Can you learn to be a mindful eater?

Sounds like you are depressed when eating, hence the trance?

I think yes and no, because life gets in the way and its easy to have momentary lapses. I think the more you beat yourself up, the more you will grow frustrated with yourself. Maybe you should start with checking yourself every once in a while and just keep doing what your doing.
You could start with trying not to eat when you have a lot on your mind or you are very tired.

I don’t think it’s depression. I LOVE food and its almost like a drug. I wouldn’t be surprised if my eyes rolled in the back of my head. That’s an exaggeration but that’s kind of what it’s like then I look up and realize my food is all gone.

Eating is satisfying an urge to “fill” a void in your life.
You just happen to use food to “fill” that void.
Find out what you really need.

@Judi GQ

Yes, it is possible to learn to be a mindful eater. Put your utensil down between every single bite of food. Think about what you’re chewing. Count the number of times you chew.

Soon, you won’t have to do these chores. You’ll be able to eat contentedly, enjoying your food, and not simply consuming it.

This question is interesting to me because when I was younger I did not have that trance thing, but now I do. I often have tried to think about what changed. I think work was part of what destroyed my ability to be a very mindful eater. Lunch hour became a break from work. Time to space out and get away from the stress, or finally sit down. I also learned to eat past being full when I was in my late teens, before I could not do that. When I was young eating one bite past full meant I might throw up, and vomiting was my biggest dread in my entire life. Since I don’t have that signal anymore I can just eat and eat and eat mindlessly.

The things that have effectively made me more mindful again is not eating comfort foods very often. It truly is a sacrifice of pleasure. Also, being as happy as possible. Boredom, loneliness, and sadness get me eating. I think it is because of the habit of eating is a time to not focus on troubles. I also think the thought process of negotiating with oneself about what we are going to eat, no we shouldn’t eat it, we shouldn’t eat so much of it, I will be good the rest of the day to make up for it, and afterwards stewing about the fact that we ate too much. All that mess in our brain is a distraction from the things we want to avoid thinking about or doing, and in that way it is an addiction, and all sorts of chemicals in the brain are being released to work against us. So, I think being aware of why we are eating can help us control it.

Plus, when I eat a lot in one sitting I kind of space out from the sugar level I guess? I don’t have any sort of sugar problem, so I don’t mean I have some sort of above normal sugar level (well, not that I know off) but there is some sort of chemical being released in that way also. Sometimes I feel like I am getting full, but if I just push myself a little more, I pass some sort of point where I can keep eating and eating. If I had just stopped at the fullish feeling I would have been satiated.

I lack any personal experience with this trance thing. All the things that get me there are either illegal, difficult to get the doctor to prescribe for me, or cause a hangover. But trying to identify with the phenomenon, can you very deliberately separate out a small morsel of food, weigh it, look up the calorie count, consider what its health value is (what does it provide in vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, etc. Versus what are its downsides like trans fats, saturated fats, excess salt, yada yada.) Decide whether the 1 gram morsel is worth the risk. If yes, consume it, then repeat the process.

Now granted that’s way more mindful than you probably want to be over any sustained period but it should definitely get you into the mindset of being a mindful eater, and at some point that will be so second nature that no trance state can break the spell.

@ETpro, when I am vigilant mode (like right now since I have 10–15 to lose) my entire life revolves around being aware of what I’m eating and the calorie and nutritional value. It’s just when I want to relax a bit, have a meal with friends, I lose control. I might be ok for one or two struggling meals, but it always goes back to that mindless place. I can’t even have more than one days worth of fruit in my house.

@Judi I sympathize, even if I find it hard to relate to that. There are NSFW things I love to eat that put me in the sort of subspace you’re describing. That’s obviously a poor metaphor, but it’s the only way I can connect.

I had a hectic schedule today. I grabbed a cup of coffee in the morning, skipped breakfast and lunch, and made myself an incredible but modest sided salad for dinner. It had fresh red bell peppers, tomatoes, diced sweet onion, hand-torn iceberg lettuce (just a bit), walnut chunks, carrot chips, avocado, and some grated cheese with a dressing I made up of lime juice and zest, a bit of soy sauce, extra virgin olive oil and spices. Desert was a small raisin bran muffin. I love that sort of fare.

Can you manage pigging out on raw spinach salads? Uncooked spinach takes more calories to digest than it supplies. The more you eat (without gloppy store-bought dressings full of high-fructose corn syrup) the more weight you LOSE! What’s not to love about that?

That’s how I’ve kept from gaining all the weight back after 10 years. My diet is mostly vegetables and no fat dressings.
The worst trance is if I relax and let myself eat something like pasta, and yes, it’s almost orgasmic. I can’t stop until its gone.

The only thing that keeps me from getting fat is that I am constantly moving. I have 2 speeds, full speed ahead and dead stop. Could you get more exercise? Even if it is just walking around the house instead of sitting in one spot, it all counts. And don’t keep any treats in the house. I eat a lot less chocolate when I have to go to the store to get it!

Mindful eating is a concept I’ve been introduced to and reminded of many times, and I totally get the purpose and advantage of it; _I just can’t do it,” not for long anyway. I can catch myself taking a bite of something I like, but immediately start thinking about the next bite. I can will myself to slow down, but very quickly I’m back to rushing. I’m currently at a pretty good weight, though. I had a minor health scare last summer and went on a calorie-conscious diet combined with nightly walking. Each week I allow myself to have a “crazy day” in which I stuff myself with lots of bad stuff. I feel guilty about that all day, but by the next morning I’ve lost the guilt and resumed the calorie counting.

I’ll just add I am a very slow eater. Everyone talks about rushing, but my husband and I have a theory that I eat so slowly my stomach has time to start moving food out and make space for more food. This is why I think I hit that full point, but if I just wait a little bit, a couple minutes or so, I can keep eating.

relevant

You may be able to adjust your mindset. However there may be two or three issues in play that you would have to manage simultaneously.

First may be the issue of loving, therefore craving, the starchy, fatty foods like pastas and cream sauces. Try to give yourself permission to eat the appropriate portion at any meal, so that you give yourself a chance to practice self-control. Only make enough for one portion so that you can’t take more. At a restaurant ask for the to-go box immediately if the portions are too large, so that you can remove the excess from in front of you.

Second may be the issue of being wrapped up in the joy of being with friends and not-your-normal-diet foods. Try to eat like a princess-like socialite: take one bite, put the utensil down, participate in the conversation on your right, then to your left, take another bite and repeat.

Third may be going into social settings when desperately needing food-fuel to keep you going when you may want to get more sleep or you may be needing to hydrate. Try to raise your self-awareness for needing sleep or hydration or food.

The average person needs a minimum of 1500 calories a day to get through a 12–18 hour waking period. Most people with above average activity need 2000+ calories to get through their day. Are you actually getting enough calories, distributed correctly across the day, for your activity level? Are you actually getting enough sleep for yourself? Are you actually drinking enough water throughout the day to stay sufficiently hydrated?

Last, If food makes you feel orgasmic, you should want to keep it in your mouth for as long as possible to savor the flavors, the textures, the combinations, etc. If you don’t want it in your mouth, then orgasmic is probably not the description for what you are feeling. In which case, you might try to identify what parts of you jump to attention when you see great food in front of you.

Use magazine and internet pictures for this exercise. This should raise your awareness of what you are feeling when confronted with great food, without the actual food to fall into.

@rooeytoo, I absolutely don’t keep chocolate or junk food in the house. My natural state is closer to a sloth than a cheetah but that’s why I go to a personal trainer three days a week and yoga 4 days a week. I do know that weight control is 90 % diet and 10% exercise though. I’m very good at controlling my environment for the most part but I hate that I have to avoid social situations. It’s like I have no moderation switch. Once I start I am an eating machine.

TV off, focus on each forkful, chew slowly. That’s all I got.

@Judi Just a thought: Do you like to cook?

I used to but it’s dangerous for me. Portion controlled meals and vegetables for me mostly now. It’s how I’ve kept most of the weight off.

I was thinking I love to cook, low fat and low sodium, and I love to eat. I go for lots of flavor, and I savior each bite. I eat slowly that way. At family gatherings I’m usually the last to finish the meal. And I have to work at keeping the weight on. I don’t know if there’s a correlation there or if it’s just my metabolism.

If I cook I eat it all. I’m out of control and need to keep the chains on or this vicious animal attacks. I can’t even keep dry pasta in my house.

Have you ever eaten so much it hurts really bad?

Not since I was a kid on holidays. I’m more of a mindless grazer. Like a flippin’ cow.
I should add that I am very good at dieting. My avatar is from a photo shoot for a billboard for a diet program. I am not so good at every day living and maintaining my weight, although I have come a long way by keeping some control and not gaining all the weight back for 10 years.

That made me laugh. I went on a vacation and had a huge breakfast, a big lunch, and a big dinner.And then I went to my room and lay on the bed in serious pain for the next hour or two. That cured me of overeating at anyone meal. That hurt so bad I was just curled up in a ball. I haven’t done it since.

Maybe If I felt more pain it would be easier. My sister had her first child when she was 16. He was so huge he gave her a hiatal hernia. She can’t eat more than a little bit at a time and has always stayed thin. I, on the other hand have always had an iron stomach and love trying new foods. Darn it anyway!

Well how about this then: Most men prefer a woman with curves and those sticklike models do nothing for us.

@Adirondackwannabe lol, you always say the right words you silver tongued devil.

@KNOWITALL You made me blush lol. I try to make the world a little nicer. Thank you.

OMG my husband calls me a cow because of how I eat, and also that I am happy relaxing outside.

I wonder if you were 10 pounds heavier if you would have more control? That maybe your body is needing more calories so badly that when it can get quick calories, carbs, it tries to fill up. Probably it is just that you love the taste and whatever chemicals it releases in your brain. There have been all sorts of studies on that, how food is like heroin.

@JLeslie, no, the heavier I am (less disciplined) the more out of control my eating gets. If I’m not careful I know I could easially gain the whole 80 lbs back in less than a year.
I did read somewhere that being thinner is healthier up to age 80, then after that its healthier to be heavier. I just have to keep fighting for 28 more years!

@Judi – hehehe, thanks for that information, I only have about 11 years to go then!

Yes, but it’ll take practice.

Unfortunately, you’ve had much more practice not being mindful, so it’ll take lots of persistence to correct yourself whenever you observe yourself being unmindful again…and again…and again…