Can Eating Slowly Help You Lose Weight?

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Most people eat their food fast and quickly. But did you know that eating slowly may be a much smarter approach?

Can Eating Slowly Help You Lose Weight?
Image source: mirror.co.uk

Studies have shown that eating slowly can help you feel fuller and help you lose weight. This article will show you the benefits of eating more slowly for your overall health.

Eating Slowly Can Decrease Your Calorie Intake

A study was conducted for overweight and normal-weight individuals eating lunch at different paces.

Both groups ate fewer calories at a slow-paced meal than at the fast-paced meal. Although the difference was far greater in the normal-weight group. All participants felt more full for longer after eating more slowly and reported less hunger, an hour after the slow-paced meal, than after the faster meal.

This reduction in calorie intake can lead to weight loss over time.

Eating Slowly Helps You to Eat Less

You calorie intake and appetite is controlled by hormones. After eating, your gut suppresses a hormone called ghrelin, which is responsible for controlling hunger. It also helps release the anti-hunger hormones peptide YY (PYY), cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) (7).

These hormones transmits a message to the brain, letting your brain know that you have eaten and the nutrients are being absorbed. This in turn reduces your appetite, making you feel full and helps you stop eating. This process takes about 20 minutes, therefore eating slowly gives your brain time needed to receive these signals.

Eating Slowly Can Increase Your Satiety Hormones

Eating quickly may lead to overeating, because the brain does not have the time needed to receive the fullness signals.

Also, eating slowly is known to decrease the amount of food eaten at meal. This is due to an increase in the level of anti-hunger hormones, that occured when meals are not rushed.

In a study, 17 healthy people of normal weight were given 300 ml or 10 oz of ice cream on two different occasions.During the first session, each person ate the ice cream within 5 minutes. For the other session, they ate it slowly for at least 30 minutes.

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Their satiety hormone levels increase more after eating the ice cream slowly and were reported feeling more full after eating.

A follow-up study conducted for obese and overweight diabetics, have shown that slowing down did not increase satiety hormones. But, it increased their satisfaction and fullness level.

Other research had shown that obese young people, whose age ranges from 9–17, experienced higher levels of satiety hormones when a meal is eaten more slowly.

Eating Slowly Promotes Thorough Chewing

To eat slowly, you need to chew your food several times before swallowing. This can help reduce your calorie intake and lose weight.

Several studies have shown that people with weight problems tend to chew their food less than normal-weight individuals do.But, there is a limit to how much chewing you can do and still enjoy your meal. One study have shown that chewing each bite for 30 seconds reduced snacking later on, but it also significantly reduced meal enjoyment.

Other Benefits of Chewing Slowly:

  • Help You Absorb Nutrients Better
  • Increase Enjoyment of Food
  • Improve Your Digestion
  • Reduce Stress

Below are Top Strategies to Slow Eating Pace:

1. Meal Portion
Less food in front of you, helps lower the chances of over-eating , even if you race through the meal.

2. Eat Every 2-3 hours
Eating small frequent meals prevents over-eating related to extreme hunger. Consistent eating also increases your metabolism.

3. Drink In-Between Bites
Take a few sip of water throughout the meal, to help slow your fork action.

4. Chew Your Food Thoroughly
Take at least 10-20 chews before you swallow, to pace yourself.

5. Focus on Your Food
Avoid any distraction when you eat. Put down your phone or close your computer while you eat. This maybe all it takes for your body to recognize that its hunger-fighting hormones are on.

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