Drop down, you eat too fast!!

Do you know that chewing food properly does help us losing weight? Yes you read it right. Eating slowly does help you lose weight as you chew your food properly you consume nearly 100 fewer calories per meal! So this is how learning to enjoy your food more can help you shed pounds and achieve overall health.

Studies show that people who eat quickly tend to be heavier and gain more weight over time, compared to slower eaters. So eat slowly keeping all your senses alive.

How it works?

Your craving and calorie intake is basically controlled by hormones. Normally after eating, your stomach suppresses a hormone called ghrelin, which controls hunger. It also releases the anti-hunger hormones cholecystokinin (CCK), peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). These hormones convey a message to the brain, letting it know that you are full and help you stop eating. Excitingly, this process takes about 20 minutes, so slowing down gives your brain the time it needs to receive these signals. Thus eating slowly can also reduce calorie intake and help you feel fuller.

Eating too quickly often leads to overeating, as your brain doesn’t have the time it needs to receive the fullness signals. So in order to eat slowly, you actually need to chew your food several times before swallowing it. Remember we had got that lesson since childhood to chew our food 32 times. Yes we really need to practice that religiously. With practice, eating slowly will become easier and more habitual.

Chewing your food thoroughly and slowing down also has other benefits like:

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• Help you absorb nutrients better.
• Improve digestion.
• Promote healthy teeth.
• Make you feel calmer and more in control.
• Reduce stress
  
  
  

  How to slow down and lose weight?

  Here’s some advice to help you get started with eating more slowly:
  • Don’t make yourself starve for long: It’s difficult to eat slowly when you’re really hungry. So to prevent extreme hunger, keep some healthy snacks on hand.
  • Take more bites: Count how many times you normally chew a bite of food, and then double that amount. You may be surprised at how little you usually chew.
  • Put that fork down: Putting down your fork between bites of food will help you eat more slowly and relish each bite.
  • Check your tummy’s time: Eat only when you are feeling hungry and not because your clock tells you. Pay attention to your tummy’s signal too.
  • Eat foods that need munching: Include fibrous foods that require a lot of chewing, such as vegetables, fruits and nuts. Fiber intake also promotes weight loss.
  • Drink water: Make sure to take sips of water with meals or drink water after 40 minutes of meal. It aids in digestion of food.
  • Use a timer: Set your timer for 20 minutes, and do your best not to finish before the buzzer goes off. Target for a slow, constant speed throughout the meal.
  • Turn off distractions: Try to avoid electronic screens while eating. If you must watch TV, choose a 20–30 minute show and make your meal last the whole time.
  • Take deep breaths: If you begin to eat too quickly, take some deep breaths. This will help you refocus and get back on track.
  • Be calm and patient: Change takes time, and it actually takes about 21 days for a new behavior to become a habit. At the end of the day, eating slowly will happen naturally.
  
  
  So when it comes to meals, slow down, eat like a baby and enjoy every bite!

   

  References:

  • http://www.rd.com
  • www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  • authoritynutrition.com

 

Eat this. Not that!!

Have you tried making extreme changes to your eating habits and found yourself failing over and over again?? The truth is making drastic changes and expecting results is very difficult and will give you short term results. So by changing just a few eating habits you can make a big difference to your diet. It is the healthiest and most achievable way to lose weight and stay healthy.

Instead of granola eat oats

Instead of having granola for breakfast, opt for oatmeal. ½ cup granola contains 300calories and it’s high in oil, sugar and fats. Instead eat oats which gives just 144 cals for ½ cup.

Lose soda

Swap cola, soft drinks and diet sodas for water or fresh fruit juice without added sugar.

Swap sodas for sparkling glass of water. You will still get the fizz of can of soda without chemicals, colorings, artificial sweeteners that can lead to weight gain. Drink at least 2L of water daily.

Snack smartly

1 packet (30g) of chips contains 170cals. They are high in saturated fats and salt. Instead go for air popped popcorn which can be easily made at home. You can munch on it guilt free as 1cup contains just 31cals and is filled with lot of antioxidants and fiber.

Swap creamy soup for homemade broth soup

1cup of creamy mushroom soup contains about 220cals and 17g of fat. So swap it for homemade vegetable or chicken broth which will be 18cals and 85cals respectively.

Go for fish

Red meat is rich in protein and iron but is high in saturated fat.  Eating too much red meat can cause high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases. Limit red meat to once a week and swap it for fish. Fish is rich source of protein and omega-3- fatty acids and quite low in calories and also saturated fats.

Swap a coffee for black coffee or green tea

Latte made with whole milk consists of 200 cals which is nearly 10% of your total calorie recommendation. Swap it with black coffee or make "skinny" coffee with semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. You can also go for green tea as a better option. 

Instead of milk chocolate go for dark chocolate

Beat your sugar cravings with good quality dark chocolate containing at least 70% cocoa. Dark chocolate has several health benefits and contain a relatively small amount of sugar.

Eat tandoori chicken

Fried chicken is covered with sodium-filled soy sauce and is deep fried while tandoori chicken is cooked with just drizzle of oil. Thus you will save lot of calories by swapping fried chicken for tandoori or grilled chicken.

Instead of cooking with butter, choose extra virgin olive oil

Both contain fats, but all fats are not made equally. Butter is a rich source of saturated fat leading to artery-clogging while extra-virgin olive oil has healthy unsaturated fats.

Substitute yogurt for mayo

Mayonnaise is commonly used in dips and as toppings, however, it is has 10g fat and 94cals per tbsp. Substituting yogurt (1tbsp=14cals) significantly reduces calories and increases protein while providing great flavor.

Almond butter instead of peanut butter

Most commercial peanut butter contains added sugars and oils. An organic almond butter can give the creamy texture you crave without the excess sugar and fat.

Swap sugar for stevia

Sugar is one of the top causes of obesity all around the globe. 1tsp of sugar contains 15cals and no nutrients. Swap it for stevia which is a natural sweetener and contains no calories. It’s a great sweet alternative for those with diabetes. 

All these food swaps can reduce huge calorie intake and these small changes will give big results. Start practicing it in your daily life and you will notice the difference to your body and also how you feel. What are the food swaps you have tried? Let me know in the comments below.

All the best! Keep it healthy!

References:

1.      www.nhs.uk

2.      www.bbcgoodfood.com

3.      www.dailymail.co.uk

4.      www.health.com

5.      www.rd.com