If your goal is fat loss, you need to ensure you’re doing one thing each and every day: eating fewer calories. You must expend more calories than you consume each day to see a significant reduction in fat.
But this can be hard. If you’re busy, time isn’t on your side. Your scarf down a meal without any attention to what you’re eating. The calories quickly pile up while you’re left with the same feeling of hunger.
Research, within the past decade, has shown that if you do one thing at each meal you can lower the amount of calories you eat. And that one thing is slow down.
One study, in 2008, had 30 healthy women randomly eat at 2 different speeds. The researchers measured how full the participants were after the meals and how many calories they ate (1).
They found the group that ate slower consumed less calories and drank more water. They also found the slow group felt more satisfied or full after the meal when compared to the quick group.
The results showed the slow group took in 579 calories, while the fast group took in 646 calories. The time difference between the two meals was roughly 20 minutes.
So this means by allowing the meal to last 20 minutes longer, the slow group ate around 70 calories less. Now, this may not sound like much but think about how many meals you eat in one day.
Let’s use 3 as an example. By eating quickly, this could be an extra 210 calories at the end of the day and an extra 1,470 calories per week. Looking at the numbers this way, it’s easy to see how they can add up quickly.
Another study in 2014, showed similar results. The researchers found that when that participants ate slower they lowered their energy intake (ate fewer calories) and reported more fullness when compared to the group that ate faster (2).
You see, being mindful of how fast you eat can play a large role in how much you eat. When you eat quickly, your brain doesn’t get a chance to recognize how full you really are. If this signal of satiety isn’t there, you’re able to sneak in hundreds of extra calories without even realizing it.
So, how do you apply this to your own life? Here are some helpful tips to get you started.
1. Sit down to eat
How many times have you, knowing you wanted to finish your meal quickly, ate standing up? I know for myself, I always try to finish faster when standing. By sitting down, you won’t be rushed. You can take your time and actually enjoy your meal.
2. Time yourself
This could be the simplest way to slow down. Set a timer for 20 minutes and make sure you don’t finish before time is up. This allows your brain to recognize that you are full and keep you from overeating later in the day.
3. Chew slower
This tip piggy backs off the previous one. By chewing your food longer, not only will it take more time, you’ll actually be able to taste what you’re eating. Real food like meats, fruits, and vegetables are great here because you actually have to chew them longer as opposed to processed foods like chips and cookies.
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You eat every single day. This leaves ample opportunity to consume more calories if you eat quickly. Simply increasing the length of your meal has been shown to decrease overall calorie intake. This simple tip can save a lot of calories in the long run and help shed unwanted fat.
References:
1. Andrade AM, et al. Eating slowly lead to decreases in energy intake within meals in healthy women. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1186-91.
2. Shah M, et al. Slower eating speed lowers energy intake in normal-weight but not overweight/obese subjects. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2014 Mar;114(3):393-402.
Photo Credit:
1. blogs.poughkeepsiejournal.com
