Nutritionists from Behavioral Nutrition often hear from clients that eating can sometimes feel like a chore. It can take on the same household weight as washing laundry, or cleaning the kitchen, with people hardly paying attention and simply just trying to get through it.
The team of nutritionists and dietitians at Behavioral Nutrition warn that if you choose to eat your meals without considering your environment, the satisfaction of eating can be greatly diminished.
Behavioral Nutrition dietitians point out that you can create a much more pleasant eating environment simply by considering issues such as these:
- Time to enjoy eating. You may be eating rapidly or trying to squeeze a meal in a five-minute slot between jobs or chores. Are you giving yourself enough time to appreciate and enjoy your food?
- Distracted eating. If you are standing up while eating, watching tv or scrolling through your social media, you are missing the opportunity to sit, relax, and look at your food on the plate, and take in its appreciative qualities. It is unlikely that you can focus on your meal if you are engaging in activities.
- People. Eating with someone can often enhance your enjoyable experience, but it can sometimes distract you from your food. If you’re comparing what you’re eating with someone else’s meal, or if you’re engaged in an uncomfortable conversation, it’s possible that you won’t notice whether the food is actually to your liking or whether you’re beginning to reach your last bite threshold.
- Clutter. If your eating area is cluttered, the mess can distract you, and you will not have a peaceful, satisfying eating experience.
- Setting. If you eat in an unattractive or messy setting, you’re not honoring the experience of eating and not receiving the ultimate satisfaction that eating can offer.
- Noise. If you listen to loud music, construction nearby or if your coworkers are talking loudly, you will not have a pleasant eating experience.
- Stressful emotions. Try to be relaxed during dinner, if your emotions are intense, it can be difficult to feel calm enough to enjoy your meal.
The team at Behavioral Nutrition recommends that simply by following these easy steps, and reducing as many distractions as you can, while increasing the pleasantness of your eating environment, your chances of achieving satisfaction in your meals will increase. If you need a little help putting a plan into action, the nutritionists at Behavioral Nutrition can help.
