What To Do While Eating: An Evaluation

So the poll is up. And you guys are telling me this:

Watch TV : 70%
Read: 30%
Talk with others: 40%
Nothing: 10%
Work/Study: 30%
Other: 10%

The percentages are high because you could vote for more than one item.

So why did I even ask this question? Because what you do while eating influences your eating habits a lot more than you think. I shall go through each category.

Watching TV
In my opinion, watching TV is an American tradition it seems, but an unhealthy activity while eating food. I'm sure some of you have heard that you eat more when you watch TV while eating. This is partly true. What happens is we get distracted by the TV and end up increasing or portions either because we are not paying attention to the amount of food eaten or to our body's "I am full" sensations. This can be deadly. So how to fight this? Simply turn off the TV. If that is not an option (Gotta watch my Packers play), portion out your food and put away the food source. For example, if you are eating some chips, place a handful into a bowl, close the bag up, and put that bag away into the pantry. It's funny how simple it is to go get seconds but we won't do it because of our TV show or our own laziness (I'm guilty too).

Reading
This is not as bad as TV in my opinion, but it reminds me of when my mom wouldn't let dad read at the dining table. It's a good practice because once again it distracts you away from the food. My recommendation is the same as the TV, put away the newspaper/book/magazine for 15 minutes, then once the main bits of food are gone (just a drink left or some nibbles) you can go back to the reading.

Talk with others
My favorite option! Not only does this require to be social, something that should be present for most meals, but everyone is focused and having fun. I know what you're thinking; I don't need to be focused to eat food. This is true, but you don't want to be distracted, so on some level you should be focused. Remember that whatever anyone says, people eat differently. So if your friends give you a hard time for eating too little/too much/weird food/etc. just remember that no one knows their own body better than them self.

Nothing
A pretty good option. Why? Because you have realized that food is important and doesn't take more than 15-20 min to cook and eat, unless you're thinking fancy. Maybe next time you can ask that cute neighbor to join you for your homemade lasagna. If there's something I've learned about food, it is that both men and women love when the opposite sex cooks for them.

Work/Study
This is understandable. We got to get work done. My only request here is that you don't let work take full priority around food times. In other words, go ahead and work while eating, but take the time and stop working while cooking in order to make yourself something great. Careful, don't get stains on that report.

So there you have it. Common activities while eating explained. Next time you catch yourself distracted, take charge and give food some real personal time...awwwww yeah...