Need one more reason to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n y-o-u-r e-a-t-i-n-g? According to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, eating fast reduces the release of hormones which help regulate appetite. Makes sense. Eating quickly is a learned behavior. The natural way to eat is to chew thoroughly and taste food so that your body can respond to what and how much you’re eating.
Eating quickly is nothing more than a bad habit. In fact,
compared to sitting with intense emotions and changing irrational beliefs about
food, eating, and weight, it’s, well, a piece of cake. What I’m saying is that
it is one of the easier behaviors to change. So what prevents you from slowing
down and eating at a more leisurely pace? The fact that most speed eating is
unconscious and automatic. You’re so used to gobbling up food and paying so
little attention to your actions, that you don’t even realize you’re doing it.
However, the payoff for slowing down is multi-fold. When you
de-celerate, your entire body relaxes, heightening sensory pleasure. Here are
several ways to help focus your attention on the speed at which you eat and become
more conscious of slow-motioning the whole activity. Before you start to eat,
notice your posture. Make sure you’re sitting up straight and that you’re not
hunched over, with your face hovering inches above your plate or the food.
Release body tension. Breathe deeply. Before digging in, visualize yourself
taking one small bite at a time, chewing slowly, savoring food, and resting
between bites. With conviction, declare that you will eat slowly. Say it
two more times.
As you eat, observe yourself. Chew your food a specific
number of times—10, 20, 30, whatever it takes to really grind it into mush.
Maneuver food onto your tongue and let it sit there. Notice taste and texture.
Don’t talk. Simply focus on sensation. After swallowing, observe your level of
satisfaction and fullness. Put down the food or utensils. Look up and around,
don’t hunch over and dig into the food. Breathe or sip water between bites. If
you’re tense, do a couple of neck rolls, think of something funny, or visualize
being somewhere peaceful. Ask yourself, Am I enjoying this food?
This process works best when you’re not engaged in other
activities, so I firmly recommend having at least one food interaction a day
doing nothing but eating. However, even when you’re eating with distractions,
make an effort to slow down. Anyone can learn to eat at a more leisurely pace
and, frankly, there’s no excuse not to do it. Once you teach yourself to eat
slower, you’ll wonder why you ever ate so fast.
Best,
Karen
http://www.nicegirlsfinishfat.com/
Normal Eating talks and media events
PLEASE NOTE: I encourage you to comment on my
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