SLOW DOWN AND LOSE WEIGHT

[pookie]

SLOW DOWN AND LOSE WEIGHT

Do you ever eat breakfast while driving to work, eat lunch while working at your desk or eat dinner while watching TV? If so, you may be surprised to find out that eating while multitasking can lead to weight gain. Dubbed mindless eating, this phenomenon can indeed result in overeating.

Once eating is underway, the brain's role is to send out a signal indicating fullness. If the mind is preoccupied during eating, the brain may not receive signals that regulate food intake. This can interfere with feelings of satiety and taste sensation. In addition, eating mindlessly may also mean you are eating rapidly. It takes twenty minutes, on average, for the stomach to notify the brain you've had enough. Wolfing down something prevents you from "hearing" your body tell you when you are full.

If you are a fast and furious eater, it is time to shift gears. This pattern of eating results in meals being consumed under a physiologic condition that hampers digestion and diminishes calorie burning. It allows us little pleasure from food, causing us to eat more in pursuit of satisfaction. It shortens our breathing, which results in less oxygen intake and more fat accumulation. Ultimately the slower you eat, the faster you metabolize.

In order to do this, you need to switch from mindless to mindful eating. This implies eating with awareness. This includes not only being aware of what is on your plate but also being cognizant of the entire eating experience. Some strategies for slowing down are:

• Eat while sitting only and preferably at a table. You might even strive for a nice place setting - using place mats, napkins and goblets.
  
• Eat using chopsticks sometimes or using a salad fork instead of dinner fork.
  
• Make eating an isolated activity-no more multitasking with the TV, newspaper or computer. Don't mistake this for eating in isolation; you can still eat with good company.
  
• Put down the utensils or sandwich in between bites.
  Sip water between bites.
  
• Chew thoroughly and often. The less you chew, the less you appreciate the differences in taste, smell and texture on the plate in front of you.
  
• Prepare more of your own meals. This allows you to choose the highest quality version of the food and focus on the preparation means. Just don't be eating while preparing.

Remember it will take some planning and patience to slow down and be more mindful about your eating. Yet once you master this new mindset, the benefits are optimal digestion, metabolism, taste satisfaction, food enjoyment and ultimately weight management.

www.brighamandwomens.org/forms/newsletter/newsletter_register.asp

[ema2two]

I know this is true, and I have taken much of this advice and integrated it into my regular eating patterns.

Here's the rub: Sometimes, when I try to make eating an isolated activity, rather than reading the paper while I eat, or drinking my coffee with Skim milk while I drive to work, I find I eat FASTER because I'm eager to get on to the next activity, and the eating as a single task backfires. Rather than getting me to slow down, focus on the eating and be mindful of the experience and the satiety cues, I speed up, focus on finishing as quickly as possible and don't give my body a chance to listen to satiety cues (I eat to fast for them to start being sent out). Eating becomes the task that stands between me and my next activity, like my kids rushing through their homework to get to their computer games.

So, for me, I need a balance. I find I eat slower and at a more leisurely pace when I sit with a late dinner I'm eating alone, or Sunday brunch, over the newspaper. I drink my coffee, which is very light (1/2 skim milk, 1/2 coffee) while driving to work, as it gets a milk in that I might otherwise skip with my hectic mornings getting kids ready for school (and posting here, LOL!) if I didn't allow myself permission to drink it at the stop lights en route.

I think for rules like these it depends on what you'd be doing if you weren't following them to know whether they can help you with your particular challenges. Of course, articles like these make you think through your challenges and analyze your current behavior, as well as your behavior change options.

Thanks for posting it, Pookie.

[sulee]

this is brilliant and so true. Thank you Ema. It's good to think, for me, about not munching while i cook. I've come along way in taking the time -- usually no more than 30-45 minutes is all it takes -- to cook varied, colorful dinner almost every night, instead of eating cereal, pasta or take-out. and I've essentially given up tv in the last 6 months ( of course when the Sopranos returns next month I'll be glued to the screen Sunday nights!-- but hopefully after dinner !) But, i still snack while i'm busily preparing my meal and then i do think it's hard to monitor satiety.