Mindless munching

 I don’t know about you, but when I’m busy I can go most of the day without eating. Something happens when I stop and sit down. After dinner with my family, the evenings are really a danger time for me.

Once the busy-ness of the day is over and distractions are removed, I sit down and breathe out. Armed with a glass of wine and some snacks- I love nuts or lentil chips - I start nibbling without noticing and before I know it the packet is empty.

Is it boredom? It is greed? I don’t seem to have a food brake whatever it is! I know I was brought up with the finish the plate mentality but is that really the reason I can’t resist polishing off the crisps that are left in the bowl?

This mindless munching differs from a grazer. A grazer is someone who nibbles consciously throughout the day (which I can also do if I am not occupied!) Eating is accompanied by feeling guilty or seeking justification (“I’m hormonal/tired”, etc.)
But there is conscious awareness that you are eating.

Grazing is intentional. Taking small bites frequently seems harmless, but can lead to consuming more calories than I intend. The mindless munching though is more like gluttony - overeating past the point of fullness ‘just because’ it is there. This often leads to feelings of guilt and shame, especially when I gather up the empty packets.

I think the key to losing that ‘sod it, I might as well finish the packet mentality’ is to tune in to what is going on right in that moment. Is it tiredness, frustration or boredom? And can eating be for enjoyment rather than as a guilty pleasure. Making food the focus rather than eating being something that you do on the side.

Sitting down at the table to eat helps with this and last week to the amazement of my kids, we had a sofa supper. We laid out small dishes on the coffee tables and made an occasion of eating mindfully enjoying our treats! And we didn’t ‘finish the plate’.

Behaviour only shifts when we can be aware of what is happening right in the moment.