insist on eating that meal alone every day

without distractions. I usually eat lunch without distractions, but I don't

often savor every bite at lunch. When I eat that meal with my husband, I'm lucky

if I can even chew each bite before I swallow to answer his question or comment

on his comment. LOL When we watch a netflix DVD during dinner, I can savor each

bite, because I don't talk. However, I often continue to eat past 'no longer

hungry', because I don't want to get up to put food away. However, I know I

don't enjoy the food when I feel full. When I eat past 'just enough', I can only

taste very strong flavors like sweet or salty. I can't really identify subtle

flavors at the point. I also leave the table very uncomfortable, when I eat past

'just enough'. So I also want to focus on SAVORING food, rather than just

eating.

The 'slow food tenets' helped me understand why I prefer meals to snacks and how

to enjoy those meals so much that I don't want food before I sit down and after

I leave the table. SAVORING is the key to eating 'just enough' and leaving the

table satisfied.

SUE

>

> Hi Sue,

>  

> I did see your post regarding the slow food tenets on the IEHL board and

apologize for not commenting sooner.  I found that post very helpful and think

maybe you should post on the IE board as well.  

>  

> Jeanne

[Guest guest]

Hi Jeanne: That's great news! I'm glad to hear that the slow food tenets have

helped you.

Since I've eaten many solo meals at a table, focussing on the tastes and

textures of food, I noticed that I can more easily focus on the food and my

fullness level when I eat (and talk) with my husband at a table. I suspect more

'dining' and less stand up eating helped me learned to eat more slowly and enjoy

food more, as well as stop when I feel comfortably full more often.

SUE

>

> Hi,

>  

> Yesterday the husband and I decided to eat dinner in the dining room

instead of eating in front of the TV like we usually do.  Although it felt a

little strange, think we both enjoyed the change.  It was such a pleasurable,

relaxed experience!  And set a positive tone for the rest of the evening.

>  

> Thanks for sharing these helpful tips, Sue!

>  

> Jeanne

>  

>  

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jeanne: That's great news! I'm glad to hear that the slow food tenets have

helped you.

Since I've eaten many solo meals at a table, focussing on the tastes and

textures of food, I noticed that I can more easily focus on the food and my

fullness level when I eat (and talk) with my husband at a table. I suspect more

'dining' and less stand up eating helped me learned to eat more slowly and enjoy

food more, as well as stop when I feel comfortably full more often.

SUE

>

> Hi,

>  

> Yesterday the husband and I decided to eat dinner in the dining room

instead of eating in front of the TV like we usually do.  Although it felt a

little strange, think we both enjoyed the change.  It was such a pleasurable,

relaxed experience!  And set a positive tone for the rest of the evening.

>  

> Thanks for sharing these helpful tips, Sue!

>  

> Jeanne

>  

>  

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jeanne: That's great news! I'm glad to hear that the slow food tenets have

helped you.

Since I've eaten many solo meals at a table, focussing on the tastes and

textures of food, I noticed that I can more easily focus on the food and my

fullness level when I eat (and talk) with my husband at a table. I suspect more

'dining' and less stand up eating helped me learned to eat more slowly and enjoy

food more, as well as stop when I feel comfortably full more often.

SUE

>

> Hi,

>  

> Yesterday the husband and I decided to eat dinner in the dining room

instead of eating in front of the TV like we usually do.  Although it felt a

little strange, think we both enjoyed the change.  It was such a pleasurable,

relaxed experience!  And set a positive tone for the rest of the evening.

>  

> Thanks for sharing these helpful tips, Sue!

>  

> Jeanne

>  

>  

>