Eating Fast Causes Weight Gain
People who are fast eaters tend to be plumper than those who say they eat more slowly. In fact, fast eaters are up to 115% more likely to be obese than slower eaters. They also tend to gain weight over time, which can be partially linked to eating too fast. According to one study, those who reported being fast eaters put on more than twice the weight of their slow eating counterparts.
Eat Slow Eat Less
Your appetite and the amount of calories you take is controlled by your hormones. Hunger controlling hormone, ghrelin, releases anti-hunger hormones CCK, PYY, and GLP-1. These hormones send a message to the brain telling it that you’ve eaten and that nutrients are being absorbed. This results in reduced appetite and further makes you feel full. Since this process takes about 20 minutes, eating slowly gives your brain the time it needs to attend to these signals.
Eating quickly often leads to overeating, as your brain doesn’t have the time it needs to receive the fullness signals. Also, eating slowly reduces the amount of food consumed at a meal. This is partially due to an increase in the level of anti-hunger hormones when meals are taken slowly.
Eating Slowly Allows Thorough Chewing
In order to eat slowly, you actually need to chew your food properly before swallowing it. This can help you reduce calorie intake and therefore, lose weight. A small study discovered that calorie intake decreased and satiety hormone levels increased when the chewing was more thorough.
Eating Slowly Keeps Obesity at Bay
Obesity is normally associated with food-related patterns and behaviors. But the way you chew can also be one of the determiners that can cause obesity. The speed with which one eats has quite an effect. As per one study, people who ate a normal speed were 29% less likely to be obese than people who ate quickly. Interestingly, people who slowed their eating over the study period lost more weight over time, as measured by BMI and waist circumference.
Other Benefits of Eating Slowly
Not only weight loss but eating slowly has other benefits as well:
- Improves digestion
- Promotes healthy teeth
- Helps you absorb nutrients better
- Reduces stress
- Makes you feel calmer and poised
How to Eat Slow and Lose Weight
Avoid extreme hunger
You cannot eat slowly when you’re extremely hungry. To avoid that situation of extreme hunger in the first place, keep some healthy snacks handy.
Chew more
As we mentioned, count how many times you normally chew a bite of food, and then double that amount. You may be surprised at how little and fast you usually chew.
Set utensils down
Try savoring every bite! Putting down your fork between bites of food will help you eat more slowly and savor each bite.
Eat foods that need chewing
Include fibrous foods that require a lot of chewing, such as vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Fiber is also one of those foods that can also promote weight loss.
Drink water
Make sure you drink lots of water.
Use a timer
Set your timer for 20 minutes. Do you finish your food before the timer goes off? A slow pace throughout the meal is good for weight loss.
Turn off distractions
Try to avoid electronic screens while eating. If you watch TV during your meals, choose a 20-30 minute show and make your meal last the whole time.
Practice mindful eating
Mindful eating techniques can help you focus on what you’re eating and assume control of your cravings.
Be patient
Change takes time, and it actually takes about 60 days to become accustomed to new behavior and make it a habit. Eventually, eating slowly will start happening naturally.
Bottomline
Incorporate these ways to slow down a little while eating in order to manage your weight loss in an effective manner. To summarize, if you’re trying to lose weight, eating slowly and more carefully can help you eat less and lose weight. Recent research has proven that your brain takes time to realize that it is no longer hungry. When you consume your food at a faster pace, your brain may fail to register how much you’ve actually eaten and may cause you to end up eating too much. Therefore, do yourselves a favor and eat slowly. Munch more, crunch more, lose more!
