Hate to Eat and Run? by Sharon Howard, R.D., M.S., C.D.E. FADA
Have you ever thought about how long it takes you to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner? If you find yourself finished with your meal before your dining partners have made a dent in their appetizers, you are not alone. People who are trying to lose weight often have the habit of eating too fast. Consequently, they eat more food at a sitting than they really need.
When you eat, there is a delayed response from the time you take your first bite to when you feel a sense of satiety, or a sense of being satisfied with your food. It takes up to 15 minutes for your blood sugar to register enough of a rise for your brain to signal your mouth to stop eating. Your stomach can also give this feedback, but since your stomach can expand easily, the feeling of a full stomach may not occur until you have overeaten. You have experienced this if you have ever noticed that 30 minutes after a meal you feel stuffed. Digestive juices pour into your stomach, mixing with food and expanding the capacity a little more. So think about leaving some room for the digestive process.
Of course, this is only one of many reasons why you might want to pause now and then in your eating. Behavior modification weight loss programs suggest you eat more slowly because if you do so, you will eat less food, enjoy it more, consume fewer calories and lose weight. A more leisurely eating pace also improves your eating etiquette and gives you some time to converse. Having spent the time talking and chewing your food, you are less likely to go back for seconds because you feel the sense of fullness. If you inhale the first plate, your body will not have registered the food intake by the time you dig into the second helping.
Unfortunately, eating habits -- particularly eating speed -- are very ingrained routines. It is not easy to slow down, but it can be done with persistence, awareness and effot. You must monitor yourself carefully for a minimum of three weeks, which is how long behaviorists say it takes to change a habit. Practice constantly. Here are some techniques to slow you down.
Put the fork down between bites. To slow your eating speed, place the eating utensil down, move your hand away and do not pick it up until you swallow. For added effect, take a sip of water between bites or pick up another food item -- such as a carrot stick -- or take a bite of salad (if you have a salad fork) before you go back to the utensil.
Eat with the other hand. Handling a utensil and food with your non-dominant hand will slow you down. It might also amuse your family.
Take a one-minute pause in the middle of the meal. If you find yourself speeding through a meal, interrupt the rhythm by putting down the fork, pushing back and leaving the table. Go start the water for tea or wash a dish -- anything to take a pause -- and then resume eating at a slower pace.
Time yourself. Check the clock when you take your first bite and then again when you finish. Vow to add five more minutes to your meal time -- not by eating more food, but by relaxing your speed of eating. Try to make your eating episode last 20 minutes.
Pace yourself with the slowest person at the table. This is a personal game you can play at a dinner party. You will not overstuff yourself. Or, keep pace with a toddler!
Pay attention to your hunger. Is your stomach really hungry, or are you eating because the food is available? Are you bored? Are you stressed out? Teach yourself to be aware of the condition of your stomach and be less influenced by your food environment. Try using the following scale as a guide:
0 Starving
1
2 Over-hungry
3 Hungry. Ready to eat a meal
4 Slightly hungry. Might snack
5 Neutral
6
7 Hunger gone away. Satisfied
8 Over-full
9
10 Over-stuffed
When you think about eating, check with your stomach -- if it registers at 4 or 3, it is appropriate to eat something. If it is a 2 or 1, you are ravenous, you've waited too long and are in danger of quickly gobbling any food you can find. Do not let yourself get too hungry or too full. Once you start eating, learn to stop at 7, when the hunger has gone away and you feel satisfied. If you think about food and you are at 5 or above, then ask yourself why you are eating. If you are not hungry, try to pass up the food and come back to it when you feel a 3 hunger level.
By becoming more aware of your internal sense of hunger rather than external stimuli, you will feed yourself more reasonable amounts of food.
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