Be a Slow Eater to Lose Weight

Want to lose weight the easy and enjoyable way? Then eat slowly.

Some of you may know that it takes about twenty minutes before we feel full when having a meal. So as not to overeat and becoming fatter, we should eat in a slower speed.

This is because when we sit down to a meal, the food we eat is being broken down by our digestive system. The digestion work begins immediately, but will only signal to our brain that the stomach is full about twenty minutes later.

That means that if you are a fast eater and usually finish your meal before twenty minutes, your brain will not know that you are full and so you tend to eat more.

This is even more pronounced when you are at a buffet because since you do not feel that you already have eaten enough, you may help yourself to second helpings or more. So if you are controlling your weight, then you are heading for trouble.

A University of Rhode Island's research on eating speed has reported that you can really lose weight if you have a slow eating habit. During the research, the researchers found that fast eaters ate about 650 calories while the slower eater subjects ate only 580 calories per meal.

At first glance, that is not much of a difference since there are only about 70 calories difference in a meal between the two types of research subjects. Now, it will be a very different picture if we look at it following way.

Let us assume that the test subjects are eating three meals per day, the slow eaters will therefore have eaten 210 calories less than the fast eaters every day. Now if you are to extrapolate those numbers into months and even years, that number explodes exponentially, doesn't it?

At the same time, the researchers also noted that the faster eaters tend to drink less water than the slower eaters. They noticed that that the fasted eaters drink an average of 290g of water while slower eaters drink up to 410g!

So what has drinking more or less water has got to do with losing weight? Simple, the more you drink, the fuller you will feel and so you may not be tempted snack in between meals and between meals snacks are usually junk food that just add calories to your body.

So here are some tips to eating slower and losing weight.

Chew longer - By chewing your food more thoroughly and longer, you will be eating slower. Furthermore, it lessens the load on your digestive system. So make it a point to take your time when eating your meals.
Have an eating companion - When you have a companion, you will usually chit chat between bites and this will slow down your eating speed.

Watch the portion - Put only 75% of what you usually eat on your plate and you will be eating less 25% of calories at every meal. If you are still hungry after you have finished your food, then go and drink more water to fill up your stomach.

Relax and enjoy your food - After you put the food into your mouth, put your utensils down on the table, sit back and relax as you are chewing your food. Go into a day dream mode. Think about something that you are happy about. Visualize yourself when you are in the body weight you desire as if you already have it. This will motivate you further.

There is no reason for you to rush through your meals unless you have something urgent to do. So why not enjoy your meal by eating slowly and lose your excess weight in the process?

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