Rushing around is a common part of life, so when we have time to eat, we tend to eat very quickly. Unfortunately though, eating quickly is stressful and unhealthy.
By simply eating slower, you can strengthen your health, lose weight, reduce stress, and enjoy life more.
It’s pretty easy to put this idea into practice: take smaller bites and chew each bite several times. This way, your meal lasts longer and you have the opportunity to enjoy it more. Eating slower only takes a couple of minutes more than you’re currently spending, but the advantages can be huge. It improves both your health and your lifestyle.
Here are some reasons to give eating slowly serious consideration
1. Weight loss: Studies have shown that eating slower can lead to weight loss of up to 20 pounds in a year. The reason lies in your brain. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to realize that your stomach is full. Eating quickly allows you to blow right past that point.
* It’s a good idea to eat a reasonable amount of food, slowly, and then wait 20 minutes. If you’re not hungry, you can stop eating. Of course, if you’re still hungry, have a little more. Your weight will drop if you give your body a chance to tell you that it’s full.
* Taking more time with each meal will allow you to eat until you’re full, eat a lot of the things you love, and still lose weight. What could be better than that?
2. You can enjoy your food more. By eating slowly, you can savor your food. Even better, if you have foods you love that aren’t good for you, you can eat a small amount and get a lot of enjoyment out of it. That way, you can still enjoy those ‘bad’ foods and minimize the impact on your health.
* You can get all the enjoyment from your food while putting less of it into your stomach. You get the good without the bad!
3. Improved digestion. Do you know why your body cells are so small? It’s because smaller structures have a greater surface area to volume ratio. Chewing your food into smaller pieces accomplishes the same thing. Your digestive juices and enzymes can work faster and easier. Larger pieces of food are much more difficult to digest.
* Research has shown that scientists can dramatically improve the lifespan of animals by restricting their food intake. Part of the reason for this is that the digestive process is so stressful and produces a lot of damaging byproducts. Don’t tax your digestive system more than necessary.
4. Lower stress. Eating slower and focusing on your food is relaxing, and you can keep your mind on your meal instead of everything else that’s going on in your life. Meals should be a calm and relaxing time. Eat slowly, smile, and relax. Try it.
5. Bring more enjoyment into your lifestyle. Food is a pleasure, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable as it should be. The current lifestyle of rushing around, grabbing fast food, and eating quickly is not the most enjoyable way to live. Bring more pleasure into your life as a whole by turning your meals into a relaxing time to savor life itself.
Eating slower is not only good for your body, but it’s also good for your heart and soul, too.
Try eating slower for a week. When your week is up, you can go back to eating the other way – if you want to. Slow down and enjoy your food. You’ll be glad you did!