This is an article I found on Everyday Health that is well worth sharing, even if you aren't trying to lose weight. I've often heard that you should 'drink' your food and this explains what is meant by that saying.
“Olympic speed eaters will usually eat until they feel full,”
says Gee, who isn’t talking about culinary athletes, but rather, with humor,
the average Joe and Jane who shovel in their food every night.
“It takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes for the signal of
[fullness] to reach the brain,” explains Gee. “This is where portion control goes
out the window.”
In other words, it takes some time for your stomach to talk to
your brain, and speed eaters are taking in too much too fast before the message
can be received. Eating more slowly could give that all-important message the
time to register before you undermine your best calorie-counting intentions
with an extra scoop of mac ’n’ cheese.
Your basic goal: “Try not to be the first person finished at the
table,” advises Gee.
Your Eating Speed: Chew Slowly for Comfort
and Control
Your eating habits and your digestion begin with good chewing
habits. “Chewing your food is the first step in digestion, and skipping this
step makes it harder for proper digestion,” says Gee.
Taking time to chew not only slows your eating speed, but can
also help you feel better after a meal. “Many of my patients tell me how
surprised they are that they have less heartburn as a result of chewing more
and slowing down. They do not use antacids anymore.”
Also, chewing slowly allows you to better enjoy your food, a
tasty benefit for people who are trying to appreciate the value of smaller
portions.
Your Eating Speed: Fast, Slow, or
Moderate?
Dinner isn’t a speed race, but you might wonder where your
eating speed rates in comparison to friends and family. There are no standard
measures of eating speed, and how fast or slow you eat depends a lot on what
the food is, your utensils, and how much there is of it. But you know you are a
slow eater if you are the last one still eating at the table. On the other
hand, says Gee, “Fast eaters are the first ones finished, usually in five to
six minutes.” You want to clock yourself somewhere in between, with the
moderate eaters.
Your Eating Speed: Enjoying What You Eat
Another benefit to chewing slowly: Food tastes better.
"We see higher [taste] ratings at the slower rate,"
says dietitian Kathleen Melanson, RD, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition and
food at the University of Rhode Island. Melanson and colleagues tested the
relationship between the rate of eating and factors such as how many
calories are consumed and participants’ reported levels of satisfaction.
Volunteers ate certain types of meals, first slowly and then, later, fast. The
study found that, calorie for calorie, you will experience greater palatability
at the slower rate, explains Melanson.
She has also demonstrated that people who slowly eat low-calorie
foods eat nearly half as many calories as those who quickly eat high-calorie
foods. "Conventionally, slow eating has been presented as just taking more
time to eat,” Melanson says, but her research shows that what really matters is
how many calories you eat per minute.
Your Eating Speed: Tips for Slowing Down
Melanson's method combines slow eating with being aware of the
taste of food and when you feel full. She recommends:
Take small bites.
Chew each bite 15 to
20 times.
Savor the food as you
chew.
Swallow before taking
the next bite.
Pause between bites
and take a sip of a no-calorie beverage, if you like.
Between bites, be
aware of how your hunger is being sated.
For people who have
limited time to eat lunch at school or
work, Melanson suggests you eat the main part of your meal
slowly and keep additional food items, such as an apple, to be eaten later when
you have time.
Gee recommends setting your fork or spoon down between bites. “I
assign chopsticks to really difficult cases,” she adds.
By trying these methods, you may steal a little time from other
activities, but you’ll also lose more weight — and that’s a good
trade-off.
