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Eat Slowly and Lose Weight

Here is the 94th in our series of 100 Weight Loss Tips articles. Each new article brings you a brand new top tip on how to successfully lose weight.

So the last tip was all about the importance of including dietary fiber in your daily diet and this one looks at the actual volume of food that you are inclined to eat.

Let's face it, we were conditioned to eat as kids and most of us were made to sit there until we'd cleaned the plate, or we were threatened that if we didn't eat up all our meat and vegetables we wouldn't get any pudding! One of these little gems that I was conditioned with was "eat it while its hot" which translated into shovel that food down your throat before it gets cold!

Well, eating that way is not a good way to eat, despite what you were told!

Eat Slowly and Lose Weight!

You have to remember that your fork is not a builder's shovel and your stomach is not a trash can! Your diet program is there to help you improve your health.

There are no prizes for finishing your meal first. In fact the booby prize for shoveling your food down at an alarming rate to beat everyone else at the table is a faster growing waistline than everyone else!

I know plenty of people do eat far too quickly, even if they're not hungry. They have gotten into the habit of throwing everything into their mouths as quickly as possible and then swallowing the half-chewed food in order to make room for the next shovel load!

When you eat like this, your brain doesn't know that your stomach is full up until twenty minutes or so after it actually is. When this happens, it is possible to stuff yourself silly before the realization hits you that you didn't need to eat as much as you just did.

What's the solution to this problem?

A New Trick!

This is a mind game and it's one you will have to teach yourself by repetition. You have to be quite strict with yourself and start by only eating half of the food that's on your plate. Then wait ten minutes. Then you can continue to eat but only if you're still hungry.

The trick with this way of eating is that you should never want to feel full up - ever.

When you feel full after eating, then it's a sure indicator that you've eaten too much at that sitting. That means you probably just busted the bank with regards to your calorie count for the day and unless you have a rigorous weight loss exercise session planned for later, you are likely going to gain weight today!

Counter that by forcing yourself to slow down when you eat. To do that, play a game in your mind. Start by putting less food onto your fork to start with, then put the food in your mouth and start chewing slowly and deliberately.

Put Down the Fork!

Put the fork down and place both your hands either on your lap or flat on the table. Spend a little time chewing that mouthful of food and as you do, imagine the flavors you can taste in it.

Maybe there was a certain herb that was used in the cooking that stands out and you can identify it. Or maybe its an ingredient of the food itself. Try identifying what it is as you chew and don't allow yourself to swallow until you have figured out exactly what that taste is.

If that's too tough, then an alternative is to count slowly up to 20 while you chew each mouthful of food before allowing yourself to swallow it. Always, and I mean always put your knife and fork down between each mouthful. That'll help you to avoid the temptation to have the fork loaded with the next mouthful ready to cram in your mouth the second you have swallowed.

What does all this slowing down of eating do to help you lose weight?

Give Your Digestion a Chance

Plenty. It allows your digestive juices (saliva) to pre-digest the food in your mouth, making it easier for your stomach and intestines to finish the job and get the maximum amount of nutrients from your food.

It also ensures that your brain is informed that your stomach is full as it actually happens rather than sometime later, preventing you from over-stuffing it with more than it needs. This means you'll consume fewer calories, while improving you metabolic rate, which is the rate at which your digestive system converts the food you eat into energy and nutrients for your body to use.

That means it will store less as fat, meaning a slimmer waistline. Which is exactly what you want!

Here's one of the really cool weight loss tips that help to curb hunger. Try taking an Omega 3 and Omega 6 supplement (EFAs) and drink a glass of water around twenty minutes before your meal.

This will suppress your appetite and you'll be much less inclined to want to eat much. So you can give yourself a much smaller serving and feel satisfied with that. Hey presto! You probably just consumed half the calories you were going to and that means you get to lose some weight!

Is that not cool?

Weight loss tips number 93 will follow in the next post!

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Posted on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 in Top 100 Weight Loss Tips | 2 Comments

2 thoughts on "Eat Slowly and Lose Weight"

John says:

Its true even if you need to lose weight fast, you should eat slow! Sounds contradictory but it works!

Ami says:

Nice one. Eating slow and healthy helps in weight loss. very interesting post.