How to know if you eat like a zombie

Do you eat like a zombie?

No, I'm not asking if you like braaainz!

I'm wondering if you eat mindlessly. At this stage you're possibly about to close this page and read something else, but stay with me for a minute and all will become clear.

To give you an idea of what I mean, I should give you an example. I'd like you to think about the last time you went to the cinema in plenty of time for the show. You collected your tickets, got the popcorn and drinks, and found your seat. Once you're settled you'll start to munch on the popcorn. You'll notice if it's too salty, or too soggy(I'm sure there's a special place in hell for

anyone who serves stale popcorn!). Anyway, my point is that you notice the flavours and texture; you're paying attention to how it tastes. Then the lights go down, the movie comes on and hopefully it grabs your attention. If you're anything like most of us, the next time the popcorn gets your attention is when there are no decent sized bits  left, and your hand is burrowing through all the bitty little crap that's left in the bottom, in a vain attempt to find something that isn't just a half-popped kernel. You might find yourself wondering where it all went, there'll possibly even be a twinge of sadness as you put it to one side and return your full attention to the movie.

What does popcorn have to do with zombies? Mindless eating! While your attention is on the film, your brain is filtering out all the irrelevant information. In this example that's the flavour and texture of the popcorn. If you're eating dinner in front of the telly, then you're barely noticing the food. When your awareness isn't on the meal, the meal won't be satisfying. This results in larger portions being consumed, and still the feeling of satiety isn't always achieved, unless the stomach is filled to capacity. Even then, there's the felling that dinner isn't complete. If this sounds familiar, make a point of turning off the telly while you're eating. Your poor strained stomach will thank you. 

If you've been eating to bursting as a matter of habit for quite a while, your system will be trained to associate this feeling of being stuffed to discomfort with being 'satisfied' and eating a smaller amount of food won't trigger this association; it can take a couple of weeks to undo this association, so give it a bit of time, but don't return to the goggle box for meals. This also applies to facebook, your iPad or even a good book. When you're eating, just be eating. Nothing else. Because when you're doing those things, you aren't multi tasking. You're disconnecting the brain from the body, and if you're trying to manage your weight, you're only making life harder for yourself. 

Also, there's an emotional component to eating, and if you're wrapped up in a story then you are at some level, experiencing an emotional attachment to what's going on in that story. Certain emotions will cause craving for specific foods, most noticeably foods that elicit a rapid rise in blood sugar, as this ties into a release of serotonin (happy chemical) in the brain. This rise in blood sugar will trigger the release of insulin, which shunts the extra glucose in the blood into energy storage (fat). As this happens you serotonin levels drop as well. This is all tied in to the brains reward circuitry. Being aware of this makes it easier to tackle problem behaviours in your day to day lifestyle, which is why I insist my clients keep a detailed food journal for 7 days straight before we make any changes. It's not about judging people (No one is perfect!), it's about finding patterns and habits which no longer serve you, so we know what to tackle first to get the best results in the shortest number  of sessions.