So, the whole eating slowly thing? Yea, it’s far more of a challenge than the fish oil habit.
The fish oil was easy — it was a completely new habit; I simply had to remember to take the stuff. But eating slowly forces me to modify habits that have been ingrained in me since about the beginning of time.
Growing up, I was the middle child with an older brother and (because I’m a middle child) I’m going to pin all the blame on him. See, he had that “hollow leg” syndrome that most teenage boys have — the ability to eat and eat and eat and never be full. Dinner became a race and if you weren’t fast enough you might not get your share. And I really (REALLY!) like to win (ahem!). So I spent my formative years honing my speed-eating skills. All his fault, yep it was.
This habit has been hard to break as an adult, but today I think I made some progress. I decided to start small. Chew my food and no putting another bite on the fork until my mouth was completely empty. I really had absolutely no idea that I consistently have a forkful of food queued up for my mouth long before I’ve even swallowed the current bite! Just shovel it in, Laura. So, this little bit of waiting slowed me down a good deal, and I noticed a difference with how full I was getting. Will wonders ever cease?
That’s what this program is all about, though — just getting a little bit better every day. There’s no need to take on the whole world and make everything perfect.
Now that’s something to chew on.