When you’re wanting to improve your nutrition, one of the fundamental skills you’ll want to develop is how to eat slowly.
In the fast-paced world we live in, far too many people are eating like they’re in a pack of vultures racing to get their fair share of a limited food supply.
If you have internet access to read this blog post, it’s far more likely that you have 24 / 7 access to an endless food supply.
Food and beverage companies in the United States spend more than $14 billion annually on marketing in an attempt to get you to consume more.
Spoiler alert…it’s working.
Drive thrus, to-go-orders, and food delivery services all cater to our lack of time spent preparing food and our desire to eat it now.
This post will outline the benefits of eating slowly, the physical sypmtoms this habit can improve and our top 3 exercises (which are surprisingly challenging) to help you improve this critical skill.
Benefits of Eating Slowly
Improves Digestion
You may think digestion begins in the stomach. Maybe you believe digestion starts in your mouth.
The process of digestion begins in our brains.
The sight of food, the smell of food and simply thinking about eating all can begin to stimulate the process of digestion in the body.
There are two branches of our autonomic nervous system – the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
The sympathetic nervous system is commonly known as our fight or flight response.
You probably didn’t know that when the sympathetic nervous system is engaged, this shuts down the process of digestion.
The parasympathetic nervous system is also referred to as our “rest and digest” system.
This branch of the nervous system not only helps our body repair itself, but it triggers the involuntary processes within the body necessary for quality digestion.
Consume Less Calories
Studies have shown that when you eating faster results in eating more calories.
Even when people don’t overeat, eating while standing and eating on the go result in consuming more food.
Conversely, when you take your time and eat slowly, these same studies have shown that you will likely consume less calories.
Improves Satisfaction
When you eat slowly and savor your food, not surprisingly your satisfaction improves.
The reduced speed of consumption allows your senses to have more time to experience the meal.
By developing the skill of eating slowly, you may also find that this results in smaller portions.
What Does Eating Slowly Mean For You
It’s hard to improve something by feel so let’s take a moment and define eating slowly.
We know that it takes our body (specifically our stomach) approximately 20 minutes to completely register a feeling of fullness and send that signal back to our brain.
Therefore, a basic guideline for eating slowly would be to make a meal last longer than 20 minutes.
Set a timer when you sit down for your next meal and you may be surpised just how quickly you finish.
When you’re improving any skill, it’s important to know your starting point.
After you practice the 3 exercises below, come back to the exact same meal you initially timed and see how well you’ve slowed your rate of consumption.
3 Exercises To Help Learn How To Eat Slowly
The following three exercises may be performed individually.
However, we’ve found that stacking these practices sequentially leads to the best results for maintaining the habit of eating slowly.
For those times when you find yourself battling cravings and on the verge of binge eating, the following exercises will be useful.
Put Your Utensil Down Between Bites
For an entire week, put down your fork, spoon or shovel after every single bite of food.
This habit isn’t as helpful with pizza or chicken wings.
If you’re eating pizza with a knife and fork, just know that everyone watching will assume your’re the first generation with opposable thumbs and showing off.
For those of us who have developed the bad habit of reloading your untensil while chewing, this exercise can be difficult.
Don’t make the mistake of only doing this exercise for a single meal.
While you may get see the benefit, it’s unlikely you’ll adopt this as a habit and will resume eating like you’ve returned from Survivor.
Chew Your Food 32 Times
Chewing your food thoroughly can significantly help reduce bloating.
The more you chew your food, the more the enzymes in your mouth can break down your food.
In the case of some foods like broccoli, more extensive chewing allows for a chemical reaction that unlocks some of the greatest nutrient benefits.
So in order to quantify what chewing properly IS exactly, somebody had to come up with a number.
Years ago, I was given this assignemnt as chew your food 32 times.
Rather than look into whether or not everything falls apart with 31 chews or discussing how this applies to the consumption of soup, I just accepted 32 as the number.
After you’ve practiced putting down your utensil for a week, it’s time to stack on this challenge.
With every bite of food, put down your utensil and chew your food 32 times before swallowing your food.
This exercise will significantly slow down your meal, improve your digestion and decrease the chances of overeating.
Slowest Eater Challenge
Once you’ve gained a little experience with the first two exercises, you’re ready to tackle this one.
Your goal is to be the slowest eater (last person finished) at a meal with at least 3 other people.
It doesn’t matter if you’re hosting dinner or meeting friends at a restaurant.
This is where you’ll need to draw on your experience with putting your utensil down and chewing your food 32 times to come out victorious.
There is one catch to playing this game.
You’re not allowed to tell anyone else at the table that you’re playing.
Can you make the consumption of your meal take 30 minutes?
Conclusion
No matter what type of foods you eat or diet you follow, you actual eating habits are important.
This is why we coach people on learning how to eat slowly.
Slower eating will improve digestion, increase your satisfaction with food and result in consuming less calories.
