How long to eat your meal?

[catherinecherub]

Has anyone ever timed how long it takes them to eat their meals?

Was watching a bit of telly at a friend's house and there was a Dr. on explaining that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to know that you have eaten and are full and he recommends timing your meals to see what it takes for you personally especially if you are trying to lose weight.

Did this with my dinner last night and managed to take 17 minutes. It made me wonder how long it would have taken if I was not timing it and the awareness had probably made me slow down.

 

[theblokefromstoke]

Hi catherine,

My dinner is gone in 5 or 6 miutes I suppose. I think the wiring from my belly to my brain must be faulty or something as I don't think i'm ever full these days.

Since this diabetes thing came along in january my portions have halved and i do try to prolong the meal - i really do but there is only so long you can munch on a bit of cellary whilst sitting at the dining table watching the wife and kids eat fish and chips.

Its a nightmare int it. What I am doing now is eating small portions but at regular intervals (2 hours). This way, i tell myself that whilst i am still a bit peckish it won't be long until i can have something else to eat. This seems to be doing the trick as together with watching my carbs I have shed 4 stone in 5 months.

All the best

carl

 

[foxglove]

Well done you, for perservering, but don't you think you are being a bit too strict with yourself? That's a lot of weight in a short period of time! Don't want to undermine you're efforts though.

When it comes to my eating times I have noticed that I have slowed down a lot since I have been using Paul McKenna's cd help for slimming.Added to which it has the effect that I can enjoy my meal a lot more. It used to be - one minute it's there and the next it's gone - literally!

 

[Hobs]

I lost the 'full feeling' a few years back, but since I have been injecting Victoza this has returned and I feel a lot better for it. Before I simply ploughed on until the plate was empty no matter what size it was outside of home. It had got to the stage where my wife my controled my meal sizes to help control weight gain. Now with Victoza, I am able to eat to neeed and not fill up.

 

[daisy1]

I wolf my main course down in about 5 minutes flat. Then I pause, take a breath :shock: then finish my wine if I have any (only at lunch time). Then I always finish with a mmmm...Total greek joghurt usually 2% fat, if I can find it, with sweetner not sugar. I have cut my portions since I was diagnosed and have got used to the quantity so I don't feel hungry afterwards. (This is both lunch time and evening). I don't feel the need for a snack between meals and since I'm T2 on oral meds only don't think I need to have one.

 

[cugila]

I usually take half an hour for a full breakfast, around ten minutes for lunch and probably half to an hour for dinner. All depends on what it is and how much there is. I never rush meals and always try and make them a social event, dinner with a friend/s is so much better than eating alone. Slows the eating pace down and stimulates the brain at the same time......

Ken

 

[phoenix]

I think we now eat much more slow more relaxed manner, than when we were in the UK. Breakfast is quite fast, otherwise my porridge would get cold :wink: but we take at least half an hour for lunch and from start to coffee and choc an hour or more for dinner.
In my rural backwater of France (I think it's different in the North and the big cities) the 2 hour lunch break is sacrosanct, everything and everyone other than workers in cafes and restaurants stops and uses a good part of that 2 hours to eat. (actually the big supermarkets remain open but they have few customers and those often seem to be English)
On Sundays it often takes longer, if we have a local meal it might start at just gone midday and finish 3 or more hours later. (makes a nonsense of 2 hour testing!)
Even in a fast food restaurant the French take longer (a study found the Americans took just over 14 minutes at Macdonalds, the French almost 23minutes)
I'm positive that this approach to eating, a slow meal .usually in company , helps general health and well being and in spite of 3 course lunches very few of my neighbours are overweight. (portion sizes are smaller)
It is difficult when you haven't got company. Sometimes when I'm alone in summer I'll take my lunch and a book into the garden or even get on my bike and find a picnic spot.

 

[Synonym]

Hi Catherine

We usually take our time over a meal at whatever time of day and if it is with friends it takes even longer and is more enjoyable, especially with a glass of wine! However we have noticed that some of our friends can be considerably quicker and often are the ones who don’t usually sit at a table to eat so there may be some correlation there.

I can remember as a child being drilled about chewing by my grandparents who decreed that everything had to be chewed at least 32 times and “should be almost liquid so that your tummy didn’t grumble”. I expect they had good reason for what they said and being a good girl I always chewed well and have never had tummy problems! I think that it was all to do with the Banting diet that was very popular in their day. No-one was overweight either so perhaps the good doctor has a point!

A propos of nothing it just reminded me that my grandfather was into maths too and we had all the numbers drilled in to us with the number of teeth we each had and the number of chews that there would be etc etc! :shock: Many sums to do and it made my head hurt then and doesn’t do too much for it now either!! :lol:

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi Synonym,

I live alone but always sit at the dining table. You certainly have to pace yourself without company. It took me 23 minutes tonight so getting better. :lol: :lol: When the boys are home it can take up to 2hrs though. I like it when they are home because I am happy to cook but they have to do the washing up. A meal is a social event and company makes it much more enjoyable and when I dine out with friends we certainly take our time.

When I was a kid we were not allowed to talk at the meal table and we had to sit there until everyone had finished. We were also taught to chew everything well.

Catherine.