How to Get More Out of Eating Less

Out of all the tools in our Nutrition Coaching arsenal, there is one that has literally helped every client that has come to us. Not because it’s the biggest overhaul or that it even really changes what they eat, but simply because it changes their intent at meals and the way they interact with the foods they love. The great and powerful Taylor has already written about The Simplest Way To Eat Better, the drill that I’m going to teach you today will help you to take that to the next level and truly get the most out of mindful eating.

You see, most of us simply look at good nutrition as eating only “good foods” and avoiding “bad foods”. The problem is, most of us love these so-called, “bad foods" and even if we’d be physically healthier without them, the toll that their complete restriction takes on our mental and emotional health usually outweighs the physical benefits. 

That’s important to keep in mind. 

Especially since research tells us again and again that allowing ourselves to still be able to indulge every once in a while actually has better health and weightloss outcomes anyway. 

The goal then when improving our nutrition, isn’t to completely avoid those foods that we love (a life without nutella is not one that I want to live), but to mindfully moderate them so that they’re still present without negatively impacting us. The drill that I’m going to give you today is going to not only help teach you that moderation, but it will also train you to get more enjoyment from each bite. 

Once you do this drill purposefully a few times, you’ll find yourself automatically doing it when you go to indulge on something you enjoy. Imagine being able to have an oreo WITHOUT taking out the full sleeve and yet somehow, enjoying it even more! 

Here’s how to do the drill:

1) Start By Picking A Food That You Enjoy, That Is Also Bite-Sized

For this to work best, you’ll want something that is easily broken down into less-than-bite-sized units. The smaller that you can divvy it up, the more effective this drill will be. After all, you’re training yourself to get the most out of each bite, and that’s not saying much if one bite entails an entire Reeses Cup.

It should help to represent a flavor or sensation (crunchy/crispy) that you find yourself constantly craving. Some ideas are:

SWEETS

• Skittles

• M&Ms

• Gummy Bears

• Dark Chocolate morsels

• Raisins (don’t give me that look, they’re sweet, they just suck in cookies)

SALTY/CRISPY

• Potato Chips

• Goldfish

• Pretzels

• Popcorn

• Wasabi Peas

You may notice that I list them in order of more to less processed. There’s a reason for that we will cover later. 

2) Clear Yourself of Distractions

In order to do this right, you can’t have anything to distract you. Again, we’re trying to MAXIMIZE our experience. If we attempt this while watching cat videos on our phones, the cat videos will win out for attention every time. They’re just too damn cute. 

Make sure you have 5-10 minutes to just experience this food. I usually recommend doing this during our normal snack time or when we are experiencing a strong craving. 

3) Pre-portion A Set Amount of The Food to Enjoy 

Poor out about 10 pieces or so of the food onto a napkin or plate. The actual amount is up to you. The important thing is you’ve preset it and have a visual of how many there are. You don’t have to limit yourself to this if you want more at the end, but it really helps for us to see how much we have left laid out. You may find over time that you need less and less to scratch the itch, showing objectively that you’re mindful eating practice is improving.

4) Eat One At A Time, Savoring It As Much As Possible

Have you ever drank wine with someone who’s super into it? Like they do the whole sniffing, swishing and seemingly inappropriate mouth noises with it? I’m not saying we want to get that weird with our potato chips, but we do want to have a similar intent. 

Really try to savor and experience it. Maybe even resist chewing it, letting it melt and cover your entire tongue. Pay attention to it. Get the most out of the flavor and texture. Then let yourself have another and start again. 

5) Stop When You’re Ready

A really interesting part of this is that you may notice that you lose interest in the food before you finish what you’ve set out. Or you may finish them, but realize you really don’t desire any more. Or maybe you do still want a bit more and so you pour out a few more onto the plate. 

Either way, it’s important that you recognize when you’ve had enough and can move on with your day. This helps to build the habit of us listening to our own body for a stopping point, especially when we’re just eating for enjoyment and to stop cravings, rather than just stopping when we finish the bag. 

What You May Notice

This is the cool part. I’ve had countless clients do this drill, only to realize that they don’t really like the food as much as they once thought. Those potato chips that they used to crave, they now realize are just bland and require a lot to give them any flavor. Or some things may taste artificial. 

Actually, I think if more people did this drill, the world would finally realize that Twizzlers taste like plastic… I mean have you ever seen someone with full attention and consciousness eat a Twizzler? Like the only way you end up with that in your box in the movies is if you aren’t paying attention... Anyway…

There are other times, they realize just how much they love it. And eating it in this way actually helps them to get so much more out of it. For these clients, eating slow and savoring becomes quickly habitual when they eat their favorite foods because it enhances their experience. 

Long Term Impact

Over time, while using this trick, a few things happen:

Like I said above, it quickly becomes our go-to for when we indulge and we become much better at satisfying cravings with less. We grow more aware of what we actually enjoy instead of what we thought we liked, which are usually things that we may have mindlessly eaten in the past…cough, Twizzlers, cough...

Our palates also become more sensitive and our choices become more aligned. Eventually, we may even find that we get similar enjoyment out of healthier foods. 

Yes, it’s possible to get similar enjoyment out of slightly better options. It happens all the time with our clients: 

Early on, I’ll have them make a list of foods that could satisfy a particular craving, then rank them on their “craveability”, similar to the lists above. When the client first learns this drill, we’ll start at the top of the list. Over time, they’ll explore it on their own and see what works for them. Many find that situations where they once thought Ben & Jerrys was a necessity, find now that a simple piece of savored dark chocolate does just fine. If it doesn’t, well, we have a pretty damn good strategy to mindfuly enjoy a bit of ice cream.  

This is again why we give this drill out like it’s candy… Or maybe, I should say raisins? 

Give it a try for yourself and if you know of someone that is trying to make healthy changes, but struggling, consider sending this article to them as well. 

Then you both can confirm to me that eating a Twizzler is like chewing on medical tubing… And pick up better mindful eating practices in the process. 

If you feel you need more help in eating and training for your goals, you can click below to schedule an exploratory call.