I am a slow eater. I have always known this, but it came to the forefront during a recent trip to an annual Zen mindfulness retreat. During this retreat, we have a very specific protocol for meals. Everyone comes in, gets their food, and then stands by their table until everyone else has gotten their food. At that point, everyone is allowed to begin to eat. At the end of the meal, we all have to wait until everyone is finished before we can leave the kitchen to begin our break. Believe me, everyone wants to get out of there as quickly as possible, as meditating from 6 AM until 9 PM every day is hard work, and breaks are precious. There’s a certain amount of unspoken social pressure to get done as quickly as possible. I’ve been attending this retreat for the past 15 years, and for many years, I was the one holding people up, preventing them from leaving for their break, due to my slow eating. My new strategy over the past few years has been to simply take less food. This generally seems to work out: I’m not usually the last person to finish. But, why is it that people who take twice as much food are still finished eating before I am? I know the easy answer is that they are eating faster, but how and why are they eating faster? I made some discrete observations this year (sorry to those of you who were sitting with me!), and I think I at least have an answer to the question of how (maybe we’ll tackle “why” in another blog). When I eat, I put a portion of food in my mouth chew it until I’m done, swallow, and then put another portion in my mouth. I thought this was how everyone ate, but apparently it is not. I noticed that the quick eaters put food in their mouth, and as they are chewing, they put more food in their mouth. It’s almost like a conveyor belt of food that keeps going until everything on the plate has vanished. They must have some kind of system of chewing and swallowing and getting that food down their esophagi as quickly as possible. When I have tried that particular technique, I feel uncomfortable, almost like I’m force-feeding myself. Now, I’m not judging quick eaters. I think they have an unusual talent that we slow eaters seem to lack. That said, there has been an increased emphasis in cognitive behavioural treatments for eating disorders on mindful eating. Mindful eating is a component of many such treatments. Researchers don’t know yet whether it is an extremely important or critical component, but many clients struggling with binge eating often report eating on automatic pilot with little awareness of how much they are consuming. Mindful eating involves slowing the process down, paying mindful attention to the sight, smell and taste of the food, and taking time to really experience eating. Even if you are not using mindful eating to combat an eating disorder, eating mindfully can still be worth a try. My personal belief is that eating is one of the great pleasures in life. Slowing down and mindfully experiencing every minute of it can enrich the experience. Since we all have to eat several times a day, why not make eating the best experience possible? As I have observed, one way to do this is to slow down the conveyor belt. Take a portion of food, experience it fully, chew it, swallow it, and then move onto the next portion. This simple strategy can be an excellent first step in mindful eating. Try it out. Time for lunch. ~ Alexander L. Chapman, Ph.D., R.Psych.