Where’s My Baked Potato? Eating without Distraction!

We live in a world where it’s all about staying connected….not to each other, but to our electronics. If we leave the house and forget our cell phone at home, we fall into panic mode. “Oh my gosh, what if my friend tries to call me?” Or, “What if that email I am expecting comes in when I am out?”

What if?

The phone message and email will be there for you when you return.

I was recently shopping with my daughters. While we were waiting on the very long line to pay, I noticed that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, was looking down and scrolling on their phones. I pointed this out to my daughters, who by the way, were on their phones too! Now, I will admit that I am prone to doing the same thing. But, I am trying really HARD to disconnect from my phone when I am out.

We decided to put our phones away and just do a bit of “people watching”. Come on, I know you like to do that tooJ.

Anyway, we noticed that even when there were two or more people in line together, they were not talking to each other. And, if they did speak a word or two to each other, they did not even lift up their head to look into the eyes of the person talking. Actually, the person talking didn’t lift her head up either.

This need to be connected to our electronics isn’t just when we are shopping. Unfortunately you see this when people are driving (NOT safe people!) and even when dining out. The next time you go out to a restaurant, take notice if the people dining together are actually speaking to one another, or looking on their phones. Or if someone is dining alone, they are likely reading the newspaper, checking email, or updating Facebook.

I ask my clients to eat and just eat, without any distractions. This means no T.V., newspaper, book, email or texting. This is probably one of the hardest things for my clients to do. Actually, when I first suggest this, they resist. They tell me it will be boring. They even try to tell me that they eat slower when they read or watch T.V.

Well, your meal might drag on longer, but you are not focused on your food, not aware of what you are eating, will not have the utmost pleasure in your meal and will find that even if you are satisfied physically, you will not be satisfied psychologically after you finish your meal. And then you are looking for food later on in the evening.

Let me share a story with you.

When I was newly married and had my first baby, I returned to graduate school in the evenings to complete my education. I ate an early dinner before the babysitter came and then I was off to school. One night while I was eating dinner, I was watching T.V. When the show was over, I turned to my plate and my baked potato was gone! I looked on the floor, it was not there. I know the baby didn’t eat it, he was sound asleep in his crib (and not even eating solid food yet!). I realized that I must have eaten it and didn’t even realize it because I was tuned into the T.V. I SO wanted another potato! I promised myself at that moment that not only will I never eat and watch T.V. again, but I will be tell this story to my clients in my future practice as I teach them to eat without distraction.

I have been telling this story for 28 years.

Don’t let your potato escape your plate without notice. Make an effort to put away your electronics during mealtime, and eat and just eat! Let me know how it goes in the comments below.