There are plenty of dieting 'rules' we've heard before, like drinking a glass of water before giving into a craving, using smaller plates to control our portions or brushing our teeth to avoid diving into a bag of Oreos. But, there's one rule that makes sense no matter what the situation and it's one my mother was on my case about for most of my childhood: Eat slow.
I didn't really listen to her back then (sorry, Mom), but I am now, especially after reading about a recent study showing that eating more slowly can help you control how many calories you're eating.
In the small study (there were only 17 adults included), participants were put into two groups: One told to eat a bowl of ice cream in 5 minutes and another group told to eat it in 30 minutes. The first question that comes to mind is: Who eats a bowl of ice cream in 30 minutes? The scientists didn't say what happens when the ice cream turns into a soupy mess, but let's set that aside for a moment to learn what the conclusion was: "Eating at a physiologically moderate pace leads to a more pronounced anorexigenic gut peptide response than eating very fast." In other words, the people who ate the ice cream in 30 minutes released more 'I-feel-full' hormones than the people who ate it more quickly. That means, people who eat more slowly may eat fewer calories than fast eaters.
I have to admit, I'm a fast eater and always have been, despite attempts to slow myself down, but this is just one more reason to work a little harder at it. What about you? Do you pay attention to how fast you eat and do you think it affects your weight? Leave a comment to tell us about your eating habits and how they contribute to how many calories you eat.
I’ve found that starting my meals with a salad (little dressing), forces me to chew and slow down.
Only recently have I tried to slow down my eating. I try to add as much conversation to a meal as I can to make it last. Unless of course I am eating alone, then conversation, especially in a crowded room, may draw some unwanted attention to me.
I find putting down the eating utensil with each bite really helps
I am getting into the habit of savoring my food, (we Americans have not learned the art of savoring, I’m afraid), so the advice you are giving and the research behind it makes sense. When you savor your food, you slow down to really enjoy and mindfully enjoy what you are eating. In my mind, this really would help you to feel more satisfied, by triggering that full feeling, by focusing on the tastes and textures and taking the time to fully enjoy what you are doing when you eat.
My wife. born in another country, is always appalled at how fast I eat. She has to remind me to chew, and enjoy my food; otherwise I forget. I realize that I’ve gotten so used to eating quick, probably because of our busy lifecycle, and 30 min lunch breaks. In her country, people close shop for 2 hours, in which time they can go home, cook and enjoy a meal. This makes me think this is part of the American “way of life”, always in a hurry, never stopping to enjoy something. Am I at least partially correct, or is this just another excuse for my poor eating habits?
#5 you are right on target. We do everything high speed/low drag. It may be good for the almighty dollar but it certainly isn’t good for — and even harms — our health. You need to listen to your wife!!
It’s all relative. If I enjoy each bite 2/3 as much when I eat fast, but I eat twice as many bites; I enjoy my food more.
Actually, I’m like Paige, I’ve tried to slow down but never have succeeded for longer than a meal or two.
When I was a kid, I got in trouble for not eating fast enough! I practiced until fast eating became a habit and now, 50 years later, no matter how hard I try to slow down I’m still usuallly the fastest eater at the table.
Ditto Mark! I’d always be the last one to finish their meal and my family would get frustrated to have to wait to have dessert. Now, I eat maybe even faster than them, because it was drilled into my head to finish as quickly as possible. But I also find that I slow down when eating with friends because we get caught up in the chatter, kind of like Paul had mentioned. so maybe meals should be focused more around social aspect rather than the food? Seems to work for me!
I am a fast eater, mainly because I sometimes do not have an opportunity to eat at regular intervals and by the time I do eat I am so hungry I gulp everything down. On the rare occassion when I do eat more slowly I do find that I feel full faster.
I look at it an entirely different way. When I fill my plate or my wife does it contains a certain amount of calories. If it takes me an hour to clean my plate or five minutes, the calories on the plate do not change. Am I missing something here?
The reason I eat fast is because the longer food sits on my plate, the less appetizing it gets. I like to eat, get it over with, and move on to whatever.
My husband is a very fast eater…I think he doessn’t chew his food at all. He is finished eating before I get to the table to eat. I eat at a normal pace, he thinks it is slowly. However I must say it is not affecting him at all and he is 95 years old and healthy and slim.
I am a fast eater, always have been. This doesn’t really effect me though because I have a really high metabolism due to my active lifestyle.
I tried to eat slowly – oh how I tried. I then realized that eating with smaller utensils seemed to do the trick. I first started eating my morning bowl of cereal with a teaspoon. It frustrated my wife at first. “Teaspoons are for stirring tea” she would say but she got used to it. Of course soups followed. I then started using desert forks where I could rather than normal-size utensils and I can assure all readers that the method definitely slows down the eating and enhances the flavor as long as you can put up with strange looks now and again. Have I lost weight? Not really but maybe it helps me put on less. Who knows? Only consolation is that the nice food tastes nice for longer.
I worked most of my life and found that I always had to hurry up during my lunch time and that is where the eating fast developed and continued to eat that way for dinner and snacking. I do have bad eating habits and do like my sweets. I am overweight but not an obese woman I have gained through out the years and back then I was a size 5. I am in my sixties and would love to have some constructive criticism. How do I develope a slower eating habit when I have done so all these years. I am open for comments from professionals. Will look forward to hearing from you and thank you.
gitchy
I agree with Sambo, eating with smaller utensils helps. I like to eat with chopsticks whenever possible, I’m not very adept with them so it does force me to eat slower and enjoy my food more. I think it also helps to not read or watch TV when you’re eating. I’m on a constant mission to eat slower although I tend to enjoy the flavor and textures of food so much that I don’t necessarily stop when I’m feeling full. Good thing to think about today hopefully I’ll be able to keep it in mind long enough to change my behavior!
My routine is to eat one bite, put down the fork, count to five seconds and pick up the fork again… I am losing weight without giving up the foods that I love…
Also if I am with someone, I try to have conversation in between my bites as well.
I follow the “prayer pose” method of eating. It’s not religious just a phrase I coined from a combination of yoga and slowing down the eating process. After each bite put the fork (or burger) down and fold your hands as if to say a prayer. Chew the last bite until the mouth is clear, then separate the hand and make your next move (fork, burger, drink, etc.). That will slow you down and reduce your food intake because your stomach has time to tell your brain it’s full.
I agree with Lee, What is the secret here.. coz to me it does not matter how long i take to wipe my plate ………………..the amount on the plate is the same whether 2 mins or a whole one hour. explain further please.
I suggest reading something (the newspaper works for me) while eating. It keeps your mind occupied on something rather than counting how many times you chew and gives you something to do while eating slower besides staring at the wall. If you eat your lunch alone, this method is great. If you eat with others, it’s pretty darn rude.
I think the premise of eating slower and chewing one’s food better is that it is more easily digested if it doesn’t enter the stomach in one giant clump. Much as sifted flour dissolves in broth more easily than big clumps do. I would think the body would absorb more nutrients throughout the digestive process if the food is broken down as best it can be too.
My husband was always a fast eater—until he had is massive stroke in 2000. Now he eats so much more slowly that it is painful for me to watch him. After 48 years of marriage, I certainly preferred him the other way. M
I am slow eater but all my family eats fast. When I was little I choked on my food and my used to help me out.