(click on ads for more details)

Would  you like to lose weight  and save money at the same time?

by Donna Walker Mancini (8-13-01)

Eat slower.  Take your time and smell the broccoli..

Have you ever seen people who literally  inhale their food?  I have a family member who always come to mind...... She is finished with her first helping by the time the other  people at the table have the dressing on the salad, and the napkin on their Lap!

 And guess what? She  eats a second, and maybe third helping, while the rest of us  eat our first and maybe last.   And she is also sporting  about 15-20 pounds of unwanted  flesh, and has been monitored for high blood pressure  much younger than  the other  members of  our family.

 Why do so many people eat too much? Do they  think  it  will be their last meal?  Probably not.

 Eating too fast IS  a primary reason. It takes about 20 minutes for your food to begin to digest and send  the message to your brain that you have eaten  and are no longer hungry.  When we eat slow, chew our food carefully, and relax and enjoy our meals, we do not eat as much. We consume fewer calories, and lower our risk of choking on large chunks of meat or other foods.  Regardless of the  fat and calorie content of the   food  we are eating, if we eat less of it, we are reducing our consumption of calories, which is the bottom line.   Many people try to change the food they eat and give up the things they like when  " Dieting".   In the long run, they are unhappy and feel deprived and do not last very long on their new regime.   Eating less, but enjoying it  more makes a lot more sense, thus  making  it
more likely that people will adhere to their" Diet" long term.

 Eating Slowly does not reduce satisfaction, because  food is in your mouth, (the enjoyable part) the same amount of time. After the 20 minutes, you will no longer be hungry. It is wasteful to eat more than you need, when you can accomplish the same goal by chewing  "less" food, and holding it in your mouth longer.  You also  do not feel overstuffed after a meal, and guilty for  "Pigging out"! Then you will have the energy to " Reach for your Mate"  which I suggested as an  energy consuming activity  in my first article two weeks ago.

Consuming less food also saves money.  Lets  use that extra cash for something   special. A new outfit or piece of jewelry comes to mind
for me.  What would you do with your extra cash  after cutting your food  bill  by 15 -25% or More?

Try this " scientific" experiment  this week:    Sit down to the table and  eat a small or reasonable portion of food. Get up from the table and make a telephone call to a good friend and talk for twenty minutes or more.  Go back  to the table  and see if you really want to eat more food.......   Think about if you really hungry, or have you been taught not to waste food!   
This  ties in with  of course  with  preparing less food,  and freezing
leftovers, or using them for the next day’s lunch.  Try to refrain from giving excess food  to the  family pet, as animals suffer from the same  health and weight problems as humans.
 
 Listening to slow, relaxing music has been found to  slow people down at the table, and also dark blue dishes are supposed to make food  look unattractive and thus reduce food intake.   Eating on  smaller plates has proven helpful to some people. Hot sauces and peppers are known to satisfy people by increasing their endorphins or" happiness chemicals" in the brain, thus reducing food intake.  Eating with chopsticks will help slow you down , (at least it does me, because I don't know how to use them, Ha ha).

 Life is meant to be enjoyed, and food is important to all of us. If we can get the same amount of enjoyment, and be healthier to boot, I say its a no-brainer !


Donna Mancini, R.D. M.Ed.