Here’s something I’m passionate about:
The amount of food that you have in front of you, at any given moment, is not necessarily the quantity of food that you should actually eat.
The sandwich that you bought at the local deli?
The “single serving” bag of potato chips that you got with your sandwich?
The cookie that you picked up from the break room?
The plate of food that your mom serves you at family dinner?
It is a random amount of food, set by the deli or Frito-Lay or the bakery or your mom. It does not, and cannot, be the exact correct amount for you at this exact moment in time.
As a result, there is a very high likelihood that it will be either too little or too much. It might be more food than you’re actually hungry for, or not enough. It might be more of a certain kind of food than makes you feel good (e.g., too much cookie), or not enough.
I find that many people are comfortable seeking out an extra bite or two, or a second portion. But very few of us are comfortable leaving food. We feel awkward if there are three bites of sandwich or two and a half bites of cookie left.
And then, every couple of months, we feel that we “eat too much” and should probably give up sugar or processed carbohydrates entirely, or restrict our portions in some way. (This is yet another version of ping ponging between “worrying about it” and “not worrying about it”)
I’d like to propose an alternative: The Art of Precise Eating.
In the Art of Precise Eating, you eat precisely the amount that is right for you at any given meal. Sometimes that means 100% of a sandwich. But just as often, it means 76% of a sandwich, or 65% or 92% or 113%.
The Art of Precise Eating means that you are able to explore why the thought of leaving a meal with four bites of food left makes you so freaking uncomfortable.
Is it because you’re afraid you’ll never get food this delicious again?
Is it because meals are your “breaks” of fun parts of your day, and you want to prolong it as long as possible?
Is it because you have a history of dieting and being hungry all the time, so you want to fill up while you can?
If is because you feel guilty “wasting” food?
There’s a good chance there are several reasons.
Some of us think that when we’re eating at home, the amount of food on our plates will be “precisely” the right amount. After all, we served ourselves!
And yet, we’re not the same person, 75% of the way through our meal, that we were at the beginning. Our bellies may have filled us up faster or slower than we anticipated. The food we’re eating may be more or less satisfying than we expected.
I’m not trying to propose that you exhaust yourself, analyzing your hunger and satisfaction in minute detail at every single second. But many of us, most of the time, go on autopilot once there is food in front of us.
Even a very slight, gentle increase in awareness would do a lot of good.
…
This morning, I realized 80% of the way through the breakfast that I’d expected to eat that I was done. I was full, and faster than I’d expected when I’d prepared my food.
There was still some bites of beautiful raisin toast and aged gruyere cheese and fresh grapefruit on the table. I knew those foods were delicious and that I would enjoy eating them.
But I also know that eating for purely recreational purposes (e.g., if I’m not hungry) doesn’t usually serve me, and that I could always save these foods and have them later. I knew that there would be plenty of other delicious foods for me to eat today. So I pouted for a brief second, and then put them away in the fridge and moved on with my day.
I’ll ask the same for you: could you try The Art of Precise Eating for one meal today? What happens?
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