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