Studies show that taking 20-30 minutes to eat your meal may help you eat less. While this may happen some days by chance (because I'm chasing around my boys between bites), eating slowly is not a common occurrence in our world with 2 and 4 year old boys.
Parents, you know the drill, right?
When you get to a restaurant expecting to have nice, leisurely dinner with your family and from the first moment at the table you sense the unrest. The feet kicking against the base of the table, the clashing of the utensils on the floor, the grasping at anything in arm's reach. It's time's like those where I have to dig into my inner peace, calmly speak to my boy's about their behavior and SCARF DOWN MY MEAL ASAP while my husband pays the bill and brings the car around.
Experts say to put your fork down between bites to help you slow the amount of time it takes to finish your meal.
To engage your friends and family in conversations so as to lengthen the time it takes to finish your meal.
To chew each bite 32 times to effectively break down food and aid digestion.
Research shows that we end up consuming 10 percent fewer calories when we eat at a slow pace, chew each bite of food for longer and practice more mindful eating by lingering over our meals.
{Record scratch}. Riiiiiiiiight.
I a'int got time for that.
Let me tell you, I struggle just to keep my meals myself. To not have to share every other bite of my Sunday breakfast, my dinner that I've sat down to eat after everything in the house is finally done, or a sip of my G-D-WATER!
What's mine is my kids, and though, yes, I work to create boundaries (i.e. "Mom's Water Bottle"), when we're on a hike or at the beach and their water is gone and they are "so thirsty they may die", I share my water and then again the boundaries are blurred, the kids forget and it's like open season to chug my drinks again. There are some days, even, where I make my rounds to straighten up the house once everyone is in bed and I find 3, maybe 4, water bottles (all FULL) distributed around the house above kid-climbing level. I hide them even from myself.
What I'm saying is, not every rule is going to work for your lifestyle. And, I don't believe you should kill yourself trying to fit your crazy, ruckus life into a tidy little box of someone else's rules.
Making a nutritious breakfast from scratch with whole foods every morning may sound wonderful in theory but if you're lucky enough to walk out the door with your wallet and your keys and the papers you needed for that important meeting at work, that's probably not going to work for you. Maybe you need a hack, a work-around that works for you, like grabbing a Quest bar on the go with a piece of fruit and a large water bottle (no kid's hands allowed).
Maybe working out in the morning sounds like a great idea - and yes, working out on an empty stomach first thing in the am could be wonderful for fat loss - but you mentally berate yourself every time you inevitably miss your wake-up call. Perhaps setting a more realistic date with the gym during your lunch break at work is more ideal for you and because it's doable, you'll be consistent with this, even if it's not perfect.
By all means, listen to the studies, read the advice, educate yourself. But, above all else, know thyself. Be fair with your expectations for your health journey.
Parents, you know the drill, right?
When you get to a restaurant expecting to have nice, leisurely dinner with your family and from the first moment at the table you sense the unrest. The feet kicking against the base of the table, the clashing of the utensils on the floor, the grasping at anything in arm's reach. It's time's like those where I have to dig into my inner peace, calmly speak to my boy's about their behavior and SCARF DOWN MY MEAL ASAP while my husband pays the bill and brings the car around.
Experts say to put your fork down between bites to help you slow the amount of time it takes to finish your meal.
To engage your friends and family in conversations so as to lengthen the time it takes to finish your meal.
To chew each bite 32 times to effectively break down food and aid digestion.
Research shows that we end up consuming 10 percent fewer calories when we eat at a slow pace, chew each bite of food for longer and practice more mindful eating by lingering over our meals.
{Record scratch}. Riiiiiiiiight.
I a'int got time for that.
Let me tell you, I struggle just to keep my meals myself. To not have to share every other bite of my Sunday breakfast, my dinner that I've sat down to eat after everything in the house is finally done, or a sip of my G-D-WATER!
What's mine is my kids, and though, yes, I work to create boundaries (i.e. "Mom's Water Bottle"), when we're on a hike or at the beach and their water is gone and they are "so thirsty they may die", I share my water and then again the boundaries are blurred, the kids forget and it's like open season to chug my drinks again. There are some days, even, where I make my rounds to straighten up the house once everyone is in bed and I find 3, maybe 4, water bottles (all FULL) distributed around the house above kid-climbing level. I hide them even from myself.
What I'm saying is, not every rule is going to work for your lifestyle. And, I don't believe you should kill yourself trying to fit your crazy, ruckus life into a tidy little box of someone else's rules.
Making a nutritious breakfast from scratch with whole foods every morning may sound wonderful in theory but if you're lucky enough to walk out the door with your wallet and your keys and the papers you needed for that important meeting at work, that's probably not going to work for you. Maybe you need a hack, a work-around that works for you, like grabbing a Quest bar on the go with a piece of fruit and a large water bottle (no kid's hands allowed).
Maybe working out in the morning sounds like a great idea - and yes, working out on an empty stomach first thing in the am could be wonderful for fat loss - but you mentally berate yourself every time you inevitably miss your wake-up call. Perhaps setting a more realistic date with the gym during your lunch break at work is more ideal for you and because it's doable, you'll be consistent with this, even if it's not perfect.
By all means, listen to the studies, read the advice, educate yourself. But, above all else, know thyself. Be fair with your expectations for your health journey.
​Someday, I may chew each bite 32 times. But, my kids will be in college and I'll be missing them like crazy. So, for now, I'll toe the line between forgetting entirely about my meal and getting it in my belly as fast as I can so I can enjoy every single bite without sharing.
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