In this session and for your action steps tomorrow we are going to practise slow eating.

Never eaten slowly? Prefer to poke your eye out with a hot poker? I get you.

The first step is to gamify this.

Game #1 - Deep Breaths Before The First 5 Mouthfuls

Ok, so not really a game. But there is no pressure here. Just see if this makes it easier. 

Try either of the breaths described on this page

Game #2 - Beat The Clock Backwards

Start by estimating how long it takes you to eat a specific meal or snack eg a bowl of muesli when eating at normal (breakneck?!?) speed. Say you estimate 5 minutes. 

Your aim is to see if you can extend this by 3 minutes, total 8.

The game element is that you have to guess how long 8 minutes is.

So set your timer, then hide it.

When you have finished, check the time.

If you are worried that you are eating too fast, then peek at the time and get up and walk around the room for a minute or two if need be.

This game is really popular with my clients because there is no standard to meet, only time to guess.

Game #3 - The 1 Minute Mouthful

Set the timer and put a mouthful of food in your mouth. Chew as slowly as possible. With your eyes on the clock, wait a minute until you take your next mouthful.

This is marmite ie people love it or hate it! 

You can turn it into BTCB above by hiding the timer and guessing a minute.

I invented this game, and really did not like it for ages. But I kept coming back to it and now I love it because it is simple and has slowed me down better than any other game. 

Game #3 - Ross Face

Watch this clip from Friends

Imagine Ross had been eating a mouthful of food when Rachel dropped her bombshell. He may well have stopped chewing for a good few seconds.

This game is to pretend you have just had some surprising news while eating and stop chewing altogether. How long can you go? 10 seconds? 20? My son managed a minute once but that is a bit long!

Action Steps

If slow eating is new to you:

Try out all of these games, and come back to the next session with your thoughts and feedback. Optionally you can also access the slow eating 2.0 page below.