When a concert pianist arrives on stage she doesn’t begin to play immediately. There is a short period during which she will sit quietly and think about what is to be done. She will need to be “inside” the performance with all her powers of concentration focussed on the task in hand. She will begin only when she is absolutely sure she is ready.
If you are to be successful at achieving your weight goals, you will need to make eating a conscious activity. This is a first for most people. So when you sit down to eat, don’t start eating immediately. Think about the task in hand; make a conscious pause before you start. Then slowly begin, put the knife and fork down between small mouthfuls and think about the next one. Do you want to eat more because you feel hungry or just because it is there?
By taking your time and making eating a conscious activity, you will learn to distinguish the important difference between eating until you are no longer hungry and eating until you are full. They are not the same. When we eat a meal without thinking we tend to go all the way; we eat until we feel absolutely full. In fact, if we had thought about it, we would have noticed a point where we were no longer hungry well before we were completely full. The trick is to recognise this point and stop eating. It takes practice but it can be done.
So remember the concert pianist and slow down.
Dr David Ashton
28th October 2010
