Losing Weight Step #3: Enjoy the Food I Eat
A very bad habit that I got into in college was to eat my food as fast as I could. I’d often eat things on the run or I’d try to get some food in during breaks. Work during college was the same way because we only usually had around 15 minutes to eat.
After college, the fast eating persisted. It became even faster after my son was born for having the time to eat became sort of a feast or famine scenario. My bet is that if I were to participate in an eating contest, I could leave the competition in the dust.
That’s not necessarily a good thing to be eating fast. I end up shoveling food into my mouth and not really enjoying the food that I eat. Plus, I remember reading somewhere that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal from your stomach that you are full. If I sit down and inhale my food, I can easily overeat even before I feel full.
I’m not alone with this problem. It seems as though the hustle and bustle of today’s society has made many people eat quickly. Sitting down for 20 minutes for a meal seems very difficult to do.
Since I’ve lived with the bad habit of eating food too quickly for quite a few years, it will be a difficult one to break. I think I will have to make myself chew my food ten times and take smaller bites.
Wow. Lots of changes need to be made. I am so glad I am keeping track of them! 
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
I agree with the previous commenter about drinking water. It does help.
I, too, developed a fast-eating habit in college. My metabolism was faster then too.
I saw a program once (Oprah or something similar) where a girl slowly ate food instead of gobbling down. She realized that one food she ate she didn’t even like that much!
Hey Ticia!
I had no idea that you were doing a weight loss blog too! YES! Now we can get rich AND skinny together. We rock!
NCN
Hi!
I heard another benefit of eating slower and enjoying your food (from Dr. Oz on Oprah!). He said that it takes about 1/2 hour for your brain to kick in the chemicals that tell you to stop eating and that you’re full, so if you eat fast, you’ll eat more, since you won’t feel full for a long time after you finish. So, eat slowly and wait for the 1/2 hour mark before deciding whether to eat more. Also, he said that soda increases the chemical that tells you you’re still hungry, so a soda with your meal makes you eat more, too. (I’m guilty of both of these “eating sins”, but I thought I’d share since it’s something I need to improve on, too!)
Hi! I just wanted to tell you that I think you have a fabulous goal in mind! I think you will be very successful in losing the weight you want to lose in a healthy way. 2 pounds per week is the safest amount of weight to lose (although the occasional 3 or 4 pound lose feels GREAT!).
Keep up the great hard work and determination.
You’re son is right though - you are wonderful!
PS - if you like tomato juice, I use it to curb mid meal cravings!
I have two tips for you:
1. My aunt swears by this, so I can’t say whether it works or not, but she drinks a full glass of water right before she sits down to eat. It slows her down, as well as giving her that “full” feeling a little sooner. Of course, she doesn’t drink anything during a meal.
2. When I really want to force myself to slow down, I use chopsticks. For most Americans, no matter how good you are with them, it wil probably take you longer to eat your meal with chopsticks than with a fork.